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Tape Cartridges and Magazines
This chapter explains which how to label and write-protect your tape cartridges. Careful labeling and
handling of the tape cartridges will prolong the life of the tape cartridges and the library.
Using and Maintaining Tape Cartridges
CAUTION
Do not degauss LTO data cartridges! These data cartridges are pre-
recorded with a magnetic servo signal. This signal is required to use the
cartridge with the LTO tape drive. Keep magnetically charged objects
away from the cartridge.
To ensure the longest possible life for your data cartridges, follow these guidelines:
•
Use only the data cartridges designated for your device.
•
Clean the tape drive when the Clean drive LED is illuminated.
CAUTION
Use only Ultrium Universal cleaning cartridges.
•
Do not drop a cartridge. Excessive shock can damage the internal contents of the cartridge or the
cartridge case itself, making the cartridge unusable.
•
Do not expose data cartridges to direct sunlight or sources of heat, including portable heaters and
heating ducts.
•
The operating temperature range for data cartridges is 10 to 35º C. The storage temperature range is -
40 to +60º C in a dust-free environment in which relative humidity is always between 20 percent and 80
percent (non-condensing).
•
If the data cartridge has been exposed to temperatures outside the specified ranges, stabilize the
cartridge at room temperature for the same length of time it was exposed to extreme temperatures or
24 hours, whichever is less.
•
Do not place data cartridges near sources of electromagnetic energy or strong magnetic fields such as
computer monitors, electric motors, speakers, or X-ray equipment. Exposure to electromagnetic energy
or magnetic fields can destroy data and the embedded servo code written on the media by the
cartridge manufacturer, which can render the cartridge unusable.
•
Place identification labels only in the designated area on the cartridge.
Labeling Tape Cartridges
The device contains a bar code reader that reads the tape labels and stores the inventory data in memory.
The device then provides the inventory information to the host application, OCP, and RMI. Having a bar
code label on each tape cartridge enables the bar code reader to identify the cartridge quickly, thereby
speeding up inventory time. Make it a practice to use bar code labels on your tape cartridges.
A proper bar code label includes the media ID in the last two characters of the bar code. The library will not
load an incompatible cartridge, based on the barcode media ID, into a tape drive. For example, the library
will not load a cartridge labeled as LTO-3 into an LTO-6 tape drive. This saves the time needed to load the
cartridge and have the tape drive reject it.
Your host software may need to keep track of the following information via the associated bar code:
▪
Date of format or initialization
▪
Tape's media pool
▪
Data residing on the tape
▪
Age of the backup
▪
Errors encountered while using the tape (to determine if the tape is faulty)
