Bull ESCALA E250, Use And Maintenance, Page: 55 / 162

3-15
Using Devices and Tools
Handling 4 mm Tapes
Information in this section describes operating and storage conditions including
temperature, relative humidity, and maximum wet bulb data.
Warning: The manufacturer has specified a set of temperature and humidity ranges in
which the 4 mm data cartridge can operate with ease. Only regular cleaning procedures, as
described in
Cleaning the Tape Path on the 4 mm Tape Drive , on page 3-16, are required
when operating the cartridge within this range. The risk of possible data loss is increased if
4 mm tape cartridges are operated, stored, or shipped outside the temperature or humidity
ranges shown below.
Before using a data cartridge, allow it to acclimate to the operating environment (24 hours or
the amount of time it has been exposed to dissimilar conditions).
Acclimation is necessary for any data cartridge that has been exposed to a different
humidity environment or a temperature change of 11
° C (20 ° F), or more.
• Recommended operating environment:
– Temperature 16
°
C to 32
°
C (60
°
F to 90
°
F)
– Relative humidity 20% to 80% non condensing
– Wet bulb to 26
°
C (79
°
F).
• Recommended storage environment:
– Temperature 5
°
C to 32
°
C (40
°
F to 90
°
F)
– Relative humidity 20% to 80% non condensing.
Operating in Harsh Environments
The 4 mm tape drive is ideally suited to streaming operations, as opposed to tape
movement operations involving multiple stop/starts and random searches. When the tape is
used for frequent stop and start operations, streaming movement is beneficial and should
be used whenever possible. This can be accomplished by ensuring that any save or restore
operation is the only active operation performed by a device connected to this SCSI I/O
controller.
Any tape that has been used outside the ranges specified in the previous table for an
extended period of time (50 passes in 40 hours of nonstop operation) should not be used as
an archival tape. Exposure to the environment will deteriorate the magnetic and physical
strength of the tape. Do not store important data on a tape that has been used outside the
specified ranges; transfer the data to a new tape for reliable archiving.