load.
Following the insertion of a tape cartridge into the tape load compartment, the act of positioning the
tape (performed by the tape drive) for reading or writing by the drive's head.
log sense data.
See SCSI log sense data.
loop.
(1) A series of instructions that is repeated until a terminating condition is reached. (2) To connect so
as to complete a loop.
LTO.
See Linear Tape-Open.
M
M8.
LTO 8 Type M Cartridge.
MB.
See megabyte.
magnetic tape.
A tape with a magnetizable surface layer on which data can be stored by magnetic recording.
maintenance mode.
The state of operation in which the tape drive must be before it can run diagnostics, verify write
and read operations, verify a suspect tape cartridge, update its own firmware, and perform other
diagnostic and maintenance functions.
media.
The plural of medium.
medium.
A physical material in or on which data may be represented, such as magnetic tape.
megabyte (MB).
1,000,000 bytes. Expressed as data rate in MB/s or MB/second.
N
network.
A configuration of data processing devices and software that is connected for information interchange.
O
oersted.
The unit of magnetic field strength in the unrationalized centimeter-gram-second (cgs)
electromagnetic system. The oersted is the magnetic field strength in the interior of an elongated,
uniformly wound solenoid that is excited with a linear current density in its winding of one abamper
per 4 pi centimeters of axial length. .
offline.
The operating condition that the tape drive is in when the server's applications cannot interact with it.
online.
The operating condition that the tape drive is in when the server's applications can interact with it.
Open Systems.
Computer systems whose standards are not proprietary.
operating environment.
The temperature, relative humidity rate, and wet bulb temperature of the room in which the tape drive
routinely conducts processing.
Glossary 65
