CAUTION:
Use only Ultrium Universal Cleaning Cartridges (UCC).
• 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 16 to
32º C in a dust-free environment with relative humidity always between 20 percent and 80 percent
(noncondensing).
• 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. The cartridge is unusable without the embedded servo code.
• Place identification labels only in the designated area on the cartridge.
Recommended practices for labeling tape cartridges
The library 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. A bar code label on
each tape cartridge enables the bar code reader to identify the cartridge quickly, which speeds up inventory
time. Make using bar code labels on your tape cartridges a practice.
TIP:
The bar code scanner scans each tape or the back of the storage slot until it reads the bar code label for
the cartridge or storage slot, or determines that the slot is empty. The bar code scanner can identify a
properly labeled cartridge on the first scan. It can identify an empty slot on the second scan. It will try
several more scans and then tap on the cartridge before determining that an unlabeled cartridge is in
the slot, which takes about four times as long as identifying a properly labeled cartridge.
The inventory time for an MSL8048 or MSL8096 filled with unlabeled cartridges is about 30 minutes.
Even if you do not need the bar code information, use bar code labels to speed up inventory time.
A proper bar code label includes the Media ID in the last two characters of the bar code. LTO-3 and earlier
generation tape drives prevent later generation media from being loaded into the drive. If an LTO-4 or later
tape drive is installed in the library or is in the removed state, the library will not load an unlabeled cartridge
into an LTO-3 or earlier generation tape drive.
Though not recommended, checking
Ignore Barcode Media ID
in the
RMI Configuration > System
screen
will keep the library from interpreting bar code Media IDs.
The host software might track the following information through the associated bar code:
• Date of format or initialization
• Tape cartridge media pool
• Data residing on the tape
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Recommended practices for labeling tape cartridges
