Several conditions can cause WORM media errors to occur.
Information in the servo manufacturer's word (SMW) on the tape must match information from the cartridge memory (CM) module in the cartridge. If it does not
match, a media Error Code posts on the drive's single-character display (SCD).
Inserting a WORM tape cartridge into a drive that is not compatible with WORM causes the cartridge to be treated as an unsupported medium. The drive reports a
media Error Code . Upgrading the drive firmware to the correct code level resolves the problem.
WORM requirements
You can add WORM capability to your IBM® Ultrium tape drive.
To add WORM capability to your IBM LTO Ultrium 9 drives, you must use IBM Ultrium 9 WORM tape cartridges (18 TB), or IBM Ultrium 8 tape cartridges (12 TB). See
.
Cleaning cartridge
A specially labeled IBM® LTO Ultrium Cleaning Cartridge is used to clean the drive head.
The drive itself determines when a head must be cleaned. It alerts you when the single-character display (SCD) flashes a . To clean the head manually, insert a cleaning
cartridge into the tape load compartment. See
Figure 1
. The drive completes the cleaning automatically. When the cleaning is finished, the drive ejects the cartridge, and
the SCD is blank.
Note: The drive automatically ejects an expired cleaning cartridge without running the cleaning process. Replace the expired cleaning cartridge with a new cleaning
cartridge and insert it into the drive.
The IBM cleaning cartridges are valid for 50 uses. The cartridge's LTO-CM chip tracks the number of times that the cartridge is used.
Important: After 50 uses, the cleaning cartridge expires. It is no longer usable, and must be replaced
Cartridge memory chip (LTO-CM)
All generations of the IBM® LTO Ultrium Data Cartridges include a Linear Tape-Open Cartridge Memory (LTO-CM) chip.
The Linear Tape-Open Cartridge Memory (LTO-CM) chip ( 1 in
) holds information about that specific cartridge, the media in the cartridge and the data on the
media. The LTO-CM enhances the efficiency of the cartridge. For example, the LTO-CM stores the end-of-data location. When the cartridge is inserted and the Write
command is entered, the drive can quickly locate the recording area and begin recording. The LTO-CM also aids in determining the reliability of the cartridge by storing
data about its age, how many times it was loaded, and how many errors it accumulated. When you unload a tape cartridge, the tape drive writes any pertinent information
to the cartridge memory.
The storage capacity of the Generation 9 LTO-CM is 32640 bytes. This capacity is double that of Generations 6, 7, and 8 LTO-CM (16320 bytes), and four times the
capacity of Generations 5 and 4 LTO-CM, which is 8160 bytes. LTO Generations 1, 2, and 3 have an LTO-CM capacity of 4096 bytes.
Bar code label
Data cartridges can have bar code labels for identification..
A bar code label contains:
A volume serial number (VOLSER) that is human-readable.
A bar code that the library can read.
Note: LTO tape drives do not require tape cartridges to have bar code labels. However, IBM libraries require tape cartridges to have bar code labeled on them for
automation and human readability.
When read by a library's bar code reader, the bar code identifies the cartridge's VOLSER to the library. The bar code also tells the library whether the cartridge is a data
cartridge or cleaning cartridge. In addition, the bar code includes the two-character media-type identifier, see
.
shows a sample bar code label for the LTO Ultrium Tape Cartridge.
Tape cartridges are ordered with the labels included or with custom labels. To order tape cartridges and bar code labels, see
. The bar code for
usage in IBM® tape libraries must meet predefined specifications. They include (but are not limited to):
Eight uppercase alphanumeric characters, where the last 2 characters refer to the cartridge generation and WORM capability. See
Label and printing to be non-glossy.
Nominal narrow line or space width of 0.423 mm (0.017 in.)
Wide to narrow ratio of 2.75:1.
Minimum bar length of 11.1 mm (0.44 in.)
Table 1. Cartridges and VOLSERs compatible with the LTO tape drives
IBM TS22xx - TS2290, TS2280, and TS2270
115
