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Optimizing the Tape Drive | D5
D5
Optimizing the Tape
Drive
Many factors contribute to Super DLTtape drive perfor-
mance. Host system considerations include processor speed,
block size, SCSI adapter performance, bus configurations,
and software.
If you are concerned about the performance of your tape
drive, check the following:
1.
Ensure that your tape drive is properly defined for the
host system. If the tape drive is not defined within the
system, the SCSI adapter does not interact well with the
tape drive.
2.
Make sure your controller card and the SCSI bus are
operating in the same mode, preferably LVD. If the
controller card or the SCSI bus are operating in SE, the
tape drive switches to SE.
3.
De-fragment your hard disk on a regular basis.
Fragmented disks and files take much longer to back up.
4.
Check your host block size. The Super DLTtape drive
supports block sizes up to 16 MB. In general, the larger
the block size, the better the throughput. Many older
software applications default to a 512-byte block size,
which results in poor performance.
5.
Make sure you are using a data cartridge that is
compatible with the tape drive.
B1