Tape Help Package

Tape Help Package

November 25, 2003

Description of the Tape Help Package contents

The Tape Help Package is a collection of eServer, pSeries and RS/6000 tape drive information that is available elsewhere but is not always easy to find or understand. This package attempts to collect the information in one area under one topic for easier reference.

Table of Contents

Tape Help Package

Information Regarding Tape Drive Environment and Use

IBM's goal is to provide you with a product that you can configure and use reliably. Tape drives require specific maintenance and environmental conditions to operate well over time. Using high quality, data grade media, handling and storing this media properly, operating the tape drive in a clean environment and keeping the tape drive properly cleaned can help you to avoid problems with your IBM tape drive.

Media Grades

IBM uses two different grades of media. We supply Program Transmittal Fixes (PTFs) on a tape that is designed to be written to only once and read from a few times. This tape is not designed to be used as a backup medium. IBM also sells media designed to be used for storage.

IBM supports the tape that we sell. If IBM service personnel analysis indicates a problem with non-IBM media it may be necessary for the customer to replace the media.

Tape Handling and Storage

Most tape is supplied in a sealed cartridge. It is provided this way so that the tape will remain in a clean environment. Opening the cartridge allows dirt and airborne particles to enter and then become a source of contamination. The cartridge should only be opened by the tape drive and not an operator. The tape also is held under proper tension inside the cartridge. If the cartridge is dropped, this tension will be relaxed. Inserting a dropped cartridge into a tape drive can cause incorrect loading and result in a jam. This will ruin the tape and can cause physical damage if the cartridge is not removed properly.

When the tapes are stored, they must be replaced in their protective containers and stored on their end. The storage area must be clean, dry, normal room temperature and away from any magnetic fields.

Environmental Issues

Tape drives are designed to operate in a clean environment. Problem factors are dirt, dust, fibers and airborne particles. Airborne particles are the most difficult to address. When a tape is installed in the tape drive, the clearance between the heads and the tape is measured in microns. Particles can damage the tape or the head if they come in contact with either. IBM offers a tape drive filter enclosure for some systems to solve this problem. The enclosure draws air in through a filter and supplies the tape drive with clean air. Customers are responsible to provide a clean operating environment for the tape drive and system.

Tape Drive Cleaning

No matter how clean the environment, debris may build up on the heads of any tape drive. Every time tape motion occurs, some of the media surface comes off on the heads. Over time, this builds up and causes errors in reading and writing. Customers are responsible to clean the tape drive in accordance with the cleaning information provided with the tape drive.

We only recommend that you use IBM cleaning cartridges for IBM tape drives.

Cleaning cartridges can be used a limited number of times. Once a cleaning cartridge has been used to its maximum number of times, the cartridge is considered expired. When cartridges expire, they must be replaced. Never reuse an expired cleaning cartridge. Doing so allows previously removed dirt to be reintroduced to the tape drive. When you have cleaned the tape drive, mark the usage on the cartridge in order to best determine when your IBM cleaning cartridge has expired.

SCSI Hardware Issues

SCSI bus cables and terminators may affect tape drive performance. IBM cables and terminators are designed specifically to keep the SCSI bus as free of noise as possible. Use of non-IBM cables or terminators may adversely affect the SCSI bus performance. If IBM service personnel analysis indicates a problem with non-IBM cables, it may be necessary for the customer to replace them with the appropriate IBM cables.

Microcode Updates

IBM constantly works to provide the best possible tape drive products. To make certain that the drives work their very best, IBM occasionally releases changed microcode for the tape drives. When a microcode change is developed, IBM makes it available to you through the service organization or by electronic delivery.

pSeries and RS/6000 customers

Microcode changes are available from the following IBM Web site:
download.html

Summary

Your tape drive must be installed in the cleanest possible environment. Additionally, IBM tape drives require high quality, data grade tapes and cleaning on a regular basis. Media must also be stored and handled properly. Improper use, storage or handling of tape drives or media may void your IBM warranty or service agreement

If a tape drive stops functioning due to a component failure during the tape drive warranty or maintenance time, IBM will replace the tape drive unit. IBM will replace any defective tape drive under the terms and conditions of the IBM warranty or service agreement. It is our objective to work with you to identify the cause of any tape drive problems and provide a solution.

Tape Drive LED Information

1/4" Tape Drives

150mb, 525mb, and 1.2GB 1/4" tape drives

The meaning of the LED is:

Color	Meaning
Off	One of the following conditions: The Power-On Self Test(POST) has completed successfully, and the drive is not busy running a system command. A tape is loaded and the drive is not busy running a system command. The drive is powered off
GREEN	One of the following conditions: POST is running A tape is loaded and the drive is busy running a system command.
RED(AMBER in 1.2GB only)	The tape drive has detected an internal fault that requires corrective action. Internally mounted tape drives may require the system to be shutdown, powered off then powered on to clear the internal fault in the drive. If the condition cannot be cleared using this method, refer to your service guide or system diag- nostics for further assistance. The AIX diagnostic command: diag -c -d rmtx <-where x is the tape drive # will issue a reset to the tape drive if AIX is able to communicate with the drive.

4GB SLR5 1/4" tape drive

The meaning of the LED is:

Color	Meaning
Off	One of the following conditions: The Power-On Self Test(POST) has completed successfully, and the drive is not busy running a system command. A tape is loaded and the drive is not busy running a system command. The drive is powered off
GREEN	One of the following conditions: POST is running A tape is loaded and the drive is busy running a system command.
AMBER	One of the following conditions: The tape drive has detected an internal fault that requires corrective action. Internally mounted tape drives may require the system to be shutdown, powered off then powered on to clear the internal fault in the drive. If the condition cannot be cleared using this method, refer to your service guide or system diag- nostics for further assistance. The AIX diagnostic command: diag -c -d rmtx <-where x is the tape drive # will issue a reset to the tape drive if AIX is able to communicate with the drive. The LED will flash when the cleaning cartridge has expired. Replace the cleaning cartridge The LED will flash when the cleaning cartridge when a tape runs off the end of the cartridge or breaks. Replace the data cartridge The tape drive has detected an internal fault that requires corrective action. Power OFF then ON the tape drive to clear the internal fault in the drive. If the condition cannot be cleared using this method, refer to your service guide or system diagnostics for further assistance. The AIX diagnostic command: diag -c -d rmtx <-where x is the tape drive # will issue a reset to the tape drive if AIX is able to communicate with the drive.

1/4" QIC-5010 13GB, 30GB SLR60 tape drives:

LED's description are from left to right. The meaning of the LED's are:

Green	Green	Amber	Meaning
Ready(tape loaded)	Reading or Writing	Disturbance
On*	On*	On*	The Power-On Self Test(POST) is running
Flashing	Off	Off	The Power-On Self Test(POST) is running with the Diagnostic tape inserted.
Off	Off	Off	One of the following conditions: The power is Off The POST has completed successfully, but no tape cartridge has been inserted.
On	Off	**	A tape cartridge has been inserted and the drive is ready to receive commands from the system.
On	Flashing	**	One of the following conditions: A tape cartridge has been inserted and the tape drive is busy running a device command. The tape drive is performing a tape load/unload operation,
***	***	On	The "tape path needs cleaning"(refer to the tape drive cleaning instructions).
Off	Flashing	On	The tape drive is in a cleaning operation. Note: Once the tape drive recognizes that a cleaning cartridge has been inserted the tape drive will turn On the "tape path needs cleaning" LED even if it was Off previously. The "tape path needs cleaning" LED will stay On until a successful cleaning operation has been done. If cleaning is attempted with a used up cleaning cartridge NO cleaning will be done and the "tape path needs cleaning" LED will be left On even if it was Off prior to attempting to clean the drive. To turn Off the "tape drive needs cleaning" LED a cleaning cartridge that has NOT reached the end of its useful life must be used to clean the drive.
Off	Off	Flashing	The tape drive has detected an internal fault that requires corrective action. Reset the drive by pressing the blue Eject button. If this does not clear the condition, power the drive off then back on. Internally mounted tape drives may require the system to be shutdown, powered off then powered on to clear the internal fault in the drive. If the condition cannot be cleared using this method, refer to your service guide or system diagnostics for further assistance. The AIX diagnostic command: diag -c -d rmtx <-where x is the tape drive# will issue a reset to the tape drive if AIX is able to communicate with the drive.

Note: Where:
* is On for approximately 2 seconds at POST
** is On or Off
*** is On, Off, or Flashing

4mm Tape Drives

2GB, 4GB and 12GB 4mm tape drive:

LED's description are from left to right. The meaning of the LEDs are:

Green	Green	Amber	Meaning
Ready(tape loaded)	Reading or Writing	Disturbance
*	*	On	One of the following conditions: The tape path needs cleaning(refer to the tape drive cleaning instructions). A cleaning cartridge has been inserted and the cleaning cartridge has exceeded the maximum number of cleanings for the cleaning cartridge.
On	On	On	The Power-On Self Test(POST) is running
Flashing	Off	Off	The Power-On Self Test(POST) is running or the Diagnostic tape is running
Off	Off	Off	One of the following conditions: The power is Off The POST has completed successfully, but no tape cartridge has been inserted.
On	Off	Off	A tape cartridge has been inserted and the drive is ready to receive commands from the system.
On	Flashing	Off	One of the following conditions: A tape cartridge has been inserted and the tape drive is busy running a device command. The tape drive is performing a tape load/unload operation, The tape drive is in a cleaning operation.
*	*	Flashing	One of the following conditions: The drive is unable to write to the tape cartridge A Diagnostic cartridge has been inserted and the Diagnostic cartridge has exceeded the maximum number of usage allowed(50). The tape drive has detected an internal fault that requires corrective action. Reset the drive by pressing the blue Eject button. If this does not clear the condition, power the drive off then back on. Internally mounted tape drives may require the system to be shutdown, powered off then powered on to clear the internal fault in the drive. If the condition cannot be cleared using this method, refer to your service guide or system diagnostics for further assistance. The AIX diagnostic command: diag -c -d rmtx <-where x is the tape drive# will issue a reset to the tape drive if AIX is able to communicate with the drive. A manual microcode download was attempted and failed. Power the drive off and then back on to clear this condition.

Note: Where
* is On, Off, or Flashing

20GB 4mm tape drive:

LED's description are from left to right. The meaning of the LEDs are:

Green	Green	Amber	Meaning
Ready(tape loaded)	Reading or Writing	Disturbance
*	*	On	One of the following conditions: The tape path needs cleaning(refer to the tape drive cleaning instructions). A cleaning cartridge has been inserted and the cleaning cartridge has exceeded the maximum number of cleanings for the cleaning cartridge.
Flashing	Off	Off	The Power-On Self Test(POST) is running
Off	Off	Off	One of the following conditions: The power is Off The POST has completed successfully, but no tape cartridge has been inserted.
On	Off	**	A tape cartridge has been inserted and the drive is ready to receive commands from the system.
On	Flashing	Off	One of the following conditions: A tape cartridge has been inserted and the tape drive is busy running a device command. The tape drive is performing a tape load/unload operation, The tape drive is in a cleaning operation.
*	*	Flashing	One of the following conditions: The tape drive has detected an internal fault that requires corrective action. Reset the drive by pressing the blue Eject button. If this does not clear the condition, power the drive off then back on. If the condition cannot be cleared using this method, refer to your service guide or system diagnostics for further assistance. The AIX diagnostic command: diag -c -d rmtx <-where x is the tape drive# will issue a reset to the tape drive if AIX is able to communicate with the drive. A manual microcode download was attempted and failed. Power the drive off and then back on to clear this condition.

Note: Where
* is On, Off, or Flashing

7332-005 and 7332-110 4mm Autoloader:

LED's description are from left to right. The meaning of the 4 LEDs and the 2 buttons are:

Table 1. Top Row

Green LED - Ready (Tape Loaded)	Amber LED - Disturbance	Blue Button - Open/Close, used to eject the current loaded tape cartridge and remove the magazine.
Meaning

Table 2. Bottom Row

Green LED - Read-Write activity	Green LED - Write protected	Ivory Button - Step, used to manually select any tape cartridge in the magazine.

Ready	Read/Write	Disturbance	Write Protected	Meaning
On/Off	*	On	On/Off	One of the following: Tape Path needs cleaning. A cleaning cartridge has been inserted and the cleaning cartridge has exceeded the maximum number of cleanings for the cleaning cartridge.
Flashing	Off	Off	Off	The Power-On Self Test(POST) is running or the Diagnostic test tape is running.
Off	Off	Off	Off	One of the following conditions: Power is Off The Post has completed successfully, but no tape cartridge has been inserted.
On	Off	Off	On/Off	A data cartridge has been loaded and the 7332-005 is ready to receive commands from the system
On	Flashing	Off	On/Off	A data cartridge has been loaded and is in motion. Or a cleaning operation is taking place.
Off	Off	Flashing	Off	Autoloader has detected a fault: Tape cartridge failure Diagnostic cartridge has exceeded its 50 usages. Tape drive internal fault

Note: Where
* is Off, or Flashing

Table 3. 8-digit alphanumeric LED display information:

Displayed	Meaning
______	Data gauge, Alternatively displayed with READ or WRITE to show the position of the tape in the tape cartridge.
0 TAPE	Alternatively displayed with CHK MAG to indicate 0 tapes in the magazine.
n TAPE	Displayed 2 seconds after magazine is mounted and scanned.
CHK MAG	The tape cartridge is not correctly inserted in the magazine.
CLEAN	A cleaning cycle, tape cartridge loaded manually.
CLEAN n	A cleaning cycle, tape cartridge loaded from magazine.
CLOSING	The drawer is closing.
DISMOUNT	The magazine is ready to be dismounted.
END MAG	The end of the magazine has been reached in sequential mode.
EJECT	Ejecting a manually loaded tape cartridge.
EJECT n	Ejecting a tape cartridge to slot n.
EJECTING	Ejecting a magazine to the dismount position
ERASE	Erasing a manually loaded tape cartridge.
ERASE n	Erasing a tape cartridge from slot n.
ERROR n	Indicates a loader mechanism error.
LOAD	Loading a manually loaded tape cartridge
LOAD n	Loading a tape cartridge from slot n.
OPENING	The drawer is opening.
OPERATOR	No Magazine, operation action is required.
READ	The autoloader is reading a manually loaded tape cartridge
READ n	The autoloader is reading tape cartridge from slot n.
READY	The autoloader is ready with a manually loaded tape cartridge.
READY n	The autoloader is ready with a tape cartridge from slot n.
REWIND	Rewind operation on a manually loaded tape cartridge.
REWIND n	Rewind operation on a tape cartridge from slot n.
SCANNING	The magazine is being scanned
SEARCH	Search operation on a manually loaded tape cartridge.
SEARCH n	Search operation on a tape cartridge from slot n.
SEL n	Indicates which slot is being selected by the pushbutton.
SEL SLOT	Display when a magazine is present but the autoloader does not have a tape cartridge.
SLOT n	Alternative displayed with CHK MAG to indicate a slot with incorrectly inserted tape cartridge.
WRITE	The autoloader is writing a manually loaded tape cartridge
WRITE n	The autoloader is writing tape cartridge from slot n.

Note: n represents a digit from 1 to 12.

7332-220 4mm Autoloader:

The informational area of the autoloader contains 2 information areas, LEDs and a multifunctional LCD.

LED's description are from top to bottom:

Green - Ready (Magazine Loaded)	Green - Tape and Tape Activity	Amber - Disturbance	Meaning
*	*	On	One of the following conditions: The tape path needs cleaning(refer to the tape drive cleaning instructions). A cleaning cartridge has been inserted and the cleaning cartridge has exceeded the maximum number of cleanings for the cleaning cartridge.
Flashing	Off	Off	The Power-On Self Test(POST) is running OR A magazine is being installed, checked or ejected.
Off	Off	Off	One of the following conditions: The power is Off The POST has completed successfully, but no tape cartridge has been inserted.
On	Off	*	A magazine has been installed.
On	Flashing	Off	One of the following conditions: A tape cartridge has been inserted and the tape drive is busy running a device command. The tape drive is performing a tape load/unload operation, The tape drive is in a cleaning operation.
On	On	*	A tape cartridge has been inserted and the drive is ready to receive commands from the system.
*	*	Flashing	One of the following conditions: The tape drive has detected an internal fault that requires corrective action. Reset the drive by pressing the blue Eject button. If this does not clear the condition, power the drive off then back on. If the condition cannot be cleared using this method, refer to your service guide or system diagnostics for further assistance. The AIX diagnostic command: diag -c -d rmtx <-where x is the tape drive# will issue a reset to the tape drive if AIX is able to communicate with the drive. A manual microcode download was attempted and failed. Power the drive off and then back on to clear this condition.

Note: Where
* is On, Off, or Flashing

LCD Meaning:

The Liquid Crystal Display(LCD) has five(5) display regions that provide information about the autoloader:

• The 10-character dot matrix display provides information on the autoloader operating status and potential error conditions.
• The 7-segment display shows the number of current cartridge loaded in the drive, or the cartridge selected whey you press the Select button repeatedly.
• DC (Data Compression) and WP (Write-Protected) in the center of the LCD indicate when data compression is being used for writing, and if the cartridge is write-protected.
• The six(6) numbered boxes on the right of the LCD are individually lit to show which magazine slot contain a cartridge.
• The "Odometer" lines appear at the bottom of the LCD. These lines show how much tape has been used. The more lines shown, the more tape has been used.

LCD Message Categories

• S - Status Information

• I - Informational Message

• E - Error information

Each message in the following chart is categorized by these three(3) categories in the Type section of the chart.

The OAR section of the chart indicates the state of the Operator Attention LED(AMBER LED):

• On
• Flashing

LCD 4 Digit Codes

Table 4. LCD Messages

LCD Message	Numeric Code	Type	OAR	Meaning
At BOT	1019	E	F	A SPACE command encountered at the Beginning of Data(BOD) unexpectedly. The tape is now positioned at BOD.
At EOT	1018	E	F	A READ or SPACE command encountered at the End of Data(EOD) unexpectedly. The tape is now positioned at EOD.
Bad Media	8014	E	F	A READ or SPACE command has failed because the tape is not in DDS format. Action: Unload the tape and us a DDS2, DDS3, or DDS4 tape.
Cannot Write Non-MRS Tape	8021	E	F	A WRITE, WRITE FILEMARK or ERASE command has been attempted on a non-DDS tape. Action: Unload the tape and us a DDS2, DDS3, or DDS4 tape.
Clean Fail: Check Cleaning Tape	8009	E	O	Cleaning Failed, possibly due to an expired cleaning tape. Action: Use a new Cleaning Cartridge.
Clean Me	2001	E	O	The 7332 requires cleaning. Action: Use a Cleaning Cartridge to clean the drive.
Cleaning	1008	S		A Cleaning Cartridge has been inserted into the drive and cleaning is being done.
Close Door	2006	E	F	The front panel door is open. Any Autoloader motion will be delayed. Action: Close the front panel door.
Drive Comms Error	8002	E	F	The drive has stopped communicating with the changer mechanism.
Eject Fail	8004	E	F	An eject command has failed, either after you pressed the Eject button or after a host command. Action: Use a new cartridge, or try forcing an eject. To force an eject hold the eject button for 5 seconds. For a detail of the forced eject refer to "Emergency Ejection" in the 7332-220 Setup and operator guide.
Eject Mag	2010	I		This is displayed when you press the Eject button.
Erase	1015	S		The drive is erasing data from the tape.
Error X	8000	E	F	The mechanism has jammed. Action: Press the Eject button to attempt to recover the cartridge. If this fails, power the drive OFF then ON again.
Error: No tape in slot 1	4003	I		The autoloader requires a cartridge is slot 1.
Error: Unable to boot from tape	4001	I		The tape drive cannot boot from Autoloader control tape.
Forced Eject	1023	I		A forced ejection is in progress.
Format	1014	S		A SCSI command to generate a tape is being processed.
FW Check	3002	S		Firmware upgrade data is being checked for compatibility.
FW Data Err	8024	E	F	The autoloader has failed to upgrade the drive firmware, because the new firmware is corrupt. Action: Obtain a good copy of the firmware upgrade.
FW Program	3003	S		The drive is being upgraded with the new firmware.
FW Tape	3005	S		The cartridge loaded in the drive mechanism is a firmware upgrade tape.
FW Upgrade	3001	S		Firmware upgrade data is being read either through a tape or the SCSI bus.
FW Read Fail	8025	E	F	A firmware upgrade failed because of an error in reading data from the tape. Action: Try again
FW Tape Write Protected	8027	E	F	A firmware upgrade failed because the tape is write protected. Action: Change the write protect tab on the tape and try again
FW Write Fail	8026	E	F	A firmware upgrade failed because of an error in writing a modified upgrade count to the tape. Action: Try again
Insert Mag	2002	S		The autoloader is waiting for you to insert a magazine.
Language		I		Available languages will be displayed Action: Release the eject button when the desired language is displayed.
Load Fail: Try New Tape	8003	E	F	A load command has failed to read the System area of the tape. Action: Use a new cartridge.
Load Fail: Press Eject	8007	E	F	A load command has failed, or a load or change partitions command has failed to read the System area of the tape. Action: Press the eject button.
Load Lock	1021	I		Manual loading is locked. Prevent Media Removal is in operation. displayed.
Load Tape	2009	I		This is displayed when you press the Load Tape Button.
Loading	1003	S		Either a cartridge is being moved from the magazine and placed into the drive mechanism, or the drive is loading a cartridge.
Locate	1016	S		The drive is moving the tape to point specified by the host.
Mag Check	1002	S		The autoloader is examining the magazine to find which slots are occupied.
Mag Eject	1001	S		The autoloader is ejecting the magazine.
Mag Loaded	1006	S		A magazine is present in the autoloader and the magazine check has been carried out.
Media Removal Prevented	8005	E	F	An eject command has been attempted when Media Removal Prevention is in force. Action: Try again when the Media Removal Prevention has been removed. This can be achieved by the host sending a SCSI Allow Medium Removal command, or by resetting the autoloader, or cycling the power OFF then ON again.
New FW!!!!	3004	S		The firmware upgrade process has been successfully completed.
No EOD Mark	8016	E	F	The drive is trying to read what appears to be a blank tape (one with no DDS-Format EOD pattern). This is probably a result of a power failure while writing the tape.
Press Eject	2007	I		Press the Eject Button.
Read Fail	8012	E	F	A READ has failed. The host should reposition and try again.
Rewind	1013	S		The drive is rewinding the tape.
SCSI Error	8020	E	R	A SCSI command error has been detected. Action: Check the SCSI interface connection and try again.
Search <<	1012	S		The drive is searching for a record, filemark, setmark, or Beginning of Data(BOD) toward the beginning of the tape.
Search >>	1011	S		The drive is searching for a record, filemark, setmark, or End of Data(EOD) toward the end of the tape.
Select Lock	1022	I		Tape selection is locked. SCSI Prevent Medium Removal is in operation.
Select Tape	2008	I		This is displayed when you press the Select button, and for a short time after the button is released.
Self Test	0000	S		The autoloader is preforming its power-on self-test.
Semi Loaded	1007	S		A cartridge is in the drive but not loaded.
Stray Tape: Insert Empty Mag	2003	I		There is a cartridge in the autoloader but there is no magazine present to put it into. Action: Insert an empty magazine to retrieve the cartridge.
Tape Fault	8006	E	F	The cartridge in the drive is faulty, possibly because the tape has snapped, or the cartridge has an invalid pattern of identification holes. Action: Use a new cartridge and insure it is a DDS2, DDS3, or DDS4 cartridge.
Tape Full	1024	E	F	A READ, SPACE, WRITE, or WRITE Filemark command encountered End Of Tape(EOT) unexpectedly. When reading this may mean the required data is on the next cartridge.
Tape has DC data	8019	E	F	A READ command has encountered compressed data on the tape, and the drive is not currently configured to decompress data. The host may have disabled data compression. Action: Check that the host has not disabled data compression.
Tape Position Lost	8013	E	F	A WRITE, READ, SPACE, or REWIND command has failed to complete. The Tape is positioned on the far side of the bad data.
Tape Stuck	8008	E	F	The cartridge is stuck in the drive. Action: Try forcing an eject. To force an eject hold the eject button for 5 seconds. For a detail of the forced eject refer to "Emergency Ejection" in the 7332-220 Setup and operator guide.
Unable to boot Cleaning tape	4002	I		The system cannot boot from a cleaning tape.
Unloading	1004	S		Either the drive is unloading a cartridge, or a cartridge is being ejected from the drive and replaced in the magazine.
Upgrade Err	8022	E	F	The autoloader has failed to download an upgrade of the firmware via SCSI. Action: Check the SCSI connection and try again.
Worn Media	8015	E	O	A high error rate has been detected while writing, suggesting that the tape is nearing the end of its useful life. Action: Copy any data you wish to keep from the cartridge onto a new cartridge and discard the old cartridge.
Write x.y	1010	S		The drive is writing data to the tape. x.y:1 is the cumulative compression ration since power-on, or since the compression ration was last cleared. For example, Write 2.1 means a compression ratio of 2.1:1. The compression ration is on displayed after about 1 megabyte of data has been written since power-on.
Write Protected Tape	8018	E	F	Protected Tape. A WRITE, WRITE Filemark, or ERASE command has been attempted on a write-protected tape. Action: Remove the cartridge and change it to WRITE enabled.
Write Fail	8010	E	F	Protected Tape. A WRITE, WRITE Filemark, or ERASE command has failed Action: Use a new cartridge.
Write Fail: Clean or use new tape	8003	E	F	The drive could not write to the tape, which may be worn or damaged. Action: Insert a cleaning cartridge to clean the tape drive heads. Ensure the cleaning cartridge has not been used up, or use a new cleaning cartridge. Replace the media or mark the tape as possibly bad.
Wrong FW	8023	E	F	The firmware is not compatible. The drive has not been programmed.

LCD 2 Digit Codes

This chart is a supplement to the 7332-220 Service Guide. Often these two digit codes will indicate that a drive needs to be replace. However some times the cause for these errors is simple to correct and should be attempted instead of replacing the tape drive.

Possible causes for the 2 digit codes are:

• Screws used to secure the tape drive to the drive mounting bracket are too long. These screws can be a maximum of 4mm long, longer screws will interfere with the internal operation of the autoloader.

  Note: The screws used to secure the 7332-220 cover and other parts of the drive are 6mm long.

• Cartridges that are damaged may not operate properly and may impede the operation of the autoloader.

• Improperly mounted or secured labels on cartridges may impede the operation of the autoloader.

• Loose or damaged SCSI cable inside the 7332-220.

In general:

• Remove any cartridge from the drive. If the cartridge will not eject, recycle power to the tape drive.

• Remove the magazine.

• Recycle power to the tape drive.

• Try a different cartridge.

• Check cables, terminators, system connections, etc.

• Check for other causes for interference to the magazine.

Definitions

The following is a description of the R, X, Y, and Z motions:

• R-motion:
  The rotational movement of the carousel inside the autoloader.

• X-motion:
  The movement of the picker arm in an autoloader when moving the cartridges in and out of the magazine.

• Y-motion:
  The movement up and down of the platform in an autoloader when carrying cartridges between the magazine and the drive.

• Z-motion:
  The motion of the magazine transport in an autoloader when it takes a magazine that the user has inserted and conveys it to the carousel. The same motion in reverse is used to eject the magazine.

Table 5. LCD 2 Digit Error Display

Code	Description	LCD
61	Z-motor jammed while loading or ejecting the magazine	8	While pulling in
		9	While reversing load
		10	While pushing out
		11	While starting to unload
		12	While unloading
		13	Diagnostic
62	Z-motor has not responded within the time-out period.	16	Completing load
		17	Loading a magazine
		18	Pulling the magazine in
		19	Starting the unload
		20	Unloading the magazine
		21	Diagnostic
63	A magazine load was attempted, but no magazine was in the autoloader. This should never occur and is likely a firmware error.	24	Magazine not loaded
		25	Magazine reinserted
64	The R-motor is jammed, failing to rotate the carousel.	32	Leaving the home position
		33	Moving away from the home position
		34	Turning to the away position
		35	Leaving the away position
		36	Moving away from the away position
		37	Turning to the home position
		38	Recovering position
65	The R-motor has not responded within the time-out period	40	Leaving the home position
		42	Unexpected home R-switch
		43	Turning to the away position
		44	Unexpected away R-switch
		45	Turning to the home position
		46	Recovering position
66	The Y-motor has not responded within the time-out period on upward motion	48	At power-on
		49	Going up to the home position
		50	Going up
		51	Going up to the slot
		52	Going up with the cartridge
		53	Going up to the slot with the cartridge
		54	Leaving the door open
		55	Closing the door
67	The Y-motor is jammed on upward motion	56	At power-on
		57	Going up to the home position
		58	Going up
		59	Going up to the slot
		60	Going up with the cartridge
		61	Going up to the slot with the cartridge
		62	Leaving the door open
		63	Closing the door
68	The Y-motor is jammed on downward motion	64	Going down to the home position
		65	going down
		66	Going down to the slot
		67	Going down with a cartridge
		68	Going down to the slot with a cartridge
		69	Going below the home position
		70	Going down to the door
		71	Opening the door
69	The X-motor is jammed with the picker arm forward or backward	72	Looking for a slot
		73	Moving in with a cartridge
		74	Moving in with a cartridge, the picker arm is open
		75	Moving in without a cartridge
		76	Moving in without a cartridge, the picker arm is open
		77	Moving out without a cartridge
		78	Moving out without a cartridge, the picker arm is closed
		79	Moving out with the cartridge
6A	The X-motor has not responded within the time-out period	80	Looking for a slot
		81	Moving in with a cartridge
		82	Moving in with a cartridge, the picker arm is open
		83	Moving in without a cartridge
		84	Moving in without a cartridge, the picker arm is open
		85	Moving out without a cartridge
		86	Moving out without a cartridge, the picker arm is closed
		87	Moving out with the cartridge
6B	There is no cartridge on the platform when one was expected	88	In the home position
		89	With the door open
		90	At completion
		91	Unexpectedly
		92	No cartridge in the magazine
		93	Already on the platform at the start of the load
6C	There is a cartridge on the platform when there should not be one	96	In the home position
		97	With the door open
		98	At completion
		99	Unexpectedly
		100	Cartridge is still in the picker arm
		101	Already on the platform at the start of the load
6D	The door is open after a magazine has been inserted, or after an attempt to lock it	104	After a load
		105	When the door is locked
		106	Door did not close
		107	Lock broken
6E	A cartridge in the picker fingers has become loose	112	During X-motion
		113	During upward Y-motion
		114	During Y-motion up to the slot
		115	During downward Y-motion
		116	During Y-motion down to the slot
		117	During unload
6F	The tape has not been loaded in the drive successfully, even though the changer mechanism has apparently delivered it successfully.	120	Premature ejection. The drive accepted the tape, but then had a problem, such as a snapped tape or misload.
		121	The drive failed to induct the cartridge, probably because of a changer mechanism problem
70	The X-motor is jammed	128	Approaching the door without a cartridge
		129	Approaching the door with a cartridge
		130	Leaving the cartridge
		131	Looking for no slot
		132	Pushing the cartridge
71	The X-motor has not responded within the time-out period	136	Approaching the door without a cartridge
		137	Approaching the door with a cartridge
		138	Looking for no slot
		139	Pushing the cartridge
		140	Retrying initialization
72	The diagnostic to test sensor status detected that the sensor is inactive. This is not necessarily a fault.	144
73	The Y-motor has not responded within the time-out period on downward motion	152	Going down to the home position
		153	Going down
		154	Going down to the slot
		155	Going down with a cartridge
		156	Going down to the slot with a cartridge
		157	Going down below the home position
		158	Going down to the door
		159	Opening the door
74	A cartridge has been accidentally pushed into the drive. The cartridge was then either physically loaded, or ejected and returned to the magazine.	160	Cartridge pushed into drive
		161	Unload pushed into drive
75	A cartridge has been inserted into the drive but has not been successfully loaded or ejected.	168	Cartridge pushed into drive
		169	Stuck in the drive after an unload
76	The door has failed to open	176
77	An unsupported or unrecognizable medium changer-type command has been sent to the autoloader. Alternatively, the parameters for the command are inadequate, or out of range. This code indicates a firmware defect.	184	This is a possible host application error.
78	A command has been received that expects a magazine in the autoloader, and there is none.	192	This is a possible host application error.
79	A command requesting the autoloader to insert a tape in the drive has been received, and there is already a tape in the drive.	200	This is a possible host application error.
7A	The current magazine location already has a cartridge in it.	208	This is a possible host application error.
7B	The host has sent a LOG SENSE or LOG SELECT command with an invalid page code.	216	This is a possible host application error.
7C	The host has issued a command with an invalid magazine slot(that is not in the range of 1-6).	200	This is a possible host application error.
7D	The current magazine slot is empty, when it was expected to contain a cartridge	232	This is a possible host application error.
7E	A diagnostic has been sent, but the autoloader is not in diagnostic mode.	240
7F	Communications between the drive and the front panel display have been aborted. This is an internal error code.	248

VXA Tape Drives

VXA-2 80GB Tape Drive

LED's description are from left to right. The meaning of the LED's are:

Table 6. LED Information

Green On Power On Indicator	Green On Activity(Tape/SCSI bus) Indicator	Amber On Cleaning Required Indicator		Amber Flashing/On Fault/Over Temperature Indicator	Description of what the LED(s) are indicating.
On	On	On		On	Power On test in operation, On for 2 seconds
Flashing	Off	Off		Off	Power On Self Test(POST) in operation
Off	Off	Off		Off	Cartridge not loaded or drive not powered on
Off	Off	On		Off	Cartridge not loaded and Drive Cleaning is Required
On	Off	On or Off		Off	Cartridge loaded and no tape motion or SCSI bus activity
On	Flashing	On or Off		Off	Cartridge loaded and tape motion or SCSI bus activity
On	Off	On		Off	Cartridge loaded and Drive Cleaning is Required
On	Flashing	On		Off	Cartridge loaded and tape motion and Drive Cleaning is required
Off	Flashing	On or Off		Off	Cartridge loading or unloading
Off	Flashing	On		Off	Cartridge loading or unloading and Drive Cleaning is required
On or Off	Off	On or Off		Flashing	Unrecovered drive failure or microcode download failure. Hold eject button in for 10 seconds to cause the drive to reset to clear the fault indication. If this does not clear the fault indication the drive must be powered Off then back On to clear the fault indication.
Flashing	Off	On or Off		Off	Microcode is being Downloaded and Verified in the tape drive.
Flashing	Flashing	On or Off		Off	Microcode is being Updated in the tape drive.
Off	Off	On or Off		On	The tape drive has exceeded its designed maximum internal operating temperature of 47 Degrees Centigrade. The tape will be ejected, if present. The Over Temperature/Fault LED will stay ON until the internal drive temperature goes below the preset maximum temperature. Note: AIX will see the over temperature condition as if the tape drive went from ready to not ready. No error will be logged in the AIX error log.

8mm Tape Drives

2.3GB 8mm tape drive:

LED's description are from left to right. Meaning of the LEDs:

Amber - Read/Write or Disturbance	Green - Ready (Tape Loaded)	Meaning
Off	Off	One of the following conditions: The power is Off The Power On SelfTest(POST) has completed successfully, but no tape cartridge has been inserted.
Off	On	Drive has tape loaded and is ready.
On	On	Drive is performing a Power-on Self Test (POST). (All LED's will remain ON if the drive is powered on and the system to which the drive is connected is powered off or the SCSI cables and terminator are connected to the drive but not to a system.)
Flashing	On	Drive is writing or reading.
On	Off or Flashing	The tape drive has detected an internal fault that requires corrective action. Reset the drive by pressing the blue Eject button. If this does not clear the condition, power the drive off then back on. Internally mounted tape drives may require the system to be shutdown, powered off then powered on to clear the internal fault in the drive. If the condition cannot be cleared using this method, refer to your service guide or system diagnostics for further assistance. The AIX diagnostic command: diag -c -d rmtx <-where x is the tape drive # will issue a reset to the tape drive if AIX is able to communicate with the drive it will issue a reset to the tape drive.

5GB, 7GB, 20GB and 60GB 8mm tape drives:

LED's description are from left to right. Meaning of the LEDs:

Amber - Disturbance	Green - Ready (Magazine Loaded)	Green - Tape and Tape Activity	Meaning
On	*	*	One of the following conditions: The tape path needs cleaning(refer to the tape drive cleaning instructions). A cleaning cartridge has been inserted and the cleaning cartridge has exceeded the maximum number of cleanings for the cleaning cartridge.
On	On	On	The Power-On Self Test(POST) is running (All LED's will remain ON if the drive is powered on and the system to which the drive is connected is powered off or the SCSI cables and terminator are connected to the drive but not to a system.)
Off/On	Off	Off	One of the following conditions: The power is Off The POST has completed successfully, but no tape cartridge has been inserted.
Off/On	On	Off	A tape cartridge has been inserted and the tape drive is ready to receive commands from the system.
Off/On	On	Flashing	A tape cartridge has been inserted and the tape drive is busy running a device operation.
Off/On	Off	Flashing	A tape cartridge has been inserted and the tape drive is performing a tape load/unload operation.
Flashing	*	*	The tape drive has detected an internal fault that requires corrective action. Reset the drive by pressing the blue Eject button. If this does not clear the condition, power the drive off then back on. Internally mounted tape drives may require the system to be shutdown, powered off then powered on to clear the internal fault in the drive. If the condition cannot be cleared using this method, refer to your service guide or system diagnostics for further assistance. The AIX diagnostic command: diag -c -d rmtx <-where x is the tape drive # will issue a reset to the tape drive if AIX is able to communicate with the drive.

Note: Where
* is On, Off, or Flashing

8mm 20GB drive ONLY

Meaning of the LEDs

The next 2 LED settings apply only to the 20GB 8mm drive.
LED's description are from left to right:

Amber - Disturbance	Green - Ready (Magazine Loaded)	Green - Tape and Tape Activity	Meaning
Flashing	Flashing	Flashing	When all 3 LEDs are flashing same as 3 LEDs ON (All LED's can Flash if the drive is powered on and the system to which the drive is connected is powered off or the SCSI cables and terminator are connected to the drive but not to a system.).
Flashing	*	*	The tape drive has detected an internal fault that can either indicate an error, as above, or the system is powered off and the tape drive is powered on and connected to the SCSI cable and terminator, same as 3 LEDs ON condition. The LCD will be showing the last 3 errors

Note: Where
* is On, Off, or Flashing

20GB and 60GB 8mm tape drive LCD messages:

The 16-digit alphanumeric LCD display information:

Display	Meaning
RESET	During the PowerUp Sequence the RESET Message comes up
RESETTING	First to indicate that the drive is going thru the boot sequence. Then after about 5 seconds, the following messages appear in sequence for 3-4 seconds each. These messages indicate the
MODEL: IBM-xxGB	MODEL
SUBMODEL: xxxxxxx	SUBMODEL: EEimage in the drive
SN: xxxxxxxxxx	SN: drive serial number
CODE: aaaaaaa	CODE: microcode level in the drive
LAST CLEAN: xxxhr	LAST CLEAN: hours since last cleaning
COMPRESSION: ON	COMPRESSION: indicates whether data compression mode is ON or OFF
SINGLE ENDED	Single Ended interface.
DIFFERENTIAL	Differential interface.
LV DIFFERENTIAL	Low Voltage Differential(LVD) interface. (LVD drives will show as Single Ended on Single Ended SCSI bus)
WIDE	WIDE interface only
SCSI ID: xx	SCSI ID: number 0-15 While the drive is completing the reset the LEDs show that the drive is in the RESET(Power up or Reset) mode . The drive usually completes the reset before all messages complete. Note: To cause the drive to reset press and hold the eject button until *** RESET is displayed. Releasing the eject button will allow the reset to proceed.
LANGUAGE	If the eject button is held down during the RESET sequence, English the "Language" prompt appears after the "SCSI ID" Deutsch message, followed by a list of the languages in a slow Espanol scrolling sequence. When the desired language appears Francais on the display, the operator releases the button. The Italiano drive RESETS again, even if it is the same language, Portugues and begins with the new/same language.
CLEAN SOON	If the drive cleaning criteria has been reached, the MUST CLEAN CLEAN SOON message displays, with the ICON flashing, CLEANING... during the time that the drive is normally idle, DEPLETED When READY is typically displayed. The Disturbance, AMBER CLEAN LED, is also ON. When the drive has recognized that a clean is in process the word CLEANING... will be displayed during the cleaning process. If the Cleaning Cartridge is at the end of it length, the cartridge is ejected and the DEPLETED message is displayed until a new cleaning cartridge is used or a data tape is installed. When a tape motion command is given, that new message is displayed even though the AMBER CLEAN LED is still on. Then, until the drive is properly cleaned, at each idle opportunity, CLEAN SOON is displayed. Note: MUST CLEAN - (20GB drive only) The MUST CLEAN message is displayed when the tape is switched from MP to AME and the drive cannot be used to write to the AME tape without cleaning the tape drive. Any AME TAPE WILL BE EJECTED until the tape drive is cleaned. After reading an MP tape, the 20GB drive MUST BE CLEANED before being able to use AME tapes, refer to the MUST CLEAN message. After reading MP tapes insert an AME tape and wait for the AME tape to be ejected and the MUST CLEAN message to be displayed before doing this cleaning. This is necessary because there is a special cleaning cycle the tape drive will do when changing from MP to AME media. Cleaning tapes supported by the 2.3GB, 5GB and 7GB 8mm tape drive are NOT supported in this drive, if these cleaning cartridges are inserted the "ILLEGAL TAPE" message will be displayed, and the tape ejected.
READY-NO-TAPE	This message appears at the end of the RESET sequence if no tape is loaded.
LOADING	This message appears when tape is loading. The ICON will flash during this time.
READY-TAPE	This message appears at the end of Loading Tape.
M2 READY-TAPE	(M2)This message appears at the end of Loading Tape.
ILLEGAL TAPE	If a customer inserts an ILLEGAL TAPE, like a cloth cleaning tape, then the tape will be ejected and the ILLEGAL TAPE message will be displayed until a suitable tape is loaded. Note: ILLEGAL TAPE - Only tapes labeled AME can be written by these drives. Tapes labeled 15m, 54m, 112m, or 160m are Metal Particle(MP) and cannot be written. The 20GB drive can read MP tapes, the 60GB drive cannot read MP tapes and it will eject MP tapes. After reading an MP tape, the 20GB drive MUST BE CLEAN ED before being able to use AME tapes, refer to the MUST CLEAN message. After reading MP tapes insert an AME tape and wait for the AME tape to be ejected and the MUST CLEAN message to be displayed before doing this cleaning. This is necessary because there is a special cleaning cycle the tape drive will do when changing from MP to AME media. Cleaning tapes supported by the 2.3GB, 5GB and 7GB 8mm tape drive are NOT supported in this drive, if these cleaning cartridges are inserted the "ILLEGAL TAPE" message will be displayed, and the tape ejected.
EJECT **	This message will be displayed, with the ICON flashing whenever the eject button is pressed and the eventual result is to eject the tape. For example, this message will appear even thought the tape drive is continuing to flush the buffer during a READ or a Write, because the eventual result is to rewind and eject the tape. This will give instant acknowledgement to the operator that the button press was received by the drive. The ICON will change to < < (same as Rewind) when the rewind phase is in process.
EJECT PREVNT	This message will be displayed if the system has issued a "prevent media removal" command and the drive unload button is pressed. The tape will rewind and unload into the tape cartridge, but the cartridge will not eject from the drive.
READ + **	The + sign appears whenever the drive is in compression mode. The boxes show the amount of tape used as a percent of the total tape length. The empty area is shown as equal sign so that the line is complete. There are up to 6 solid squares to follow the message as shown in the following 5 messages.
WRITE + **	The + sign appears whenever the drive is in compression mode.
PROTECTED	If a write is attempted on a Write Protected tape, the PROTECTED message is displayed.
ILLEGAL WRT	The ILLEGAL WRT message is displayed if write is attempted to a for which writing is not supported on this tape drive. This message remains until another tape is inserted that is the correct type or another legal command is issued such as a READ, REWIND, or the eject button is pushed. Note: ILLEGAL WRT - Only tapes labeled AME can be written by these drives. Tapes labeled 15m, 54m, 112m, or 160m are Metal Particle(MP) and cannot be written.
SEARCH **	Used for high speed searching to indicate the position on the cartridge. The display bar will increase or decrease for forward or backward searches.
REWIND **	Self explanatory. Display bar reduces in size as rewind occurs.
ERASE **	Self explanatory. This occurs very quickly for a short erase.
WORN TAPE	This message is displayed when the tape in the drive is beyond the end of its useful life(20,000 passes of the tape drive head over any spot on the tape). This counter is an internal counter that is not accessible to the user. This counter was implemented starting in microcode level 40HA in the 20GB drive and first shipment of 60GB drive. To avoid the possibility of data loss, copy the data you need from this tape to a new tape as soon as possible.
OVER TEMP	The tape drive detected an internal temperature of 47 degrees C or greater. If a data cartridge is in the tape drive when this condition occurs, the tape drive will complete the current tape operation, and then rewind and eject the data cartridge. After the tape drive temperature returns to a normal operating temperature of 42 degrees C or less, the OVER TEMP message continues to display until one of the following occurs: Front-panel reset(press and hold the Unload button. Power cycle(tape drive power is turned off and then on) Tape load(load a tape in the tape drive)
LOADING CODE.. CODE LOAD FAIL RETRY CODE LOAD	If a code load tape is inserted and the tape is recognized as such, or a code load is in process via the SCSI or Monitor port, then the LOADING CODE.. message is displayed. At the completion of the code load, if there was a failure, CODE LOAD FAIL and RETRY CODE LOAD messages scroll. Otherwise, if the code load was successful, the drive will automatically RESET and come READY again.
DIAG-LOAD TAPE DIAG-TESTING DIAG-PASSED DIAG-FAILED DIAG-WRT xx.x% DIAG-READ xx.x% DIAG-ECC xx.x%	If a SCSI Send Diagnostic command is received, or a Diagnostic tape is used, then this series of messages appears. DIAG-LOAD TAPE is used if the command is via SCSI and no tape is present. DIAG-TESTING appears during this test. If the test passes OK, then the DIAG-PASSED appears for 15 seconds. If there is a failure, then DIAG-FAILED appears and the 3 statistics messages appear for 2 seconds each in a rotating loop. Pressing the Eject button to remove the tape will clear this display. Otherwise this message will continue to display DIAG-FAIL(plus the 3 statistics messages) until the drive is RESET.
ERR 1: xx yy zz ERR 2: xx yy zz ERR 3: xx yy zz	Failing error codes displayed when the drive is first powered on or during tape drive operation. Where xx is the fault symptom code. Where yy is the primary error code. Where zz is the secondary error code. Whenever errors are displayed it will be helpful in problem determination if they are written down and provided to support.

Note:
* Indicates that there is an ICON accompanying this message. To see what the ICON looks like you will have to look at a drive or the Operator Guide or the Service guide.
** Progress symbols

DLT Tape Drives

7205-311 35GB DLT tape drive:

There are 10 LEDs on the tape drive and another LED on the 7205-311 power supply. The following is the description of the 10 LEDs on the tape drive:

Left side LEDs(6)

Note:
In a read operation, the indicators will reflect the density and compression status of the pre-written tape.

* On the drive this is an international symbol the wording here is a description of what that symbol means.

Right side LEDs(4)

Note: Not all errors(Flashing LEDs) are drive failures. Media can cause these failures. Before replacing the drive clean the drive and try new media.

LEDs	State	Meaning
All Left LEDs or All Right LEDs	ON	Power On Self Test(POST) has started.
All Left LEDs and All Right LEDs	Flashing	Error was detected during POST.
All Left LEDs	Flashing	Servo controller error was detected.
All Right LEDs**	Flashing	Drive controller error was detected.
Right top 3 LEDs and Right Bottom LED**	On	Drive controller error was detected.
All Right LEDs	Flashing in Sequence	Drive Microcode download failure

Note:
* On the drive this is an international symbol the wording here is a description of what that symbol means.
** Likely caused by a detached leader on the drive, have the drive leader replaced by service personnel and check all tape cartridges as this is normally caused by a leader problem on a tape cartridge.

7205-440 40GB DLT tape drive:

There are 9 LEDs on the tape drive and another LED on the 7205-440 power supply. The following is the description of the 9 LEDs on the tape drive:

Left side LEDs(5)

Label or Symbol*	Color	State	Meaning
10.0/15.0	Green	ON	Tape is recorded in 10.0/15.0GB format
20.0	Green	ON	Tape is recorded in 20.0GB format
35.0	Green	ON	Tape is recorded in 35.0GB format
40.0	Green	ON	Tape is recorded in 40.0GB format
Compression*	Green	ON	Compression mode is enabled.

Note:
In a read operation, the indicators will reflect the density and compression status of the pre-written tape.
* On the drive this is an international symbol the wording here is a description of what that symbol means.

Right side LEDs(4)

Note: Not all errors(Flashing LEDs) are drive failures. Media can cause these failures. Before replacing the drive clean the drive and try new media.

LEDs	State	Meaning
All Left LEDs or All Right LEDs	ON	Power On Self Test(POST) has started.
All Left LEDs and All Right LEDs	Flashing	Error was detected during POST.
All Left LEDs	Flashing	Servo controller error was detected.
All Right LEDs**	Flashing	Drive controller error was detected.
Right top 3 LEDs and Right Bottom LED**	On	Drive controller error was detected.
All Right LEDs	Flashing in Sequence	Drive Microcode download failure

Note:
* On the drive this is an international symbol the wording here is a description of what that symbol means.
** Likely caused by a detached leader on the drive, have the drive leader replaced by service personnel and check all tape cartridges as this is normally caused by a leader problem on a tape cartridge.

7205-550 160GB DLT tape drive:

There are 3 LEDs on the tape drive and another LED on the 7205-550 power supply. The following is the description of the 3 LEDs on the tape drive:

LEDs meanings from Left to Right

Note:
* On the drive this is an international symbol the wording here is a description of what that symbol means.

Tape Drive Performance/Reliability Checklist

The Tape Drive Performance/Reliability Checklist is an overview of how to evaluate and prevent tape drive problems.

Media Selection

Media selection is very important as improper or low grade media will not work properly with the tape drive.

• Use only the tape cartridges supported by your tape drive.
• These must be high quality data grade media, such as the IBM data grade cartridge originally supplied with your drive.
• Don't attempt to write on previously written software distribution tapes. Often these tapes will not support being rewritten without modifications to the cartridge. If the cartridges are modified it is possible to cause tape jams or misalignment.

Media Replacement

Cartridges which are used regularly (e.g. daily/weekly backup tapes) should be discarded after about a hundred uses. Cartridges which are in use when media-related errors are reported by your backup application, or are physically dropped, or are exposed to extremely harsh environments should be discarded.

Media Storage

Proper media handling and storage is important to reduce the chance of damage to the media.

• Protect your cartridges from particulate contamination when they're not in use. Put each cartridge in its protective case or place the cartridge in a dust-tight container designed for tape cartridge storage.
• Keep your cartridges in an area where the temperature and humidity are comfortable for you and are relatively constant.
• Orient cartridges in storage so that their cases are on an edge (vs flat). If cartridges are moved between areas whose temperature or humidity differ greatly, let the cartridge adapt for several hours prior to use.

Cleaning Cartridge Selection/Usage

Proper cleaning is important to reduce errors and rereads/rewrites.

• Use only the cleaning cartridges supported by your tape drive. These must be high quality cartridges, such as the IBM cleaning cartridge originally supplied with your drive.
• Refer to the "Media Selection" for proper cleaning cartridge part numbers and their minimum recommended usage.
• Cleaning Cartridges often are specifically designed for specific drive usage, use only the cleaning cartridge specified for the drive being used.
• The need to clean a tape drive is often indicated by an message on the tape drives display or by a cleaning indicator, such as an Amber LED on the drive being on solid(not flashing).
• Clean the tape drive after any media related error is encountered.
• Mark the cleaning cartridge usage counter every time the cartridge is used.
• Often it is possible to observe the remaining cleaning material through the cartridge's window and discard the cartridge when fully used.

Environment

Locate your tape drive at table top level or higher and away from sources of particulate contamination such as outside doorways, high foot traffic areas, printers, and copiers. Maintain comfortable temperature and humidity (ideally 30-40% Relative Humidity) when the tape drive is in use. Note that this may require a timing adjustment of nighttime setbacks. Minimize the amount of time cartridges spend in the drive when not in actual use.

Troubleshooting

If a backup failure occurs, try cleaning the drive and retrying the operation with a new cartridge. Verify that this checklist's recommendations are being followed by the system's operators. Look for trends, process changes, and/or environmental changes. Avoid mechanical loading problems by placing labels only in the designated cartridge spine and top locations and assuring that they are not peeling off or more than two layers thick. Contact your IBM CE if problems persist.

Note: The TAPE DRIVE PERFORMANCE/RELIABILITY CHECKLIST is based on the copyrighted "8MM PERFORMANCE/RELIABILITY CHECKLIST" by the Exabyte Corporation and is distributed free of charge with Exabyte Corporation permission.

Tape Drive Error Information

Details AIX Error Log entries(errpt -a) for tape entries:

Label	Identifier	Likely Cause of Error Log Entry	Effect on User Application	Diagnostic Calls out
TAPE_ERR1	0x4865fa9b	Media (hard error)*	I/O Error	Media
TAPE_ERR2	0x476b351d	H/W(but media can cause H/W errors)*	I/O Error	Drive/Dirty drive/Media
TAPE_ERR3	0xe64ec259	Media (soft error)**	No effect(Not Seen by Application)	Ignores
TAPE_ERR4	0x5537ac5f	Unknown(Requires further analysis)	I/O Error	Ignores
TAPE_ERR5	0xffe2f73a	Unknown(Requires further analysis)	I/O Error	Ignores
TAPE_ERR6	0xb617e928	Dirty Drive (Cleaning LED ON)***	No effect(Not Seen by Application)	Ignores

Note:

• * 4mm tape drives will flash the Amber LED
• ** 4mm tape drives will put the Amber LED on solid
• *** 8mm 5GB, & 7GB put the Amber LED on solid after 30 hours of tape motion without the drive being cleaned. 8mm 20GB put the Amber LED on solid after 70 hours of tape motion with AME media and 20 hours with MP media.  
  
• 8mm 2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB, & 20GB tape drives will log a TAPE_ERR3 when: Rewrite % is equal to or greater than 2% with at least 100mb of data written,
  or
  Reread % is equal to or greater than 1% with at least 20mb of data read.
• The 20GB drive MUST BE CLEANED after using 15m, 54m, 112m, or 160m length media before any subsequent write operation will be allowed.
• TAPE_ERR3 and TAPE_ERR6 are "soft errors" that are posted to the AIX error log. In other words, neither error terminated the tape operation. They are informational errors that may cause AIX to send an informational message to the user.  
  
• TAPE_ERR4 errors are often found to be caused by noise on the SCSI bus. Noise on the SCSI bus can be caused by one or more of the following:
  • Loose SCSI Cables (reseat and tighten all SCSI connections).
  • Bent pins in the SCSI connection (check all SCSI connections for bent pins).
  • Device is not supported on the SCSI adapter/system(insure device is supported by the SCSI adapter/system).
  • Improper, missing or multiple SCSI bus termination(check SCSI bus termination).
  • SCSI cables(insure the proper IBM SCSI cables are used).
  • SCSI cables exceed the supported length for the bus(check the IBM information on SCSI bus length).
  • Other SCSI devices on the bus(it may be necessary to remove the other SCSI devices one at a time to determine device causing the problem).

Tape Drive Problem Determination

Details the steps that should be taken to resolve problems.

Tape drives are very expensive and often are not the reason a tape cannot be read or written. Often the problem is caused by one or more of the following:

• Not cleaning the tape drive, using cleaning cartridges that are used up, use of cleaning cartridges that are not supported, not following the recommended cleaning frequency, or cleaning instructions.
• Not cleaning the tape drive after an I/O error prior to retrying the failing operation.
• Poor Quality media, or worn out media being used. Clean the drive and retest the operation with a new IBM data cartridge recommended for the drive.
• Misunderstanding of the meaning of the LED's on the tape drive.
• Environment not suitable for tape drive operation.
• PTF's level of the system does not support the tape drive.
• Bad blocksize, attempts to read at one blocksize and the tape is written at another. Or the blocksize, attempting to write at is preceded by a 0 (ZERO), 0512 is not the same as 512. The zero is recognized by the system as Octal and some applications do not support Octal values.
• Device buffering turned off causing the drive to write every block of data as it is received. Normal operation is to buffer the data allowing the drive to stream the data to the tape as a continuous operation.
• Writing a tape with one command then attempting to read the tape with a non compatible command, such as: writing the tape with a "tar" command and attempting to read the tape with a "restore" command.
• Improper SCSI bus termination.
• Conflict of tape drives SCSI address with another device on the bus.
• Electrical problems with the electrical power going to the system and the tape drive. This could be no electrical ground, poor electrical ground, measurable voltage on the ground or neutral, etc..
  This is not for the user to check, a trained professional should check this.
• Other device causing "noise" on the bus.

Problem Determination Steps

When experiencing problems with IBM tape drives, 1/4", 4mm, 8mm, DLT, or VXA tape drives you should do the following before placing a service call:

Cleaning the tape drive

It is very important to follow the recommended cleaning information provided with the tape drive. If the tape drive is not cleaned properly even new media may not perform properly.

Do not over clean the tape drive as over cleaning can damage the tape drive, follow the cleaning information provided with the drive.

If the recommended cleaning schedule or non IBM cleaning cartridges have been used it may be necessary to clean the tape drive more than once to get the drive fully cleaned.

Clean the tape drive using the IBM Cleaning Cartridge:

1/4" Tape Drives

Note: * May be used for up to 50 cleanings

4mm Tape Drives

	Model	Description	Cleaning Cartridge P/N
4mm 2GB drive	7206-001	DDS1(DDS||||)	21F8763*
4mm Internal Autoloader		DDS2	21F8763*
4mm 4GB drive	7206-005 7332-005	DDS2	21F8763*
4mm 12GB drive	7206-110 7332-110	DDS3	21F8763*
4mm 20GB drive	7206-220 7332-220 7212-102	DDS4	21F8764*
4mm 36GB drive	7206-336 7212-102	DAT72	21F8764*

Note: * May be used for up to 50 cleanings

VXA Tape Drives

Note: * May be used for up to 20 cleanings

8mm Tape Drives

Note:
* May be used for up to 12 cleanings
** May be used for up to 22 cleanings
*** May be used for up to 18+ cleanings(The drive varies the cleaning media usage. The drive will display "Expired" Message and Clean LED(AMBER on solid) if an expired, maximum number of cleanings, cleaning cartridge is inserted into the drive.)

DLT Tape Drives

Note: * May be used for up to 20 cleanings

Check the media

Often media problems cause unnecessary drive replacements.

If an user application is failing with media(I/O) errors to a tape drive:

• Check what type and brand of media being used and insure it is supported on the tape drive.
• Clean the tape drive with the appropriate IBM cleaning cartridge.
• After cleaning the tape drive retry the application, and if it fails again, clean the drive again, and retry the operation on new IBM media.

This will often result in replacing a single data cartridge that resolves the problem.

1/4" Tape Drives

Note:
* Drive must have a microcode level of 0345 or higher to use this tape.
** Withdrawn(obsolete)

4mm Tape Drives

Note: Do not change the default density settings in AIX for the 4mm tape drive as the 4mm tape drives do automatic media sensing and write and read the correct format for each tape. Changing the default density settings may cause unpredictable results.

	Model	Description	Data Cartridge P/N
4mm 2GB drive	7206-001	DDS1(DDS||||)	21F8754
4mm 4GB drive	7206-005 7332-005	DDS2	8191151
		DDS1(DDS||||)	21F8754
4mm 12GB drive	7206-110 7332-110	DDS3	59H3465
		DDS2	8191151
		DDS1(DDS||||)	21F8754
4mm 20GB drive*	7206-220 7332-220 7212-102	DDS4	59H4458
		DDS3	59H3465
		DDS2	8191151
		DDS1(DDS||||) is not supported
4mm 36GB drive**	7206-336 7212-102	DAT72	18P7912
		DDS4	59H4458
		DDS3	59H3465
		DDS2 is not supported	8191151
		DDS1(DDS||||) is not supported

Note:
* Tapes that are not DDS4, or DDS3, or DDS2 are not supported and will eject when inserted into the 20GB 4mm DDS4 tape drive or DDS4 Autoloader.
** Tapes that are not DAT72, or DDS4, or DDS4 are not supported and will eject when inserted into the 36GB 4mm DAT72 tape drive.

VXA Tape Drives

The Smit density setting for VXA2 format/capacity is "129".
The Smit density setting for VXA1 format/capacity is "128".

	Model	Description	Data Cartridge P/N	Density Setting	Media Description
VXA 80GB drive	7206-VX2	V6	19P4878	129, 128	20GB Blue accent
		V10	N/A	129, 128	40GB Orange accent
		V17	19P4877	129, 128	59GB Red accent
		V23	19P4876	129	80GB Purple accent

8mm Tape drives

2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB and 20GB Drive/Media Capacity

Each 8mm tape drive only supports specific media, the following data will give you information that can be used to make an informed decision on what media to use:

• 8mm media of 15m, 54m, 112m, or 160m length are Metal Particle(MP) media.
• 8mm media of 22m, 45m, 75m, 125m, 150m, 170m or 225m length are Advanced Metal Evaporated(AME) media. Use the AME media on 20GB and 60GB drives ONLY. MP media can only be read on the 20GB drives.
• 8mm drives with 2.3GB or 5.0GB capacity Read/Write 15m, 54m, or 112m length "MP" media only.
• 8mm drives with 7.0GB capacity Read/Write 15m, 54m, 112m, or 160m length "MP" media only.
• 8mm drives with 20.0GB capacity can only Read 15m, 54m, 112m, or 160m length "MP" media.
• 8mm drives with 20.0GB capacity can Read/Write ONLY on 22m, or 170m length "AME" media.
  If the 22m or 170m AME tape has been written in 60GB format, the tape cannot be read by the 20GB drive, it can be rewritten by the 20GB drive as if the tape were blank.
• AME data tapes of lengths: 45m, 75m, 125m, 150m, and 225m are not supported on the IBM 2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB, and 20GB 8mm tape drives
• 8mm media of 22m, 160m, and 170m should bear the Recognition System Logo.

The following chart shows data interchange using IBM data grade tapes among 8mm 2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB, 20GB, and 60GB tape drives. The chart list the external model types as an example but the data applies to the internal versions of the drives also.

Drive	2.3GB NonC **	2.3GB Compress **	5GB NonC **	5GB Compress **	7GB NonC **	7GB Compress **	20GB NonC - Compress **	60GB NonC - Compress **
7208-001(2.3GB)	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
7208-011(5GB)	R/W D=20*	R	R/W D=21*	R/W D=140	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
7331-205(7GB)	R/W D=20*	R	R/W D=21*	R/W D=140	N/S	R/W D=140	N/S	N/S
7208-341(20GB) 7331-305(20GB)	R#	N/S	R#	R#	R#	R#	R/W	N/S
7208-345(60GB) 7334-410(60GB)	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R	R/W

2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB, 20GB and 60GB supported media

The following chart shows chart shows the supported IBM data grade tapes usage 8mm 2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB, 20GB, and 60GB tape drives.

Drive	15m MP	54m MP	112m MP	160m MP	22m AME	45m AME	75m AME	125m AME	150m AME	170m AME	225m AME	Cleaning
2.3GB	R/W N/A	R/W N/A	R/W 21F8575	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	30hr/Monthly 16G8467
5GB	R/W N/A	R/W N/A	R/W 21F8575	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	Amber LED 16G8467
7GB	R/W N/A	R/W N/A	R/W 21F8575	R/W 87G1603	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	Amber LED 16G8467
20GB	R# N/A	R# N/A	R# 21F8575	R# 87G1603	R/W 59H2671	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W 59H2678	N/S	Amber LED 35L1409
60GB	N/S Eject	N/S Eject	N/S Eject	N/S Eject	R/W*** 59H2671	R/W*** N/A	R/W*** 35L1044	R/W*** N/A	R/W*** 09L5323	R/W*** 59H2678	R/W 18P6484	Amber LED 35L1409

Note:

• Compress - Compression Capable
• NonC - Non Compression Capable
• R/W - This drive can both Read and Write this media.
• R - This drive can ONLY Read from this media. The drive cannot write on this media.
• N/S - Not Supported.
• N/A - No IBM media Available.
• D= - Density setting
• Eject- The drive will eject this media.  
  
• # This media is Metal Particle(MP) the 20GB drive MUST BE CLEANED after reading this media prior using Advanced Metal Evaporated(AME) media. When you are ready to use AME media insert the AME media and let the drive eject the AME media. The drive then is to be cleaned. Cleaning the drive prior to inserting the AME will still require the drive to be cleaned again as the drive will eject the AME media and display the MUST CLEAN message.
• * Use the Density setting to write this format/capacity with this drive.
• ** Data interchange between the 2.3GB, 5GB, and 7GB tape drives is ONLY capable on the 15m, 54m or 112m Data Cartridges, not on the 160m.
  
• *** The 60GB drive can Read tapes written by the 20GB drive but cannot write tapes that can be Read by the 20GB drive. Tapes written by the 60GB drive can only be read on a 60GB drive.

20GB and 60GB tape drive interchange

The following chart shows data interchange using the IBM 8mm data grade tape between the 8mm 20GB and 60GB tape drives. The chart lists the external model type as the example but the data applies to the internal versions of the 20GB drive also.

• Metal Particle(MP) media is not supported in the 60GB tape drive and is ejected. MP media is normally 15m, 54m, 112m, 160m lengths.
• MP media can only be read on the 20GB drives.
• Advanced Metal Evaporated(AME) media is available in 22m, 45m, 75m, 125m, 150m, 170m, or 225m lengths.
• AME "SmartClean" data cartridges contain a build in cleaning capability. Cartridges of 75m, 150m, and 225m are "SmartClean" Cartridges.
• AME media of 22m, or 170m length are the only AME media supported in the 20GB drive.
• Format is a term used to describe the way a tape is written.
• The 20GB 8mm tape drive ONLY writes/reads a "Mammoth" format.
• The 60GB 8mm tape drive ONLY writes "Mammoth2(M2)" format.
• The 60GB 8mm tape drive READS "Mammoth" or "Mammoth2(M2)" format.
• It is not possible to write data on a 60GB drive and read the data on the 20GB drive.
• If the 22m or 170m AME tape has been written by a 60GB 8mm drive the tape cannot be read by the 20GB drive. The 20GB drive will treat this tape as if the tape were a blank tape.
• There is no need to use density settings for writing or reading tapes on either the 20GB or the 60GB drives as the drives do automatic media and tape format recognition.

Drive	20GB	60GB
7208-341(20GB)	R/W*	N/S
7331-305(20GB)	R/W*	N/S
7208-345(60GB)	R**	R/W**
7334-410(60GB)	R**	R/W**

Note:

• R/W - This drive can both Read and Write this media.
• R - This drive can ONLY Read from this media. The 60GB drive cannot write a format that can be read by the 20GB 8mm drive.
• N/S - Not Supported  
  
• * Media must be 22m or 170m AME ONLY.
• ** The 60GB drive can read Mammoth or M2 format but can only write M2 format.

DLT Tape Drives

The following chart shows the various DLT media and their IBM Part number and the associated density setting:

	Model	Type of Cartridge	Non Compressed Capacity	Compressed Capacity	Data Cartridge P/N	Density Setting
35GB drive	7205-311 7337-305	DLTtapeIII	2.6GB	2.6GB Compression not supported	N/A	23
			6GB	6GB Compression not supported	N/A	24
			10GB	20GB	N/A	25
		DLTtapeIIIxt	15GB	30GB	59H3411	25
		DLTIV	20GB	40GB	59H3040	26
			35GB	70GB	59H3040	27
40GB drive	7205-440 7337-360	DLTtapeIII	2.6GB	2.6GB Compression not supported	N/A	23
			6GB	6GB Compression not supported	N/A	24
			10GB	20GB	N/A	25
		DLTtapeIIIxt	15GB	30GB	59H3411	25
		DLTIV	20GB	40GB	59H3040	26
			35GB	70GB	59H3040	27
			40GB	80GB	59H3040	65
160GB drive	7205-550	SDLT	110GB	220GB	35L1119	72
			160GB	320GB	35L1119	73

Note: DLTtapeIV, DLTtapeIIIxt, and DLTtapeIII are the trademarks of Quantum Corp.

Microcode Level

The Tape Drives Microcode level is important in that there have been many fixes for problems incorporated in the new levels of microcode. The level of microcode in the drive is field upgradeable without changing the tape drive. User installable microcode is available from the WEB at:
download.html

Determine Microcode Level

To determine the microcode level in the tape drive use the following AIX command:
lscfg -vl rmt0 <- the Z1 or FW field will show the microcode level

The current microcode levels are:

Format	Capacity	Model	Description	Current Microcode Level
1/4"	1.2GB Drive	7207-012		I07:24
	4GB Drive	7207-122		0940
	13GB Drive	7207-315		0345
	30GB Drive	7207-330		0534
4mm	4GB Drive	7206-005	DDS2	4Co0	<--- Generation 1 drive
				5ALL	<--- Generation 2 drive
				6640	<--- Generation 3 drive
	4GB Autoloader	7332-005	DDS2	4Co0	<--- Generation 1 drive
				5ALG	<--- Generation 2 drive
	4GB Library	7336-205	DDS2	5ALG
	12GB Drive	7206-110	DDS3	758B
	12 GB Autoloader	7332-110	DDS3	758B
	20GB Drive	7206-220	DDS4	C209
	20GB Autoloader	7332-220	DDS4	H210
	36GB Drive	7206-336	DAT72	V308
VXA	80GB Drive	7206-VX2	VXA-2	100E
8mm	5GB Drive	7208-011		807A
	7GB Library	7331-205		807A
	20GB Drive	7208-341	Mammoth	41eA
	20GB Library	7331-305	Mammoth	41eA
	60GB Drive	7208-345	Mammoth 2	07uR
	60GB Library	7334-410	Mammoth 2	03sR
	60GB Library Controller	7334-410		2.2
DLT	35GB Drive	7205-311	DLT7000	296B	(Also known as V107)
	35GB Library	7337-305 and 306	DLT7000	296B	(Also known as V107)
	35GB Library Controller	7337-305 and 306		1.63
	40GBDrive	7205-311	DLT8000	0255	(Also known as V85)
	40GB Library	7337-360	DLT8000	0255	(Also known as V85)
	40GB Library Controller	7337-360		2.67.0001
	160GB Drive	7205-550	SDLT	3A3A	(Also known as V58)

AIX Error Log

Review the AIX Error Log for all errors around the time the application was unable to process the tape.

If there is no error in the AIX error log around the time application was unable to process the tape the following would be likely causes of the problem:

• Data cartridge was not appropriate for the operation. For example the application attempted to write to 5GB 8mm media in 20GB 8mm drive.
• A backup was attempted to a data cartridge that was write protected.
• The amount of data being written to the tape exceeded the capacity of the data cartridge.

AIX error log entries of the form: TAPE_ERR1, TAPE_ERR2, or TAPE_ERR3 are normally media related errors that can be corrected by cleaning the tape drive and retrying the operation. If the error occurs again on the same data cartridge, clean the tape drive and use a new IBM data cartridge.

AIX error log entries of the form: TAPE_ERR6 are caused by the tape drive requesting cleaning. Either the tape drive has exceeded the recommended cleaning interval or the tape drive has exceeded the tape drives internal limit for soft errors and is requesting cleaning.

The AIX command to review the AIX error log is:
errpt -a | pg

Read Previously Written Data Cartridge

If there are problems reading previously written data cartridges it may be necessary to determine if there was data previously written to the data cartridge and at what block size the data was written at.

Read tape on another system

If another system is available attempt to read the tape on the other system. If it can read the tape then check the blocksize set in the "good" system to insure it matches the system where the tape could not be read.

Determine block size of previously written tape

It will be necessary to do a dd of the tape to determine if there is data on the data cartridge and also determine the blocksize the data cartridge was written at.

• To determine the blocksize currently set for the tape drive on the system use the AIX command "lsattr". Write down this blocksize:
  lsattr -El rmt0
• Set the tape drives blocksize to 0 (if not already at 0):
  chdev -a block_size=0 -l rmt0
• Determine the blocksize the tape was written at:
  dd if=/dev/rmt0 bs=128k count=1 | wc -c
• Use the chdev command to set the blocksize for the tape.
• Process the tape.
• Set the tape drives blocksize back to the previous setting you wrote down previously.

Verify mksysb table of contents

There may be times when you want to verify the table of contents of a AIX "mksysb" tape without actually restoring the data. The following AIX command will display the table of contents of the mksysb tape:
restore -s4 -Tvqf /dev/rmt0.1

Note:

• You must use the no rewind setting(.1) for this command to work.
• The blocksize set for the tape drive must match the blocksize the tape was written at. If you cannot determine the blocksize the data on the tape was written at, using a blocksize of "0" will enable the tape drive to read the tape but will take a very long time.

Reset the tape drive

There may be times when you want to reset a tape drive to clear an error condition(including stuck tape) without powering off the tape drive. It is possible on most IBM 1/4", 4mm, 8mm, DLT, and VXA tape drives to reset the tape drive by pressing and holding the eject button depressed for 15-30 seconds(drive power must be ON).
Another way to reset the tape drive is to sign on the system with root authorization and issue the AIX command:
diag -c -d

SCSI Address

Determine that there is no conflict of SCSI addresses between the tape drive and any other SCSI device.
lsdev -Cs scsi

Check Connections

For externally attached tape drives check all external SCSI connections. Check all connectors to be sure there are no bent or damaged pins in the connector. Insure all connections are secure, screws or clips are tightly attached.

Check SCSI Termination

For externally attached tape drives check to insure the proper IBM terminator is in use. Check the P/N. Insure the terminators are securely attached.

AIX Diagnostics

To test the tape drive run the tape drive diagnostics using the IBM test tape or diagnostic tape. To run the AIX diagnostics it is necessary to have root access. From the command line enter the AIX command:
diag

AIX Diagnostic Media

1/4" Tape Drives

Note: Diagnostics will fail if the wrong tape is used in the 1/4" drive.

4mm Tape Drives

Note: * Usage is counted and there is a maximum of 50 uses(tape insertions).

VXA Tape Drives

8mm Tape Drives

DLT Tape Drives

Placing a Service Call

Only after all this is done, and the problem persists, should the tape drive service call be placed. When placing a service call have the following information available:

• The type of tape drive you are placing the service call on, 5GB 8mm, or 20GB 4mm, etc..
• The machine type, model, and serial number of the IBM machine where the tape drive is installed. If the tape drive is externally mounted this will be the information from the external enclosure housing the tape drive.
• The type of problem being reported.
• If there were AIX error log entries, what the error log entries were, such as: TAPE_ERR1, TAPE_ERR6, etc..
• Be prepared to assist the support person to do further problem isolation and problem determination, including:
  • You have system access.
  • Have the tape drive test tape or diagnostic tape available.
  • Have the IBM cleaning tape available.
  • Have the failed data cartridges available.
  • Have a new IBM data cartridge available.

Help Desk Guidelines

The following is an outline of how a customer help desk should operate with regard to tape drive operations:

The key to resolving the problems is to determine what is different between success and failure at one site or between sites. To do this the following will help:

• Establish and publish backup practices. This helps all understand the importance of the data being backed up, what is expected to be done, and who is responsible for doing each item.

• Establish and publish help desk procedures. This is helpful to both the help desk and the customer sites. This helps both understand what is expected of each other plus identify what is to be done by each.

• Media must be standardized, sites should get media, both data cartridges and cleaning cartridges from the same source. Provide the sites a simple way to get the data cartridges and cleaning cartridges they need. This reduces the risk of unsupported media from being used.

• Label each data cartridge with the day of the week(on the data cartridge).
  Each site should always have a new sealed spare data cartridge.

• Label each data cartridge and cleaning cartridge with the date the customer first put it in service.

• Manuals shipped from IBM with the system or tape drive need to be kept with the system for Customer and CE use.

• Each tape drive is shipped from IBM with a Diagnostic/Test cartridge. This cartridge needs to be kept with the drive for Customer and CE use.

• Monitor cleaning to insure the tape drives are cleaned when the tape drive requests cleaning.
  The AIX Diagnostic, Task Selection, SCSD Tape Drive Service Aids can be used both locally and remotely to monitor the tape drives need for cleaning. This can be used for the 4GB 1/4", 13GB 1/4", 12GB 4mm, 20GB 4mm, 20GB 8mm, 60GB 8mm, 35GB DLT, 40GB DLT, and VXA tape drives.
• Determine cleaning cartridge status and discard used up cartridges. Each site should always have a new sealed spare cleaning cartridge.

• Monitor backups to determine the following:
  • Insure backup completed successfully
  • Determine the type of backup failure and track the following for that site:
    • Was the backup attempted?
      • Did the backup put an error in the AIX error log.
      • TAPE_ERR1 is likely a media failure.
        Did terminate the backup.
      • TAPE_ERR2 is normally a drive failure, but can be caused by a media failure.
        Did terminate the backup.
      • TAPE_ERR3 is likely media starting to fail.
        Did NOT terminate the backup.
      • TAPE_ERR4 Unknown cause requires further analysis. Often the cause of this error is found to be poor termination of the devices or excessive media errors.
        Did terminate the backup.
      • TAPE_ERR5 Unknown cause requires further analysis.
        Did terminate the backup.
      • TAPE_ERR6 Tape drives log this error when the drive exceeds the preset limit of tape motion hours since the drive was last cleaned or when the drive exceeds an internally set recovered error limit. Some drives also log this error when there is an unrecovered media error.
        Did NOT terminate the backup.
      • Log the day of the week, and track this to determine if one tape is failing or are all failing. This will identify media or drive problems.

• Cleaning a tape drive will not normally damage most tape drives when the approved cleaning cartridge is used. On every backup failure where backup was attempted and failed, the tape drive should be cleaned with the approved cleaning cartridge.

  Note: On some drives over cleaning may damage the drive, review the drive information on cleaning, on those drives follow the drive recommendation.  
  

• Prior to placing a service call attempt a simple backup to another tape cartridge to help determine the cause of the failure. Often replacing a single data cartridge will resolve the problem.

• When a service call is required, allow time and access for the CE to do problem determination and problem correction. This includes allowing the CE time and access to run diagnostics prior to and after parts replacement. It is desirable to allow the CE authorization to run concurrent diagnostics, a special id may be required for this as it requires root authorization. This will allow the CE to do problem determination without having to take the system down for dedicated CE diagnostics.

• Sites that are dusty should keep the system at least 24" off the floor to reduce the exposure to dirt and contamination.

• Sites that show persistent media and drive failures that are following established cleaning and media procedures should be considered for filter enclosures.

Tape Drive Interchange Information

rmt settings

rmt Density settings

Density Settings are the internal control information for the tape drive that tell the drive what format(density) to write a data cartridge at. This is important for both interchanging data with another tape drive or to insure the tape is written to its maximum capacity.
A combination of methods is used to control the tape drive. One combination is to use the AIX program "smit" to set the tape drive density and then use the rmt0.x option to choose which density the tape drive will use.
To use the AIX program "smit" enter the following on the AIX command line:
smit tape
Choose change/show device characteristics.
Select the specific density setting you want(Some tape drives do not need you to select the density setting as they will do automatic media recognition. Drives such as the DDS 4mm, 20GB 8mm, and 60GB 8mm do automatic media recognition.).

rmt retension/rewind settings

The following table shows the use of the rmt with both its tape options and density settings:

rmt D1/D2	Retension*	rewind**
rmt0.0/4	no	yes
rmt0.1/5	no	no
rmt0.2/6	yes	yes
rmt0.3/7	yes	no

Note:
D1 = density 1 used
D2 = density 2 used
* Used on 1/4" drives only, other drives do not do any retension.
** Rewind on open, does not control on insertion.

Formats and Densities

Details the supported tape formats and densities for the 1/4", 4mm, VXA, 8mm, and DLT tape drives.

1/4" QIC-150(7207-001)

1/4" QIC-525(7207-011)

1/4" QIC-1000(7207-012)

1/4" QIC-4GB SLR5(7207-122)

Note: This drive does not support reading or writing QIC-24

Density Settings	15 QIC-120	16 QIC-150	17 QIC-525	21 QIC-1000	34-162 QIC-2GB	38-166 QIC-4GB SLR5-4GB
DC300XLP	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC600A *	R	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6150	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6250 *	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6037	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6320	R/W	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6525 *	R/W	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6080	R/W	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC9100	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W	N/S	N/S
DC9120	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W	N/S	N/S
DC9120SL	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W	N/S	N/S
DC9120XL	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W	N/S	N/S
9200	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W	N/S
DC9200	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W	N/S
DC9200SL	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W	N/S
9210	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC9250XL	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W	N/S
SLR5-4GB	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W
SLR5-4GBSL	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W
DC5010(MLR1)	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
MLR1-16GB	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
MLR1-25GB	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S

1/4" QIC-5010 MLR1(7207-315)

Note: This drive does not support reading or writing QIC-24

Density Settings	15 QIC-120	16 QIC-150	17 QIC-525	21 QIC-1000	34-162 QIC-2GB	38-166 QIC-4GB SLR5-4GB	33 QIC-5010 MLR1
DC300XLP	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC600A *	R	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6150	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6250 *	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6037	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6320	R/W	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6525 *	R/W	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC6080	R/W	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC9100	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC9120	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC9120SL	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC9120XL	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S
9200	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W	N/S	N/S
DC9200	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W	N/S	N/S
DC9200SL	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W	N/S	N/S
9210	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC9250XL	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W-R/W	N/S	N/S
SLR5-4GB	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
SLR5-4GBSL	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
DC5010(MLR1)	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W
MLR1-16GB	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W
MLR1-25GB	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S

Note:

• R/W - This drive can both Read and Write this media.
• R - This drive can ONLY Read from this media. The drive cannot write on this media.
• N/S - Not Supported
• - Non Compression - Compression Default for 4GB is compression 166. Compression is set only by density setting on 4GB. Not Set with Smit Compression setting.
• * These tapes are not recommended for use on this model 7207 due to incompatibility of the media characteristics and the design of this R/W head of this 7207.
• ** These tapes are supported with microcode level 0345 or higher only

7207-315 Significant Item

The following are a few of the AIX commands and blocking information:
 
 backup   <- will either use 32k or 51.2k as default depending if backup
             by name or not.   N/S customer change required.
 tar      <- default is 10k (error in tar manual stating 512kb)
 tar  needs the customer to use at minimum    -N64
 mksysb   <- uses backup on AIX 4.1   N/S customer change required.
 dd   needs the customer to use at minimum  bs=32k
 cpio needs the customer to use at minimum    -C64

Users should insure the blocksize they select is supported by the users application.

1/4" 30GB SLR60(7207-330)

Note:

• R/W - This drive can both Read and Write this media.
• R - This drive can ONLY Read from this media. The drive cannot write on this media.
• N/S - Not Supported

4mm Tape Interchange Information

The following is a chart that shows the interchange using the IBM 4mm data grade tape among the IBM 4mm tape drives.
The chart lists the external model type as the example but the data applies to the internal versions, external autoloader, and library versions of the drive also.

Tape Drive	Non DDS Media	2GB DDS1 DDS||||	4GB DDS2	12GB DDS3	20GB DDS4	36GB DAT72
7206-001(2GB)	R	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
7206-005(4GB)	R	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S
7206-110(12GB)	R	R/W	R/W	R/W	N/S	N/S
7206-220(20GB)	Eject	Eject	R/W	R/W	R/W	N/S
7206-336(36GB)	Eject	Eject	Eject	R/W	R/W	R/W

Notes:

• R/W - This drive can both Read and Write this media.
• R - This drive can ONLY Read from this media. The drive cannot write on this media.
• N/S - Not Supported
• Eject - This media is Not Supported and will be ejected.  
   
  
• There is no need to use density settings for writing or reading tapes as the drives do automatic media and tape format recognition.
• The IBM 2GB 4mm DDS1 tape dives will write/read media with a DDS |||| identification Only.
• The IBM 4GB 4mm DDS2 tape dives will write/read media with a DDS ||||, or DDS2 identification Only.
• The IBM 12GB 4mm DDS3 tape dives will write/read media with a DDS ||||, or DDS2, or DDS3 identification Only.
• The IBM 20GB 4mm DDS4 tape drives will write/read media with a DDS2, or DDS3, or DDS4 identification Only, all other media will be ejected.
• The IBM 36GB 4mm DAT72 tape drives will write/read media with a DDS3, or DDS4, or DAT72 identification Only, all other media will be ejected.
• Media that does not have a DDS ||||, or DDS2, or DDS3 identification are read ONLY on the IBM 2GB, 4GB, and 12GB 4mm tape dives.

VXA Tape Interchange Format

Note:
* VXA1 format is Not Suported(N/S) on V23 media, is ejected from the VXA-1 drive.
D= is the smit density setting for this format.

VXA Tape Capacity

Note:
* VXA1 format is Not Suported(N/S) on V23 media.

8mm Tape Interchange Information

8mm Tape drives

2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB and 20GB Drive/Media Capacity

Each 8mm tape drive only supports specific media, the following data will give you information that can be used to make an informed decision on what media to use:

• 8mm media of 15m, 54m, 112m, or 160m length are Metal Particle(MP) media.
• 8mm media of 22m, 45m, 75m, 125m, 150m, 170m or 225m length are Advanced Metal Evaporated(AME) media. Use the AME media on 20GB and 60GB drives ONLY. MP media can only be read on the 20GB drives.
• 8mm drives with 2.3GB or 5.0GB capacity Read/Write 15m, 54m, or 112m length "MP" media only.
• 8mm drives with 7.0GB capacity Read/Write 15m, 54m, 112m, or 160m length "MP" media only.
• 8mm drives with 20.0GB capacity can only Read 15m, 54m, 112m, or 160m length "MP" media.
• 8mm drives with 20.0GB capacity can Read/Write ONLY on 22m, or 170m length "AME" media.
  If the 22m or 170m AME tape has been written in 60GB format, the tape cannot be read by the 20GB drive, it can be rewritten by the 20GB drive as if the tape were blank.
• AME data tapes of lengths: 45m, 75m, 125m, 150m, and 225m are not supported on the IBM 2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB, and 20GB 8mm tape drives
• 8mm media of 22m, 160m, and 170m should bear the Recognition System Logo.

The following chart shows data interchange using IBM data grade tapes among 8mm 2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB, 20GB, and 60GB tape drives. The chart list the external model types as an example but the data applies to the internal versions of the drives also.

Drive	2.3GB NonC **	2.3GB Compress **	5GB NonC **	5GB Compress **	7GB NonC **	7GB Compress **	20GB NonC - Compress **	60GB NonC - Compress **
7208-001(2.3GB)	R/W	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
7208-011(5GB)	R/W D=20*	R	R/W D=21*	R/W D=140	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S
7331-205(7GB)	R/W D=20*	R	R/W D=21*	R/W D=140	N/S	R/W D=140	N/S	N/S
7208-341(20GB) 7331-305(20GB)	R#	N/S	R#	R#	R#	R#	R/W	N/S
7208-345(60GB) 7334-410(60GB)	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R	R/W

2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB, 20GB and 60GB supported media

The following chart shows chart shows the supported IBM data grade tapes usage 8mm 2.3GB, 5GB, 7GB, 20GB, and 60GB tape drives.

Drive	15m MP	54m MP	112m MP	160m MP	22m AME	45m AME	75m AME	125m AME	150m AME	170m AME	225m AME	Cleaning
2.3GB	R/W N/A	R/W N/A	R/W 21F8575	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	30hr/Monthly 16G8467
5GB	R/W N/A	R/W N/A	R/W 21F8575	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	Amber LED 16G8467
7GB	R/W N/A	R/W N/A	R/W 21F8575	R/W 87G1603	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	Amber LED 16G8467
20GB	R# N/A	R# N/A	R# 21F8575	R# 87G1603	R/W 59H2671	N/S	N/S	N/S	N/S	R/W 59H2678	N/S	Amber LED 35L1409
60GB	N/S Eject	N/S Eject	N/S Eject	N/S Eject	R/W*** 59H2671	R/W*** N/A	R/W*** 35L1044	R/W*** N/A	R/W*** 09L5323	R/W*** 59H2678	R/W 18P6484	Amber LED 35L1409

Note:

• Compress - Compression Capable
• NonC - Non Compression Capable
• R/W - This drive can both Read and Write this media.
• R - This drive can ONLY Read from this media. The drive cannot write on this media.
• N/S - Not Supported.
• N/A - No IBM media Available.
• D= - Density setting
• Eject- The drive will eject this media.  
  
• # This media is Metal Particle(MP) the 20GB drive MUST BE CLEANED after reading this media prior using Advanced Metal Evaporated(AME) media. When you are ready to use AME media insert the AME media and let the drive eject the AME media. The drive then is to be cleaned. Cleaning the drive prior to inserting the AME will still require the drive to be cleaned again as the drive will eject the AME media and display the MUST CLEAN message.
• * Use the Density setting to write this format/capacity with this drive.
• ** Data interchange between the 2.3GB, 5GB, and 7GB tape drives is ONLY capable on the 15m, 54m or 112m Data Cartridges, not on the 160m.
  
• *** The 60GB drive can Read tapes written by the 20GB drive but cannot write tapes that can be Read by the 20GB drive. Tapes written by the 60GB drive can only be read on a 60GB drive.

20GB and 60GB tape drive interchange

The following chart shows data interchange using the IBM 8mm data grade tape between the 8mm 20GB and 60GB tape drives. The chart lists the external model type as the example but the data applies to the internal versions of the 20GB drive also.

• Metal Particle(MP) media is not supported in the 60GB tape drive and is ejected. MP media is normally 15m, 54m, 112m, 160m lengths.
• MP media can only be read on the 20GB drives.
• Advanced Metal Evaporated(AME) media is available in 22m, 45m, 75m, 125m, 150m, 170m, or 225m lengths.
• AME "SmartClean" data cartridges contain a build in cleaning capability. Cartridges of 75m, 150m, and 225m are "SmartClean" Cartridges.
• AME media of 22m, or 170m length are the only AME media supported in the 20GB drive.
• Format is a term used to describe the way a tape is written.
• The 20GB 8mm tape drive ONLY writes/reads a "Mammoth" format.
• The 60GB 8mm tape drive ONLY writes "Mammoth2(M2)" format.
• The 60GB 8mm tape drive READS "Mammoth" or "Mammoth2(M2)" format.
• It is not possible to write data on a 60GB drive and read the data on the 20GB drive.
• If the 22m or 170m AME tape has been written by a 60GB 8mm drive the tape cannot be read by the 20GB drive. The 20GB drive will treat this tape as if the tape were a blank tape.
• There is no need to use density settings for writing or reading tapes on either the 20GB or the 60GB drives as the drives do automatic media and tape format recognition.

Drive	20GB	60GB
7208-341(20GB)	R/W*	N/S
7331-305(20GB)	R/W*	N/S
7208-345(60GB)	R**	R/W**
7334-410(60GB)	R**	R/W**

Note:

• R/W - This drive can both Read and Write this media.
• R - This drive can ONLY Read from this media. The 60GB drive cannot write a format that can be read by the 20GB 8mm drive.
• N/S - Not Supported  
  
• * Media must be 22m or 170m AME ONLY.
• ** The 60GB drive can read Mammoth or M2 format but can only write M2 format.

DLT Tape Interchange Information

DLT Significant Item

 backup   <- will either use 32k or 51.2k as default depending if backup
             by name or not.   N/S customer change required.
 tar      <- default is 10k (error in tar manual stating 512kb)
 tar  needs the customer to use at minimum    -N64
 mksysb   <- uses backup on AIX 4.1   N/S customer change required.
 dd   needs the customer to use at minimum  bs=32k
 cpio needs the customer to use at minimum    -C64

Users should insure the blocksize they select is supported by the users application.

As an example: Using a blocksize of 1024 and backing up 32GB of data will take approximately 22 hours. Same 32GB of data backed up at a block size of 32k will take approximately 2 hours. Small blocksizes have a significant impact on performance but only a minimal impact on capacity. However 2.6 format(density) and 6 format(density) are significantly impacted in capacity by using small blocksizes, they don't pack the data in the drives internal 8k block.

IBM 7205-311 35GB

The following is a chart that shows the interchange using the IBM 7205-311 tape drive.

Supported Cartridge	Density	Compressed Data Capacity	Smit Density Setting
DLTtapeIII	2.6GB 6GB 10GB	2.6GB (No Compression) 6GB (No Compression) 20GB (Default for drive)	23 24 25
DLTtapeIIIxt	15GB	30GB (Default for drive)	25
DLTtapeIV	20GB 35GB	40GB 70GB (Default for drive)	26 27

Notes:

• The 7205 Tape drive only supports the data densities listed in the table. Supported data cartridges written in other densities will not be recognized by the drive and these cartridges will not be readable by this drive. The 7205 will treat these cartridges as blank cartridges.
• If a DLT IV data cartridge written in 40GB mode is attempted to be read on the 35GB drive the tape will appear to be a blank data cartridge. Interchange of data between the 35GB drive and the 40GB drive can only be done on supported data cartridges with a density setting common between the drives.
• The drive does an automatic determination of the density setting when reading a data cartridge, but for write operations you must set a writing density that matches the data cartridge you are using.
  If an unsupported write density is requested, the density will default to the highest supported density for the currently loaded data cartridge.
• * Compression will depend upon the type of data. A compression ratio of 2:1 is assumed for this compression capacity.
• DLTtapeIII, DLTtapeIIIxt, and DLTtapeIV are trademarks of Quantum Corporation.

IBM 7205-440 40GB

The following is a chart that shows the interchange using the IBM 7205-440 tape drive.

Supported Cartridge	Density	Compressed Data Capacity	Smit Density Setting
DLTtapeIII	10GB	20GB	25
DLTtapeIIIxt	15GB	30GB	25
DLTtapeIV	20GB 35GB 40GB	40GB 70GB 80GB	26 27 65

Notes:

• The 7205 Tape drive only supports the data densities listed in the table. Supported data cartridges written in other densities will not be recognized by the drive and these cartridges will not be readable by this drive. The 7205 will treat these cartridges as blank cartridges.
• The drive does an automatic determination of the density setting when reading a data cartridge, but for write operations you must set a writing density that matches the data cartridge you are using.
  If an unsupported write density is requested, the density will default to the highest supported density for the currently loaded data cartridge.
• * Compression will depend upon the type of data. A compression ratio of 2:1 is assumed for this compression capacity.
• DLTtapeIII, DLTtapeIIIxt, and DLTtapeIV are trademarks of Quantum Corporation.

IBM 7205-550 160GB

The following is a chart that shows the interchange using the IBM 7205-550 tape drive.

Supported Cartridge	Density Format	Density	Compressed Data Capacity	Smit Density Setting
SDLT	SDLT220	110GB	220GB	72
SDLT	SDLT320	160GB	320GB	73

Notes:

• The 7205 Model 550 has full backward read-only compatibility with the currently available IBM 7205 Model 440 (DLT8000) tape drives.
• The 7205 Model 550 is read-only compatible with older 7205 Model 311 (DLT7000), 7205 Model 305 & 306 (DLT4000), and DLT3000 tape drive formats (DLT Tape IV).
• The 7205 Model 550 is also read and write compatible with the SDLT220 tape format (SDLT Tape 1) at the native transfer rate of the SDLT220 tape drive (11 MB/sec).
• Non-SDLT drives will eject a cartridge written in SDLT320 format.

Tape Drive Cleaning Frequency

Details the recommended tape cleaning frequencies* and proper cleaning cartridge to use for the 1/4", 4mm, VXA, 8mm, and DLT tape drives.

Other information you should be aware of:

• Clean the tape drive at the recommended times and with the recommended IBM cleaning cartridge. Over cleaning may cause premature head wear out, do not over clean the tape drive.

• Whenever a tape drive reports an I/O error the drive should be cleaned prior to retrying the tape operation.

• The 4mm, 8mm, and VXA cleaning cartridges move the cleaning media from the supply spool to the take up spool in the cartridge during the cleaning operation. When cleaning is complete the area of the cleaning media used in cleaning is wound onto the take up spool, unlike data cartridges that rewind all the media back onto the supply spool.

  To determine if a 4mm, 8mm, or VXA cleaning cartridges is used up users should not only check the number of remaining cleanings as marked on the cartridge but also observe the remaining media on the supply spool.
  To do this:

  The user should hold the cleaning cartridge as if they were going to insert the cleaning cartridge into the drive. If all, or most, of the media is on the right hand, take up spool, and very little media is still on the supply spool, the cleaning cartridge is used up and will not clean the tape drive.

• If a 4mm, 8mm, or VXA cleaning cartridge has been used its maximum number of cleanings and the cartridge is inserted into the tape drive the cleaning LED will not go off if it was previously on and if the cleaning LED was off prior to the cleaning cartridges insertion the cleaning LED will be turned on to signify the cleaning was not done and the cleaning cartridge has exceeded its maximum number of uses.

• There are times when it will be necessary to use the recommended cleaning process several times in a row to clean the drive:
  • Tape drives that have not been cleaned according to the recommended schedule.
  • Tape drives where unsupported media or cleaning cartridges were used.
  • Tape drives reporting repeated I/O errors.
  • Tape drives operating in dirty/dust environments.

  If repeated cleanings and new media do not eliminate the I/O errors it may be necessary to replace the tape drive.

1/4" Tape Drive Cleaning Frequency

Note:
* If tape errors or tape job failures occur the drive may have to be cleaned more frequently.
** Replaced 21F8570, was Isopropyl Alcohol
*** Replaced 59H4366 which replaced 46G2674

4mm Tape Drive Cleaning Frequency

Note:
* If tape errors or tape job failures occur the drive may have to be cleaned more frequently.
** Replaced 59H3090(20 Cleanings) in early 1999
Starting with microcode level 5AL0 the 4GB 4mm drives will not only put ON the cleaning LED based on soft errors but will also put the cleaning LED ON after 30 tape motion hours without the drive being cleaned.

VXA Cleaning Frequency

8mm Tape Drives Cleaning Frequency

Note:
* If tape errors or tape job failures occur the drive may have to be cleaned more frequently.
** Replaced 21F8593
*** ONLY USE on the 20GB and 60GB 8mm drives.

DLT Tape Drive Cleaning Frequency

AIX Diagnostic SCSD Tape Drive Service Aid

Provides the ability to display and monitor tape drive information for tape drives that are supported on AIX by the Self Configuring SCSI device driver.

SCSD Tape Drive Service Aid functions:

• Display time since drive was last cleaned
• Capture internal drive trace information into a binary file(Dump).
• Capture internal Log Sense information into a binary file(Log).

Supported Devices:

On AIX 4.1.5, or later, the following Self Configuring SCSI Drives(SCSD) are supported:

• 7205-311 IBM 35GB Digital Linear tape drive
• 7205-440 IBM 40GB Digital Linear tape drive
• 7205-550 IBM 160GB Digital Linear tape drive
• 7206-110 IBM 4mm 12GB tape drive
• 7206-220 IBM 4mm 20GB tape drive
• 7206-336 IBM 4mm 36GB tape drive
• 7206-VX2 IBM VXA 80GB tape drive
• 7207-122 IBM 1/4" 4GB tape drive
• 7207-315 IBM 1/4" 13GB tape drive
• 7207-330 IBM 1/4" 30GB tape drive
• 7208-341 IBM 8mm 20GB tape drive
• 7208-345 IBM 8mm 60GB tape drive
• 7331-305 IBM 8mm tape library

Using the program:

While signed on as root utape can be run as a standalone program or under AIX Diagnostics.

Note: When the program puts out a file for later use it puts the file into the /tmp directory.
The binary Trace file is named:
/tmp/TRACE.rmt0
The ASCII Log Sense file is named:
/tmp/LOGSENSE.rmt0

AIX Diagnostics Menu mode

• Run AIX diagnostics by entering the AIX command:
  diag
• Select Task Selection(Diagnostics, Advanced Diagnostics, Service Aids
• Select SCSD Tape Drive Service Aid.
• Select the drive
• Commit the selection
• Select the option you desire.
• Exit diagnostics.

Command mode

It may be necessary to change the language the system is using to run the tool in the command mode. To do this do the following AIX command:
export LANG=C
• Change to the diagnostic program directory by using the following AIX command:
  cd /usr/lpp/diagnostics/bin

For a list of the command structure do the following AIX command:
./utape ?
Usage: utape -h | -d <device> -n|-t|-lceName>
utape -c -v -d <device> -n | -l | -t -f <filename> |-D
where:

• -c --- command line.
• -v --- verbose mode.
• -h --- usage statement.
• -d --- device name.
• -n --- time since last cleaned.
• -t --- trace table.
• -l --- logsense data.
• -f --- write to file.
• -D --- write to Unix diskette.

Sample Utape Usage:

To display the time since the tape drive was last cleaned
./utape -cnd rmt0
The command output is:
4.134564

To capture a tape drive trace(dump) file to disk(File)
./utape -ctfd rmt0
The output will be to the /tmp directory:
/tmp/TRACE.rmt0

To capture a tape drive Log Sense information to disk(File)
./utape -clfd rmt0
The output will be to the /tmp directory:
/tmp/LOGSENSE.rmt0

Tape Part Numbers

Details the recommended IBM tape part numbers for the 1/4", 4mm, VXA, 8mm, and DLT tape drives.

IBM Media offer customer a one-stop shopping for all their quality media and accessories requirements across the removable media storage. Through our business channels, we will be the best of breed in terms of product quality, spectrum and services. The IBM products are designed, developed as a qualified complement to IBM hardware.

1/4" Part Numbers