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Introduction: Dell� PowerVault� 110T DLT VS160 Tape Drive User's Guide

Overview

Features

Tape Backup Software

Obtaining Drivers and Firmware Upgrades

Front Panel Controls and Indicators

Overview

The Dell� PowerVault� 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive is a value-priced, high-reliability, high-capacity linear streaming cartridge tape drive designed for use on entry to midrange computing platforms. With a combination of data compression and compaction, the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive offers a formatted cartridge capacity of 80GB (160GB assuming a 2:1 compression ratio) and a sustained user data transfer rate of 8 MB/s (up to 16 MB/s with 2:1 compression). The capacity you realize in practice depends on the data set, which affects the actual compression ratio.

The PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive is a 5.25-inch, half-height form-factor, using a 1/2-inch tape. Its design includes a four-channel read/write head, Lempel-Ziv (DLZ) high-efficiency hardware data compression, and tape-mark directory to achieve fast data throughput and data access times.

The PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive is read/write-compatible the DLT VS160 format using DLTtape VS1 cartridges and read compatible with the DLT1 format using DLTtape� IV cartridges. The PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive is an Ultra 160 SCSI device that works with any wide-ultra, Ultra2, Ultra160, or Ultra3 Low-Voltage Differential (LVD) or Single-Ended (SE), narrow or wide, SCSI bus.

Features

The PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive has the following features:

• Supported formats: DLT VS160 (read/write using DLTtape VS1 cartridges), DLT1 (read only using DLTtape� IV cartridges)
• Uses DLTtape VS1 cartridges
• 5.25-inch half-height form-factor
• Formatted cartridge capacity of 80GB native, 160GB compressed*
• Sustained user data transfer rate of 8 MB/s native, up to 16 MB/s with compression*
• The PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive requires a wide-ultra, Ultra2, Ultra160, or Ultra3, Low-Voltage Differential (LVD) or Single-Ended (SE) SCSI bus

* Assumes 2:1 compression ratio. The capacity and data transfer rates realized in practice depend on the data set, which determines the actual compression ratio.

Obtaining Drivers and Firmware Upgrades

If the tape backup software does not detect the tape drive or to obtain the latest operating system drivers and/or firmware upgrades, see the Dell Support website at support.dell.com.

Tape Backup Software

Drivers

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and Windows® Server� 2003: QSDLT32.SYS

Native Operating System Backup Utilities

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and Windows® Server� 2003

• Windows Backup

Red Hat Linux versions 7.3 and 8.0 and 9.0

• Tar

Tape Backup Applications

NOTICE: See the Dell Support website at support.dell.com to obtain the latest patches and upgrades for the Tape Backup Applications noted below.

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and Windows® Server� 2003

• VERITAS� BackupExec� for Windows NT/2000 version 9.0 or later
• Yosemite Tapeware® version 7.0 or later

Novell® NetWare®

• VERITAS� BackupExec� for NetWare� version 9.0 or later
• Yosemite Tapeware® version 7.0 or later

Red Hat Linux versions 7.3, 8.0, and 9.0

• Yosemite Tapeware® version 7.0 or later

Front Panel Controls and Indicators

Location of the Controls and Indicators

Figure 1. PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive front panel

NOTE: The front panel controls and indicators are in the same locations on both the internal and external drives. The internal drive does not have a Power LED.

Indicator Activity During Power-On Self-Test (POST)

Every time you turn on or reset the drive, it conducts a Power-On Self-Test (POST). This test ensures that the drive is working properly and is ready to use. While POST is in progress, watch the front panel LEDs to see the progress and results of the test. During POST, the following actions take place:

• The LEDs illuminate one at a time, from left to right, starting with the Ready LED, next the Fault LED, and finally the Clean LED, at approximately one second intervals
• About four seconds later, the Media LED illuminates
• Each LED signals a different part of the POST process
• All LEDs then turn off momentarily
• If a cartridge is not loaded, the Ready LED illuminates and POST is complete, the entire process taking approximately eight seconds
• If a cartridge is loaded, the Ready LED flashes while the drive mounts the cartridge, a process that can take several minutes depending upon the position of the media in the tape path
• As POST completes, the drive makes a slight buzzing noise for several seconds. This noise is normal and should be ignored

The drive is now ready to use.

Indicator Activity During Normal Operation - Ready LED

When the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive is in use, the Ready LED indicates the three states detailed in Table 1. The Ready LED operates independently of the other three LEDs.

Table 1. Ready LED activity and drive status

Indicator Activity During Normal Operation - Fault/Clean/Media LEDs

The Fault, Clean, and Media LEDs indicate the status of the drive. Note that the LEDs can indicate more than one of the indicated operating conditions simultaneously. For example:

• If cleaning is required while a DLT1 format cartridge is loaded, both the Clean and Media LEDs are on
• If an internal write/read diagnostic fails as a result of a permanent write error, both the Fault and Clean LEDs blink slowly.

Table 2 describes what each front panel indicator means.

Table 2. Fault/Clean/Media LED activity and drive status

See Troubleshooting the Drive in Troubleshooting for more details on error conditions.

Unload/Eject Button Features

The Unload/Eject button provides features in addition to unloading and ejecting a cartridge. To activate one of these features, press and hold the Unload/Eject button for the amount of time specified in Table 3. Release the Unload/Eject button when the desired LED sequence is displayed.

If you do nothing for 15 seconds after accessing any of the additional features that require an action, such as loading a cartridge, the drive returns to normal operating mode.

NOTICE: The Unload/Eject button features indicated by an asterisk (*) in Table 3 overwrite all data on the cartridge loaded in the drive. Use extreme caution when accessing these features to avoid loss of important data.

Table 3. Unload/Eject button features

Unload/Eject Button Feature Description

Normal Unload/Eject

When you release the button, the drive unloads and ejects the cartridge.

Write/Read Diagnostic Mode

NOTICE: This mode overwrites all data on the cartridge in the drive. Use extreme caution when using this feature to avoid loss of important data.

When you release the button, the drive initiates an internal write/read diagnostic. The diagnostic requires that you first load a cartridge that is blank or does not contain valuable data. When the diagnostic begins, the drive writes and then reads approximately 400MB of data and then unloads and ejects the cartridge. The process takes about two minutes. If the diagnostic test detects no errors, the drive returns to normal operating mode. If an error occurs, the appropriate LEDs illuminate.

Emergency Reset

When you release the button, the drive performs a hard reset, behaving as if it had been turned off and then on. A standard POST then takes place.

Revert to Normal Operating Mode

When you release the button, the drive returns to normal operation.

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