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

Operating the Tape Drive

Caring for Tape Cartridges

Cleaning the Tape Mechanism

Operating the Tape Drive

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.

Loading a Tape Cartridge

The PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive reads and writes DLTtape VS1 cartridges. The PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive can read - but not write - DLTtape� IV cartridges written using the DLT1/VS80 format.

NOTE: The PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive automatically ejects any other cartridge types and any cartridges whose format it cannot read. Make sure all cartridges that you want to use for writing are DLTtape VS1 cartridges.

Loading a cartridge into the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive is fast and easy. After the drive completes POST, insert the DLTtape VS1 cartridge into the cartridge slot, oriented as shown in Figure 2, and push the cartridge gently into the drive until it stops.

Figure 2. Loading a tape cartridge

The Ready LED blinks while the drive loads the cartridge. When the cartridge is ready to use, the Ready LED is steadily illuminated. If the cartridge is a DLTtape™IV written using the DLT1/VS80 format, the Media LED is also steadily illuminated.

Unloading a Tape Cartridge

NOTICE: Do not remove a tape cartridge while the Ready LED is blinking.

NOTICE: Remove the cartridge from the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive before turning off the external drive or the host server for an internal drive. Leaving a cartridge in the drive when power is off can result in cartridge and drive damage. When you remove the cartridge from the drive, return the cartridge to its storage case to prolong cartridge life.

To eject a cartridge from the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive, follow these steps:

1. Press the Unload button or use your backup software to eject the cartridge. The Ready LED blinks while the drive rewinds the tape.
2. When the drive has rewound the tape, it ejects the cartridge.

Figure 3. Unloading a tape cartridge

3. Remove the cartridge from the drive.
4. Return the cartridge to its storage case to prolong cartridge life.

Setting the Write-Protect Switch on Tape Cartridges

All Tape cartridges have a write-protect switch to prevent accidental erasure of data. Before loading a tape cartridge into the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive, make sure the write-protect switch on the front of the cartridge is positioned as desired.

Figure 4. DLTtape VS1 cartridge write-protect switch

Slide the switch to the right to write-protect the cartridge. The "locked" icon appears on the switch indicating that the cartridge is write-protected. Slide the switch to the left to allow the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive to write data to the cartridge. The "unlocked" icon appears on the switch. The indicator on the top of the cartridge also points to the appropriate icon, indicating the write-protect status of the cartridge.

Caring for Tape Cartridges

To ensure the longest possible life for all of your tape cartridges, follow these guidelines:

• Do not drop or strike a cartridge. Excessive shock can displace the tape leader, making the cartridge unusable and possibly damaging the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive.
• Store tape cartridges in their storage cases.
• Do not expose tape cartridges to direct sunlight or sources of heat, including portable heaters and heating ducts.
• The operating temperature range for tape cartridges is 50° F to 104° F (10° C to 40° C). The storage temperature range is 60° F to 90° F (16° C to 32° C).
• If a tape cartridge has been exposed to temperatures outside the ranges specified above, stabilize the cartridge at room temperature for the same amount of time it was exposed to extreme temperatures, up to 24 hours.
• Store tape cartridges in a dust-free environment in which relative humidity is always between 20% and 80% (noncondensing). The ideal storage relative humidity is 40%, ± 20%.
• Do not place tape cartridges near sources of electromagnetic energy or strong magnetic fields, such as computer monitors, electric motors, speakers, or X-ray equipment. Exposure to electromagnetic energy or magnetic fields can destroy data on cartridges.
• Place identification labels only in the slide-in slot on the front of the cartridge.
• Never use any type of adhesive labels on tape cartridges.

Cleaning the Tape Mechanism

When the Clean LED is on, the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive's read/write head needs to be cleaned. See Troubleshooting the Drive in Troubleshooting for other conditions that may indicate drive cleaning is necessary.

See Loading a Tape Cartridge to load the cleaning cartridge. Cleaning typically takes several minutes, during which the Clean LED blinks.
 

NOTICE: Use only Dell approved cleaning cartridges in the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive. See Recommended Tapes in Specifications for a list of approved cleaning cartridges. Use of any other type of cleaning cartridge could damage the read/write head in your drive. If you attempt to load any other type of cleaning cartridge, the PowerVault 110T DLT VS160 Tape drive prevents damage by ejecting the cartridge after approximately 25 seconds without allowing the cleaning tape to come into contact with the read/write head.

Figure 5. DLTtape VS1 cleaning cartridge

Each cleaning cartridge has a useful life of 20 cleanings. The cleaning cartridge includes a label with 20 small boxes printed on it. Always place a check mark in a box each time you use the cartridge to clean the drive. Replace the cleaning cartridge when all boxes are checked.

When the cleaning cartridge has cleaned the read/write head, the Clean LED turns off and the drive ejects the cleaning cartridge.
 

NOTE: If the previous error condition occurs again with the next data tape, see Troubleshooting the Drive in Troubleshooting for more information.

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