Dell PowerVault LTO3-060 User Manual

Dell™ PowerVault™ LTO-2-024 Tape Drive User's Guide

Introduction Troubleshooting Installation Internal Drive Getting Help Installation External Drive Contacting Dell Specifications Glossary Operation

Notes, Notices, and Cautions

Note: A note indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. Notice: A notice indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the

problem.

CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death.

Information in this document is subject to change without notice.

Trademarks used in this text: the Dell logo, Dimension, OptiPlex, Precision, Latitude, Inspiron, DellNet, PowerEdge, PowerConnect, and PowerVault, are trademarks of Dell Inc. Microsoft Windows, and Windows Server are registered

trademarks of Microsoft Corporation; Novell and NetWare are registered trademarks of Novell, Inc.; UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries; Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat, Inc.; TapeWare is a registered trademark of Yosemite Technologies, Inc.; VERITAS is a registered trademark and Backup Exec is a trademark of VERITAS Software Corporation in the USA and/or other countries. CommVault is a registered trademark of CommVault Systems, Inc.; LEGATO is a registered trademark of LEGATO Software.

Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

All other trademarks are registered marks of their respective owners.

Initial release: May 2007

Introduction

Overview Features Capacity and Transfer Rates SCSI Bus Interface Tape Backup Software Data Compression Front Panel LEDs

Overview

Thie Dell™ PowerVault™ LTO-2-024 is a third generation LTO tape drive designed for high performance, high capacity, and high reliability data storage in a small form factor. Due to the low power consumption, low heat dissipation, and multiple mounting holes, the PowerVault LTO-2-024 can easily be integrated into desktop workstations and servers, as well as in a table-top version connected externally to the server. Using advanced technologies, this drive offers twice the capacity and data transfer rates of the preceding generation but needs only half the space.

The external table-top version has a rugged design that allows for an easy connection to the host system.

Figure 1: The PowerVault LTO-2-024 Tape Drive

Internal drive External drive

Features

The tape drive has the following features:

Ultra160 SCSI interface Provides excellent performance.

High speed back-up. Provides 24 MByte/sec native transfer rate

Backward compatible for investment protection Read/write compatible with LTO2 and LTO1 media.

Embedded quality monitoring and test features Provides preventive maintenance information for reduced down time.

Small footprint

5.25 inch half-height form factor with several mounting capabilities for easy and trouble free integration into servers and workstations.

Rugged external table-top version. Media Management

Keeps track of Read/Write performance and detects when the drive needs cleaning, if there is a defective or worn media, or the tape drive head has degraded.

Stand Alone Diagnostics Provides self-diagnostic routines independent of the host to troubleshoot the drive.

Intelligent Head Cleaning

Determines and initiates a head brush cleaning when needed as well as indicating the need for a cleaning cartridge

when required. Intelligent Thermal Guard

Provides drive and media protection by monitoring the internal temperature. The drive will slow down or even stop an operation if needed to avoid destruction of critical drive components or the media.

Smart Gripper Catches and holds the tape pin firmly avoiding "lost leader" problems

Variable Speed Provides host transfer rate matching by dynamically selecting between five different transfer rates (12 - 24 MB/sec).

Capacity and Transfer Rates

Characteristic Value

Tape length (m) 609 Native capacity (GB) 200 Compressed capacity (GB) assuming 2:1 compression 400 Native transfer rate (MB/sec) 24 Variable speed transfer rates (MB/sec) 12, 15, 18, 21, 24

SCSI Bus Interface

The PowerVault LTO-2-024 tape drive is designed to operate with a burst transfer rate up to 160 MB/sec, and may be attached to an Ultra160 or Ultra 320 low voltage differential (LVD) SCSI bus.

The tape drive features a high density 68-pin (HD-68) connector for attachment to the server or to the interface connector in an external tabletop device.

Note: Dell recommends that you attach the tape drive to SCSI controllers that support the SCSI LVD interface only. Attaching the tape drive to a non-LVD SCSI controller or an 8-bit narrow SCSI controller will degrade the performance of your tape drive and backup operations. Performance will also be degraded if you attach non-LVD SCSI devices on the same bus cable as your LVD connection. If you install an adapter, it is recommended that you purchase a SCSI LVD controller kit that includes the SCSI cable and terminator.

Do not connect the tape drive to a disk RAID controller (disk RAID controllers are not supported). If, however, your system is a Dell server with an embedded RAID solution that can be configured for RAID/SCSI operation, the tape drive can be connected to the SCSI channel.

Tape Backup Software

You will need tape backup software that supports the Dell PowerVault™ tape drive. Note that native backup applications (for example, the UNIX® .tar command) generally do not provide the required data streaming rate to get the full performance out of your tape drive. (However, if for some reason you need to use the Microsoft® Windows® native

backup software, the drivers for your tape drive under Windows 2003 are included on the CD that came with the drive.) Dell recommends using a backup application that provides improved memory management as well as other useful features, such as TapeAlert.

See the User's Operating Guide supplied with your Tape Backup application. For the latest supported software versions, go to the Dell Support website at www.

support.dell.com or visit the support site of your backup software vendor.

Data Compression

Data Compression is a way to increase capacity on a storage device. Compression ratios are normally specified to be 2:1, assuming that it is possible to store twice as much data on the tape as without data compression. However, the compression rate is dependant on the type of data (i.e. ordinary text files can be compressed in a much higher rate than program, media, and picture files).

There are two ways to compress data, hardware compression and software compression. Hardware compression means that the data compression is done by the electronics in the storage device. Software compression means that an

application program in the host computer is compressing the data before it is sent to the storage device. Hardware

compression is much more efficient and works much faster than software compression. The PowerVault LTO-2-024 tape drive uses SLDC hardware compression to compress data. This feature is enabled per

default but the user may turn off data compression through the application software.

Note: If the data is compressed by software in the host computer, and then sent to a device that does hardware compression, the data have a tendency to expand instead of being compressed because the control data used on the tape.

Be sure to turn the software data compression off if using the PowerVault LTO-2-024 - which has embedded hardware compression.

Front Panel LEDs

Figure 2: Status indicators (LEDs) on the front panel

Table 1: Front-Panel LEDs

READY LED

(Green)

Activity LED

(Green)

CLEAN LED

(Amber)

FAULT LED

(Amber)

For complete information including failure conditions and FW loading see Front LED Indicators.

Troubleshooting

Hardware Software Verifying Recent Changes Standalone Diagnostics Media Management Reporting Problem Situations

In case of problems with the operation of your PowerVault LTO-2-024 tape drive and before contacting the Customer Services Group, ensure that you check the following:

Hardware Troubleshooting

1. Check that the system recognizes the tape drive during the boot process.

Check that the SCSI host adapter recognizes the tape drive during its initialization.

Check the tape drive front panel LED status.

Check that the SCSI ID of the drive is not conflicting on the SCSI bus.

Check that the power cable is inserted correctly.

Check that the SCSI cable connections including termination are made correctly.

Software Troubleshooting

1. Check that the operating system does not report a problem during the boot.

Check that the driver for the SCSI host adapter is present and loaded properly.

Check that the correct tape device driver has been installed properly - if applicable.

Check that the backup software does not report any error messages when loading.

If any problem occurs, reinstall the backup application software and check that the PowerVault LTO-2-024 is

5. recognized.

Verifying Recent Changes

If the PowerVault LTO-2-024 has been installed previously and operating correctly but is now incurring a problem, verify any recent changes to the system to ensure that these changes are not causing the problem. Try the following:

If the system configuration has changed:

1. Remove the change to see if it affected the tape drive.

If an operating system corrective patch has been installed:

2. Remove it to see if it affected the tape drive.

If a SCSI device has been added:

3. Check for SCSI ID conflicts.

If a SCSI device has been added:

4. Check the SCSI termination.

Standalone Diagnostics

The main objective of Standalone Diagnostics test is to test the complete drive as comprehensively and quickly as possible without any drive configuration or host support. The tool can also be used to verify tapes.

Starting the Test

A Standalone Diagnostic test requires a tape that is not write-protected. The media type can be any media type that

supports a tape format that can be written by the drive.

Notice: Since the test involves write operations, the existing tape contents will be destroyed.

Note: If the Clean LED is On, it will remain On after a test is run. To clear the Clean LED, run a cleaning cartridge.

1. Ensure that no cartridge is loaded. If a cartridge is loaded it can be ejected by double-clicking the eject button.

Enter Service Mode by keeping the Eject button pressed for at least 6 seconds.

2. The Ready LED (on the left) starts flashing quickly (indicating the drive is in Service Mode and that Service entry number 1 is active).

Insert the tape cartridge into the drive within 15 seconds.

3. The drive loads the cartridge and the Ready LED starts flashing indicating that Standalone Diagnostics has started.

The eject button has now returned to normal mode. During the Standalone Diagnostics test, it is possible to abort the test and eject the cartridge by clicking the eject button. The drive indicates the detection of the abort request by flashing both the Ready and Activity LEDs. Depending on which stage the test is aborted, it may take a while before the drive starts the eject operation. When the cartridge has been ejected, all LEDs are turned off. The Clean LED may still be On.

The Ready LED will continuously flash during the entire testing process. The Activity LED will flash as the tape is in motion during testing.

If no cartridge has been inserted after 15 seconds, the LEDs revert back to their initial state and the eject button must be pressed for 6 seconds again to get back to Service Mode.

Test Sequence

The Standalone Diagnostics test will perform the following operations: Collect Information: Reads and stores drive and media information:

Firmware and drive ID Tape type and format Cartridge serial number Error History Log and Log page 0x33 from EEPROM Run-time counters from EEPROM

Mainboard Test. Tests the mainboard hardware. Cartridge Manipulation Test: The Cartridge Manipulation Test performs the same mechanical movement operations as

those performed during Cartridge Load and Eject. Read/Write Test: This test involves actual reading and writing on the tape medium. A write pass and a read pass are

executed. When the test has completed without errors the tape cartridge is ejected. No LEDs will be lit. The Clean LED may be On.

Failure Indication

When a failure has been detected the tape is not ejected and the Failure LED will be flashing.

Note for programmers:

Detailed test results are available through the Receive Diagnostics SCSI command. To use this command, Support-only tools are required.

If a write protected, unsupported, or damaged tape cartridge is inserted prior to starting the Standalone Diagnostics test, it will be ejected by the drive and the Failure and Activity LEDs will be flashing while the Ready LED is off. The two flashing LEDs can be turned off by clicking the eject button.

Media Management Reporting

Media Management (MM) is a feature embedded in the PowerVault LTO-2-024 tape drive’s firmware that monitors the read and write performance of the tape drive and media. Write performance information is written on the media header every time the media is rewound, and before the media is unloaded.

Cleaning is Required

If the write performance falls below a set re-write threshold, the PowerVault LTO-2-024 reports that cleaning is required by setting the Clean LED to a steady amber. If you are using a backup application that supports TapeAlert then the application will also report that the drive requires cleaning. See Cleaning Procedure

for instructions on how to clean.

Degraded Media

If the write performance is still below the re-write threshold after cleaning, MM illuminates the Clean LED (set to steady amber) and reports to the backup application software that the media is degraded.

The degraded media warning means that the cartridge should not be used; it may become worn to the point where drive cannot write or read successfully using this cartridge.

Problem Situations

Dead on Arrival

1. Check LED activity at power up. All four LEDs should flash for two seconds at power up and the Ready LED flashes for several seconds while the power-on self test is running.

Make sure that the power supply used is working:

2. Measure with an external voltmeter or use a verified supply.

Perform “drive dead test” when supply is verified.

3. Push the eject button for at least 6 seconds to enter the “drive dead test”. The Activity LED should keep flashing for approximately 15 seconds.

If the drive still looks dead try to remove all cables except power and rerun the “drive dead test.” A defective cable or SCSI host bus adapter may affect the drive.

Drive Not Detected by the Operating System

1. Check LED activity at Power Up. All four LEDs should flash for two seconds at power up and the Ready LED flashes for several seconds while the power-on self test is running.

Check the SCSI ID.

2. Each device on the SCSI bus needs a unique SCSI ID. The SCSI ID is set with jumpers on the back of the drive. See SCSI Configuration

Check SCSI termination.

3. The SCSI bus should be terminated at the end of the cable. A defective terminator may affect the drive.

Will Not Insert/Hold Media or Media is Not Recognized

1. Check the cartridge type. The PowerVault LTO-2-024 will only accept LTO-3, LTO-2 or LTO-1 type data or cleaning cartridges. If a wrong type of cartridge is inserted, the drive will eject the media with the Activity LED and Fault LED flashing.

Check media orientation.

2. The arrow on the cartridge must point into the tape drive facing up when the tape drive is mounted horizontally with the LEDs on the right. Media can be inserted only one way and there are mechanical blocks to prevent improper insertion.

Try using a new cartridge.

3. If it loads correctly, check the failing cartridge for damage.

Check failing media for pin damage (buckling pin).

4. Hold the cartridge in your hand with the write protect switch to your left and orientation arrow pointing from you. On the right side, all the way towards the front is a small door that can be opened by sliding the door towards you. Inside the cartridge you should see a metal pin that is held tightly in place and has media attached to it. If the pin is missing, loose or damaged the tape will be rejected from the drive.

Noisy Tape Drive

There are no fans in the PowerVault LTO-2-024 tape drive and any noise should be very low in idle mode. When the tape is in motion, noise can come from the media and motors when loading or reading/writing data. The sound should be steady when streaming but may be intermittent if the host is not delivering data at the data rate of the drive.

Check if the noise comes from the cartridge.

1. Insert new media – first check this media for any damage.

Check that the PowerVault LTO-2-024 is mounted correctly.

2. If the PowerVault LTO-2-024 is mounted incorrectly, it can produce abnormal noise when the tape moves.

Cartridge is Stuck Inside the Drive

1. Try to eject the cartridge by pushing the Eject button

Do a drive reset using the Service mode.

2. Service mode is entered by keeping the eject button pressed for at least six seconds. The Activity LED starts flashing.

To reset the drive, push the eject button once more to make the Activity LED flash. While flashing, double-click the eject button. This should invoke a reset of the drive.

If the button is not pushed for 15 seconds, the eject button reverts back to its original cartridge eject function.

3. Power cycle the drive (switch power on/off, if possible).

Fault LED Flashes Amber and the Activity LED is Off

The tape drive reports that it has a failure.

Do a Drive reset using the Service mode.

1. Service mode is entered by keeping the Eject button pressed for at least six seconds. The Ready LED will start flashing.

To reset the drive, push the eject button once more to make the Activity LED flash. While this LED is flashing, double-click the eject button. This should make the drive do a reset.

If the button is not pushed for 15 seconds, the eject button reverts back to its original cartridge eject function.

Power cycle the drive (switch power on/off, if possible).

Fault LED Flashes Amber and the Activity LED is Flashing

The drive signals Media Error.

the Activity LED is

To eject media, press the Eject button.

Ensure the media is the correct type and compatible.

Check the write protection switch position.

Check if the media is damaged (see Will Not Insert/Hold Media or Media is Not Recognized).

Check if an expired cleaning cartridge was used (Clean LED is On).

Clean LED is On

The Clean LED will be lit 100 hours after the last cleaning operation or after an unrecoverable read or write error. These errors are often caused by debris on the head indicating the drive should be cleaned. See Cleaning Procedure instruction.

for cleaning

Incorrect Data Compression

1. Check if data is already compressed Data may have been compressed by software in the host computer.

In some cases data will actually expand when subjected to both the hardware and software compression. This can

occur when sending data already compressed at the software application level to the drive and the compression option is enabled. If this is the case the drive may try to turn compression on and off to optimize the data storage having the negative unintended result of data expansion.

Note: The PowerVault LTO-2-024 has compression On by default. The compression can be turned Off by using the SCSI Mode Select command.

2. Turn Off any software compression in use. The compression is already being accomplished at the hardware level of the PowerVault LTO-2-024 drive. Therefore any other compression software in the host or on the host bus adapter should be turned off.

The data is compressed using the SLDC (Streaming Lossless Data Compression) algorithm that is based on ALDC (Adaptive Lossless Data Compression). The SLDC format is defined in the ECMA-321 standard. Two enhancements are introduced:

o Two methods to reduce expansion of uncompressible data. o Embedded code word.

Slow Performance

Check that the software driver used for the PowerVault LTO-2-024 is the latest version. Check the SCSI ID Each device on the SCSI bus needs a unique SCSI ID. The SCSI ID is set with jumpers on the back of the drive. Check SCSI termination The SCSI bus should be terminated at the end of the cable. A defective terminator may affect the drive. Clean the tape drive. Perform a Drive Diagnostics test.

Intermittent Failures

If the drive fails intermittently:

Clean the tape drive.

Check the SCSI termination on the SCSI bus.

Check the operating system logs for any errors.

If the problem occurs in the middle of an operation:

Use a different data cartridge.

If the error occurs when the software scans for the files to be backed up, please operate a SCANDISK (or similar)

2. operation to check the state of the File Systems(s) and hard disk.

If the error consistently occurs on the same file or directory:

Try to remove the file or directory from the backup operation to see if that corrects the problem.

Use a different data cartridge before the drive is sent for service.

If the issue is still not resolved, contact technical support.

Installation - Internal drive

Pre-Installed Drives Installing the Drive Installing the Drive: SCSI Configuration and Connection Installing the Drive: Mechanical Installation Installing Tape Backup Software Installing Software Device Drivers Verifying Tape Drive Operation

CAUTION: Before performing any of the procedures in this section, read and follow the safety instructions located in your tape drive's Product Information Guide.

Pre-Installed Drives

Dell™ installs and configures drives that are shipped as part of the system. However, the tape backup software is not installed by Dell. Installation instructions are provided with the software.

Store the tape backup software CD/diskette that ships with your system in a safe place in case you ever need to reinstall the software.

Installing the Drive

If your tape drive is not pre-installed, the installation instructions are in the following sections.

Installing the Drive: Prerequisites

You need the following items to install your internal tape drive:

Ensure that the SCSI host bus adapter is one of the supported types. For a list of the supported SCSI adapters, go to the Dell Support website at www.

5.25-inch half-height bay. Internal SCSI-cable with an LVD terminator attached. Backup application software that supports the internal tape drive. Phillips screwdriver, if your system uses Phillips screws. Flat-bladed screwdriver, if your system uses flathead screws. TORX screwdriver, if your system uses TORX screws. System documentation, which you can refer to during the installation.

Mounting Bay and Hardware

You need one industry standard, 5 1/4-inch, half-height bay to install the PowerVault LTO-2-024 drive.

CAUTION: The computer must provide forced cooling and be capable of drawing 6 cfm (0.17 cubic meters/minute or 10.08 cubic meters/hour) of air through the tape drive.

support.dell.com.

See your system documentation to ensure that your system meets these requirements. Also, the documentation specifies if any special mounting brackets are needed. Next, ensure that all fans in your system are in place and operational and that empty bays have the appropriate blanking plates so that airflow is maintained.

Installing the Drive: SCSI Configuration and Connection

The PowerVault LTO-2-024 tape drive is designed to operate on an Ultra160 or Ultra320 low voltage differential (LVD) SCSI bus with an LVD SCSI terminator.

SCSI Configuration

All devices on a SCSI bus need their own unique identification, called the SCSI ID. If a SCSI ID conflict exists, some of the SCSI devices will not be recognized by your system. Normally the SCSI Host Adaptor (HBA) uses SCSI ID 7 and the

default for the drive is SCSI ID 6. The SCSI ID is set with Jumpers as shown below.

Figure 1: Drive connectors, internal model

termination of the SCSI bus system is a part of the SCSI-cable and not a part of the SCSI-device.

A = Power Connector B = Service Connector (the right-most 4 strap pin pairs of the complete connector) C = SCSI connector

Table 1: Service Connector strap settings for SCSI ID (Dark = Strap mounted)

If the tape drive is going to share the SCSI bus with other devices, check the SCSI ID numbers used by the other devices, then set the drive’s SCSI ID to a number that is not being used.

Note: Notice that the SCSI host adapter uses ID 7.

For optimal performance Dell recommends that the tape drive be the only device on the SCSI bus.

SCSI Termination

A SCSI bus must be terminated at both ends. The SCSI Host Adaptor provides the termination for one end but the tape drive does not provide termination for the other. Therefore, if the tape drive is the last device on the bus, a cable with proper LVD termination is required within 10 cm of the drive as illustrated below.

Figure 2: SCSI cable

PowerVault LTO-2-024 has a combined SCSI-LVD/SE interface embedded. The PC-98 Specification specifies that the

For internal devices, a SCSI-cable with an integrated terminator or a separate terminator applied to the end connector of the cable, 10 cm from the last device must be used.

Installing the Drive: Mechanical Installation

Mechanical mounting specifications are specified in the illustration below.

Figure 3: Allowed mounting orientations

Mounting Screw Requirements

The tape drive occupies a half-height 5.25" slot within your system. Depending on the server design, the tape drive may be supplied with shoulder screws or flat screws, provided in a

separate bag.

Figure 4: Mounting specifications, shoulder screws

The shoulder screws shall be mounted in the four upper mounting holes of the drive. Fix the screws firmly without using excess force. Slide the drive with the shoulder screws attached into the mounting slot of the server.

If the server is designed for flat screws, it shall be mounted in a carrier sled using mounting brackets:

1. Place drive in carrier and align screw mounting holes in the drive near front of screw hole slots in the carrier (For best fit, the drive screw holes should be as close to the front of the carrier screw slots as possible.)

2. Using the M3x3mm screws, attach drive to carrier sled through the exposed mounting holes.

Tape Drive Installation

CAUTION: To avoid personal injury or damage to the computer or tape drive, ensure that the system is

disconnected from the main power source while you install the drive.

Figure 5: Installing the internal tape drive

1. Gather the necessary tools and materials.

Shut down the system and turn off any connected peripherals.

Remove the side cover, front panel (if necessary), and filler panel from a 5.25-inch bay of your system as detailed

3. in the system’s documentation.

Orient the drive as shown in figure 6.

Secure the tape drive to the bay.

5. NOTE: If shoulder screws are already attached to the drive then slide the drive in the system until it is secure. If screws are provided in a separate bag install shoulder screws as shown in figure 4. If the screws provided are flat screws, install the mounting rails as given by the server documentation.

Connect the power and SCSI cable, as shown in figure 6. Be careful to connect the cables in the right orientation.

6. Before powering on the server, check the SCSI settings as detailed in the next section.

Figure 6: Connecting the cables to the tape drive

Installing Tape Backup Software

Install your backup program as specified in the software’s documentation.

Installing Software Device Drivers

Note: Most backup applications provide all the necessary device driver support for your drive. However, if you intend

to use the drive with the Microsoft® Windows® native backup software you will need the drivers included with the Dell PowerVault LTO-2-024 Tape Drive Documentation and Drivers CD. The latest drivers can be downloaded from

support.dell.com.

www.

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