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Exabyte 8505XL manual

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Table of contents for the manual

  • Page 1

    8505XL 8-mm T ape Drive Owner ’s Guide Document Number 007-3086-001[...]

  • Page 2

    8505XL 8-mm T ape Drive Owner ’s Guide Document Number 007-3086-001 CONTRIBUTORS W ritten by Pablo Rozal Illustrated by Dan Y oung and Cheri Br own Edited by Christina Cary Production by Derrald V ogt Engineering contributions by Roy Hughes, Robert Clark, Dale W itt, Bill Y ergin Cover design and illustration by Rob Aguilar , Rikk Carey , Dean Ho[...]

  • Page 3

    iii Contents List of Figures v List of T ables vii About This Guide ix Typographical Conventions x 1. Installation 1 Products that Support the 8505XL 1 Preparing for Installation 2 Ensuring ESD Protection 2 Unpacking the Tape Drive and Saving the Materials 3 Checking the Tape Drive Accessories 3 Installing the Tape Drive 3 Setting the SCSI ID 3 Con[...]

  • Page 4

    iv Contents 2. Operating the T ape Drive 17 Reading the LEDs 17 Selecting Data Cartridges 19 Write-Protecting a Data Cartridge 20 Loading a Data Cartridge 20 Unloading a Data Cartridge 21 Resetting the Tape Drive 21 3. Preventive Maintenance 23 Recommended Cleaning Cartridges 23 Determining When to Clean the Tape Drive 23 Using the Cleaning Cartrid[...]

  • Page 5

    v List of Figur es Figure 1-1 Removing/Installing the Drive From/On the Drive Sled 5 Figure 1-2 Setting the SCSI ID (Default Setting Shown) 6 Figure 1-3 Setting the Drive Sled for Single-Ended Operation 8 Figure 1-4 Installing the Tape Drive Into a Horizontal Drive Bay 10 Figure 1-5 Installing the Tape Drive Into a Vertical Drive Bay 11 Figure 1-6 [...]

  • Page 6

    vi[...]

  • Page 7

    vii List of Tables T able 1-1 Problems and Possible Solutions 15 T able 2-1 LED States and Interpretations 18 T able 2-2 8505XL Tape Capacity 19 T able A-1 Drive Specifications 31[...]

  • Page 8

    viii[...]

  • Page 9

    ix About This Guide This guide helps you set up, install, and operate the 8505XL tape drive. The 8505XL uses 8-mm format tapes and installs in most of the existing Silicon Graphics© systems and data storage units that support single-ended, front-loading drives (FLDs). Note: For a list of products that curr ently support the 8505XL tape drive, see [...]

  • Page 10

    x About This Guide T ypographical Conventions These type conventions and symbols ar e used throughout this guide: Italics Filenames, variables, IRIX ® command ar guments, command fl ags, titles of publications, icon names. Screen type Code examples, fi le excerpts, and scr een displays (including error messages). Bold Screen type User input. () [...]

  • Page 11

    1 Chapter 1 1. Installation This chapter provides information for the following tasks: • preparing for installation • installing the tape drive • installing the software driver Note: The 8505XL requir es either IRIX 5.3, 6.1 or later software. If your system already has IRIX 6.1, softwar e driver installation is not requir ed. • testing you[...]

  • Page 12

    2 Chapter 1: Installation Preparing for Installation T o prepar e for installation, follow the steps described in this chapter . 1. Ensure ESD pr otection (see “ Ensuring ESD Protection ” on page 2). 2. Unpack the tape drive and save the packing materials (see “ Unpacking the T ape Drive and Saving the Materials ” on page 3). 3. Check the t[...]

  • Page 13

    Installing the Tape Drive 3 Unpacking the T ape Drive and Saving the Materials Carefully r emove the tape drive from its box. Save all the original packaging materials in case you need to reship the tape drive. The tape drive ’ s packaging helps protect the tape drive fr om shock, vibration, moisture, and electrostatic dischar ge (ESD). Checking [...]

  • Page 14

    4 Chapter 1: Installation Before setting the tape drive ’ s SCSI ID, determine the SCSI IDs of all the other SCSI devices currently attached to your bus (for example, a har d drive or a CD-ROM reader). Caution: SCSI ID 0 is reserved for the system contr oller and cannot be used. The tape drive is shipped with the SCSI ID set to 6 . If you ar e in[...]

  • Page 15

    Installing the Tape Drive 5 1. Remove the four screws that secur e the drive to the bottom of the mounting sled (see Figure 1-1) and set them aside. Figure 1-1 Removing/Installing the Drive Fr om/On the Drive Sled 2. Remove the drive adapter and power cables fr om the 8505XL (see Figure 1-1) and then place the drive on an anti-static surface. 3. Lo[...]

  • Page 16

    6 Chapter 1: Installation Figure 1-2 Setting the SCSI ID (Default Setting Shown) 4. Using a pair of fl at-nose pliers, slide the small plastic jumpers over the pins on the jumper block to obtain the desir ed address. Extra jumpers are shipped in a separate bag. Save the unused jumpers in case you need to select a differ ent SCSI ID later . Caution[...]

  • Page 17

    Installing the Tape Drive 7 7. Install the four screws that secur e the bottom of the drive to the drive sled (see Figure 1-1). Configuring the Drive Sled for Single-Ended Operation The 8505XL drive sled assembly houses a SCSI channel adapter boar d. Y ou must ensure that the drive sled assembly is set to single-ended operation. Caution: Use prope[...]

  • Page 18

    8 Chapter 1: Installation Figure 1-3 Setting the Drive Sled for Single-Ended Operation Note: Y our system disk should always be set to SCSI ID 1. Be sur e each SCSI device on a bus has a unique SCSI addr ess (ID). The SCSI bus cannot function properly if mor e than one device has the same SCSI ID. T erminating the SCSI Bus The internal SCSI channel[...]

  • Page 19

    Installing the Tape Drive 9 Follow these instructions to install a half-height fr ont-loading device: Installing Into a Horizontal Drive Bay Follow these instructions to install the drive into a horizontal drive bay . 1. Orient the FLD and sled assembly so that the connectors on the back ar e on the bottom half of the drive and face away fr om you [...]

  • Page 20

    10 Chapter 1: Installation Figure 1-4 Installing the T ape Drive Into a Horizontal Drive Bay Slide drive lever left to lock sled Drive lever in locked position[...]

  • Page 21

    Installing the Tape Drive 11 Figure 1-5 Installing the T ape Drive Into a V ertical Drive Bay Drive sled Drive[...]

  • Page 22

    12 Chapter 1: Installation T urning On Power to the T ape Drive When power is applied to the 8505XL, watch for the following: • All three of the tape drive ’ s LEDs light. • The tape drive ’ s 30-second power -on self-test begins. • When the self-test is complete, the top and bottom LEDs turn of f; the middle LED is off or fl ashes irr e[...]

  • Page 23

    Installing the Tape Drive 13 1. Locate a data cartridge that does not contain any valuable information and make sure that its write-pr otect switch is set to write-enable (see Figure 1-6). 2. Gently push the data cartridge as shown (in Figur e 1-7) until the load mechanism pulls the cartridge into the drive. Figure 1-6 W rite-Enable/Disable Switch [...]

  • Page 24

    14 Chapter 1: Installation Figure 1-7 Loading a Data Cartridge 3. W ait while the tape drive loads the tape, determines the tape format, and positions the tape to the logical beginning of the tape (LBOT). This takes about 45 seconds. When the gr een LED is on solid, the tape drive is ready .[...]

  • Page 25

    Installing the Tape Drive 15 4. Perform a backup operation to write a small amount of data to the tape (see your IRIX administration documentation, as r equired). 5. Rewind the tape and read the data written in step 4 and compar e it to the original. This determines whether the softwar e and tape drive are functioning properly . If problems occur ,[...]

  • Page 26

    16 Chapter 1: Installation[...]

  • Page 27

    17 Chapter 2 2. Operating the T ape Drive This section includes information about the following: • reading the tape drive ’ s LEDs • selecting data cartridges • setting the write-protect switch on the data cartridge • loading and unloading a data cartridge Reading the LEDs The tape drive uses three LEDs (Figur e 2-1) to indicate its opera[...]

  • Page 28

    18 Chapter 2: Operating the Tape Drive Figure 2-1 8505XL Front Panel Note: Y ou may occasionally observe LED combinations and sequences not described in T able 2-1. These other combinations r epresent special or unusual conditions that are beyond the scope of this table. T able 2-1 LED States and Interpr etations LED State T op LED (errors) Middle [...]

  • Page 29

    Selecting Data Cartridges 19 Note: The LEDs fl ash at differ ent speeds to distinguish between states: • slow fl ash = 1 fl ash/second • fast fl ash = 4 fl ashes/second • Irregular fl ash = rate of fl ash varies with SCSI bus activity . If the device is not connected to the bus, the LED is of f. Selecting Data Cartridges Silicon Graphi[...]

  • Page 30

    20 Chapter 2: Operating the Tape Drive Note: The EXA T APE 160-m XL data cartridges contain a r ecognition system stripe located on the tape leader for media identi fi cation. The 8505XL uses this stripe to distinguish data-quality metal-particle media, such as EXA T APE, from other 160-m media. T o maintain data integrity , the 8505XL automatical[...]

  • Page 31

    Unloading a Data Cartridge 21 Unloading a Data Cartridge The unload button is the only operating contr ol on the tape drive. It is used to unload the data cartridge from the tape drive (see Figur e 2-2). Note: Y ou can use the unload button to clear some har dware err ors. If a hardwar e error occurs, press the unload button to r eset the tape driv[...]

  • Page 32

    22 Chapter 2: Operating the Tape Drive[...]

  • Page 33

    23 Chapter 3 3. Pr eventive Maintenance The only routine maintenance r equired by the tape drive is r egular cleaning of the tape drive heads and tape path. Pr oper storage and maintenance of your data cartridges maximizes the shelf life of your tapes and assur es data integrity . Recommended Cleaning Cartridges Silicon Graphics recommends that you[...]

  • Page 34

    24 Chapter 3: Preventive Maintenance Using the Cleaning Cartridge T o use the cleaning cartridge, follow these steps: 1. Make sure that the tape drive is on and has r un the power-on self-test in T able 2-1 in Chapter 2. 2. Remove any data cartridge from the tape drive. 3. Check the cleaning cartridge to see if ther e is suf fi cient cleaning mate[...]

  • Page 35

    Caring for Data Cartridges 25 Caring for Data Cartridges T o maximize the shelf life of your tapes and assur e data integrity , follow these guidelines when storing data cartridges: • Place a label or other refer ence information on the cartridge adjacent to the write-protect switch. On the label, you may want to include the cartridge number (log[...]

  • Page 36

    26 Chapter 3: Preventive Maintenance Replacing Data Cartridges Approximately once each year , you may want to r ead all information on a tape and check the read err or statistics. If errors have incr eased signi fi cantly since the previous test or if they exceed a certain pr edetermined threshold, you should rear chive the data to a new tape and [...]

  • Page 37

    27 Chapter 4 4. T r oubleshooting This chapter provides suggestions for solving pr oblems that may occur when you are installing and operating your tape drive. These suggestions are divided into the following sections: • problems with tape drive installation • problems with the tape drive operation Often you can solve a tape drive problem by tr[...]

  • Page 38

    28 Chapter 4: Troubleshooting Problems With T ape Drive Operation Most problems with tape drive operation occur with impr oper cartridge use. If you have been successfully operating your backup softwar e and tape drive in the past, but are now experiencing pr oblems reading and writing data, check the following: • If you are writing data, make su[...]

  • Page 39

    Problems With Tape Drive Operation 29 If you are experiencing operating pr oblems loading or unloading a data cartridge, check the following: • Make sure that your system is turned on. If the system is of f, the tape drive may not eject the data cartridge. • The tape drive may have experienced a har dware err or . Press the unload button to cle[...]

  • Page 40

    30 Chapter 4: Troubleshooting[...]

  • Page 41

    31 Appendix A A. T ape Drive Speci fi cations T able A-1 shows the speci fi cations for the 8505XL tape drive. T able A-1 Drive Speci fi cations Parameter Speci fi cations Interface SCSI-1 and SCSI-2, single-ended Capacity 8200 format 262 KB/sec 8200c format Note: This assumes a 2:1 compr ession ratio 500 KB/sec 8500 format 500 KB/sec 8500c for[...]

  • Page 42

    32 Appendix A: Tape Drive Specifications Power and Reliability Input voltages Standard + 5 VDC and +12 VDC 5% Power consumption 14.5 W Mean time between failur e 160,0000 hours at 10% duty cycle T able A-1 (continued) Drive Speci fi cations Parameter Speci fi cations[...]