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Operation and Maintenance: Dell™ PowerVault™ 120T DLT1
Autoloader User's Guide
Operation and Maintenance describes the typical
operating features of the PowerVault 120T DLT1, providing details about
the media and drive head-cleaning cartridge and normal maintenance procedures.
Normal Operations
Once the PowerVault 120T DLT1 and the appropriate application
software are installed and configured, backup and restore operations are
available.
General Guidelines
Backup and restore can be performed automatically through
the application software. The automated procedure requires the replacement
of cartridges, as needed, during this process.
Always follow these general-operating guidelines:
-
Do not open the front door of the PowerVault 120T DLT1
except to perform manual Mode commands or change cartridges.
-
Use only the recommended types of media cartridges described
in the DLT
Media section.
-
Clean the DLT1 drive whenever the CT
field
appears on the LCD, signifying a cleaning request, or as soon thereafter
as possible.
-
Never insert or remove cartridges from the storage slots
unless LdR REAdY is
displayed on the LCD.
Power Up Checks
Powering up the PowerVault 120T DLT1 performs the following
actions:
-
Verify the drive configuration and status
-
Build a valid cartridge inventory log
-
Calibrate the Media Picker. Once the PowerVault 120T
DLT1 completes the power up checks, the system automatically places itself
in Ready Mode, LdR REAdY.
Power on the System
The two keys for the front door are taped to the rear
panel of the PowerVault 120T DLT1.
-
Remove the keys from the rear panel, unlock and open
the front door.
-
Remove the shipping block from the cartridge storage
area.
-
Plug the power cord into the AC receptacle on the rear
panel of the PowerVault 120T DLT1.
-
Plug the power cord from the PowerVault 120T DLT1 into
a grounded electrical outlet.
-
Plug the power cord from the host computer into a grounded
electrical outlet.
-
Press the POWER button
on the Operator Panel to power on the PowerVault 120T DLT1.
While the PowerVault 120T DLT1 initializes, LdR
INIT appears on the first line of the LCD. The
Activity LED will blink slowly. The LCD displays the Activity Bars.
After the PowerVault 120T DLT1 robotics completes
its initialization, the drive will initialize and dRIVE
INIT appears on the first line of the LCD. The
Activity LED will blink fast, and the Activity Bars appear on the LCD.
At the conclusion of drive initialization, LdR
REAdY is displayed on the first line of the LCD.
Power off the System
-
Press and hold the POWER button
for 2 seconds to power off the PowerVault 120T DLT1. Holding the button
2 seconds is a safety feature. This reduces the chances of data loss resulting
from an accidental power off during use.
Set the SCSI IDs
The PowerVault 120T DLT1 consists of two SCSI devices:
the drive and the robotics. The default settings for the SCSI IDs are:
LdR
Id 1 and dRV Id 3.
Depending upon requirements, the SCSI ID default settings for the installation
may need to change. To alter the SCSI ID of the robotics and/or the drive,
perform the following steps:
-
Press the MODE
button on the Operator's Panel until SET SCSI,
Mode 6, appears on the first line of the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT button.
LdR
SCSI
is displayed on the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT button.
LdR
ID X, where
X is the current SCSI
ID, appears on the LCD. Press the NEXT
button to select a higher ID or the PREVIOUS
button to select a lower ID.
-
Press the SELECT button
to accept the new ID for the robotics. The LCD displays dRV
Id XX, where XX is the current SCSI ID.
-
Press the SELECT
button to accept the new ID for the drive. CYCLE
PWR blinks on the LCD for approximately 10 seconds.
-
Press and hold the POWER
button for 2 seconds to power down the PowerVault 120T DLT1.
-
Wait a few seconds, then press the POWER
button again to power on the PowerVault 120T DLT1. The new SCSI IDs are
now in effect. If necessary, power cycle the server and reconfigure the
application software to view the new IDs.
Prepare and Install the Data Cartridges
To gain access to the cartridge storage slots unlock
and open the front door.
-
Make sure the write-protect switch is set correctly
on each cartridge (Figure 1). Slide the switch to the appropriate position.
Figure 1. Preparing for Data Cartridge Installation
-
Place data cartridges into slots 1 and 2. Never insert
or remove cartridges from the storage slots unless LdR
REAdY is displayed on the LCD.
-
Verify the LCD displays that tapes are in slots 1 and
2.
-
Press the MODE button
on the Operator's Panel until LOAd SLOT,
Mode 2, appears on the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT button to select the LOAd
SLOT command. SRC SLOT
1 appears on the LCD. The LOAd
SLOT command always moves the tape from slot
1 to slot 6.
-
Press the SELECT button to execute the LOAd SLOT command.
-
The PowerVault 120T will now move the data cartridge
or cleaning tape from slot 1 to slot 6 or from slot 2 to slot 7. While
executing, the LdR MOVE,
LdR
PICK and LdR PLACE
messages appear on the LCD. When the PowerVault 120T has completed the
command, LdR REAdY
is displayed on the LCD.
-
Verify the LCD displays tapes are present in slots 2
and 6.
-
Press the MODE
button on the Operator's Panel until LOAd SLOT,
Mode 2, appears on the first line of the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT button
to select the LOAd SLOT
command. SRC SLOT 2
appears on the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT button
to execute the LOAd SLOT
command. The PowerVault 120T will now move the tape from slot 2 to slot
7.
-
Verify the LCD displays tapes are present in slots 6
and 7.
-
Install five additional cartridges into storage slots
1 through 5. Verify the LCD displays that tapes are present in slots 1
through 7.
-
Close the PowerVault 120T door, turn the key a quarter-turn
clockwise and remove it from the lock.
-
Turn on the host computer power and launch the software
application.
Drive Status Messages
During on-line operation, the PowerVault 120T DLT1 places
drive status messages on the top line of the LCD. Table 1 lists the LCD
messages:
Table 1. Definitions for Drive Status Messages
Drive Status Message |
Description |
CALIBRATE |
Calibrating head to tracks on cartridge |
EJECTING |
Cartridge is unloading from the drive |
LOAdING |
Cartridge is moving between the home slot and the
drive |
CLEANING |
Cleaning cartridge is cleaning the drive head |
ERASING |
Data stored on the tape is being removed |
REAdING |
Cartridge is retrieving stored information and sending
it to the request |
WRITING |
Data is written to tape for storage |
SEEKING |
Searching for the location of the requested data
on the tape |
REWINdING |
Tape is rewinding |
PowerVault 120T DLT1 Modes
The following diagram (Figure 2) is a quick reference guide
to the PowerVault 120T DLT1 modes. Note that when selecting modes, it is only
possible to scroll forward through the choices. If the desired mode is passed,
continue to press the MODE
button until it is displayed on the LCD.
Figure 2. PowerVault 120T DLT1 Modes
To access a mode, press the MODE
button until the LCD displays the desired mode on line 1. To exit a mode
and return to LdR REAdY,
press
the MODE button.
Mode 1A - LOAD DRV
This option is used to load a tape into an empty drive.
If LOAd dRV does not
appear when pressing the MODE
button, the drive is most likely loaded with a tape.
-
To access Mode 1A,
press the MODE button
until LOAd dRV appears
on the LCD. Press the SELECT
button. SRC SLOT appears
on the LCD. If the source slot is empty, a blinking RESELECT
is displayed on the LCD. The blinking RESELECT
indicates an invalid source slot was selected.
-
Use the NEXT
or PREVIOUS button
to scroll through the slot choices. Press SELECT
when the appropriate slot is displayed.
The PowerVault 120T DLT1 loads the desired tape into
the drive. After completing the task, the PowerVault 120T DLT1 returns
to LdR REAdY and the
slot number of the tape in the drive is displayed on the LCD.
Mode 1B - EJECT DRV
EJECT DRV ejects the tape
from the drive and returns it to the home storage slot. Mode
1B performs this operation. When the drive is
empty, Mode 1B is disabled.
-
To access Mode 1B,
press the MODE button
until EJECT dRV appears
on the LCD. Press the SELECT
button. EJECTING appears
on the LCD as this operation is performed.
-
When the PowerVault 120T DLT1 has completed the command,
LdR
REAdY is displayed.
Mode 2 - LOAD SLOT
Mode 2 is used to add one
piece of media to slot 6 or slot 7 or to add media to both slots, 6 and
7. When these slots have cartridges in them, Mode
2 is disabled.
-
To load slot 6, place a cartridge in slot 1.
-
To load slot 7, place a cartridge in slot 2.
-
To load slots 6 and 7, place cartridges in slots 1 and
2.
-
To access Mode 2,
press the MODE button
until LOAd SLOT appears
on the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT
button. SRC SLOT N,
where N is either 1 or 2, appears on the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT
button to move the cartridge from slot 1 to slot 6, or from slot 2 to slot
7.
After moving the cartridge, the PowerVault 120T DLT1
will return to LdR REAdY.
Mode 3 - EJECT SLOT
EJECT SLOT is used to remove
a cartridge from slot 6 or 7. If the source slot is empty or the destination
slot is full, selecting EJECT SLOT
causes RESELECT to
blink on the LCD. This indicates an invalid mode was selected.
-
To access Mode 3,
press the MODE button
until EJECT SLOT appears
on the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT
button to select Mode 3.
SRC
SLOT N, where N is either 6 or 7, appears on
the LCD.
-
Press the NEXT or PREVIOUS
button as necessary, to choose slot 6 or 7 to eject.
-
Press SELECT
when the slot to eject is displayed.
The PowerVault 120T DLT1 moves the tape from the source
slot to the appropriate destination slot. EJECT
SLOT always moves the tape in slot 6 to slot
1, and slot 7 to slot 2. When the PowerVault 120T DLT1 has completed the
command, LdR REAdY appears.
Mode 4 - EJECT PCKR
EJECT PCKR is infrequently
used. However, under circumstances such as a power outage, cartridges may
be in transition between a slot and a drive. To remove this cartridge from
the Picker, the EJECT PCKR
option is utilized.
Prior to executing the EJECT
PCKR mode, the media picker cannot be in the
process of moving cartridges.
NOTE: If the media picker does not have a tape and EJECT
PCKR
is selected, the LCD displays the E,
for error message, and PCKR EMPTY.
Within 25 seconds, press the MODE
button to return to LdR REAdY
status.
-
To access Mode 4,
press the MODE button
until EJECT PCKR appears
on the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT
button to select Mode 4.
dST
SLOT N, where N is the slot the PowerVault 120T
DLT1 identifies as the home slot, appears on the LCD while the drive ejects
the tape.
-
Use the NEXT
or PREVIOUS button
to scroll through the destination slot choices. Press SELECT
when
the desired slot is displayed. If the destination slot is full, RESELECT
blinks on the LCD, indicating the user attempted to select an invalid destination
slot.
When the PowerVault 120T DLT1 has completed the command,
LdR REAdY appears.
Mode 5 - DENSITY
The DENSITY option establishes the density of
the data cartridge. DLTtapeTM IV data cartridges can be formatted
to the densities shown in Table 2:
Table 2. Maximum Capacity
Drive Model |
DLT1 |
Data Cartridge |
DLTtape IV |
Cartridge Density (native mode) |
40.0 GB |
Cartridge Density (compressed mode) |
80.0 GB |
-
To access Mode 5,
press the MODE button
until dENSITY appears
on the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT
button. FMT XX, where
XX is the lowest native mode density selectable for this cartridge, appears
on the LCD.
-
Press the NEXT or PREVIOUS
button to scroll through the density choices.
Press SELECT when the
desired density setting is displayed. When the PowerVault 120T DLT1 has
completed the command, it will return to LdR
REAdY.
Mode 6 - SET SCSI
When the loader or the drive needs to be altered, SET
SCSI
is used. A power cycle is necessary for
the alterations to take effect on the PowerVault 120T DLT1.
-
To access Mode 6,
press the MODE button until SET SCSI
appears on the LCD.
-
Press the SELECT
button to select Mode 6.
LdR
SCSI appears on the LCD.
-
Press SELECT
to choose the PowerVault 120T DLT1 robotics. LdR
Id X, where X is the current SCSI ID for
the robotics, appears on the LCD.
-
Press NEXT
or
PREVIOUS button to scroll through the ID choices. Press SELECT
when the desired ID is displayed. dRV SCSI
appears on the LCD.
-
In order to change the ID of the drive, press SELECT.
dRV
Id XX, where XX is the current SCSI ID
of the drive, appears on the LCD.
-
Press the NEXT or PREVIOUS
button to scroll through the ID choices. Press
SELECT
when the desired ID is displayed. CYCLE PWR
appears on the LCD.
-
The CYCLE PWR
message will blink for approximately 10 seconds. Then, the PowerVault 120T
DLT1 will return to LdR REAdY.
-
Press and hold the POWER
button for approximately 2 seconds to power down the PowerVault 120T DLT1.
Wait two or three seconds and press the POWER
button again. The new IDs are in effect.
Normal Maintenance
Keeping a drive clean is the single most important requirement
for achieving and maintaining superior performance.
Cleaning the Drive Head
Cleaning the head should be performed when the CT
field
appears on the LCD. The tape head can be cleaned on a routine basis, once
a month, or when the CT
field
appears on the Operator's Panel LCD.
Some application packages feature an auto clean cycle.
If the application supports an auto clean function, using this option is
strongly recommended.
The PowerVault 120T DLT1's built-in
AUTOCLEAN
feature is available when the application does not support an auto clean
cycle. However, when AUTOCLEAN is enabled, the tape capacity of
the PowerVault 120T DLT1 is reduced to 6 tapes.
Cleaning Tape
Use the DLT1 cleaning tape (Figure 3), shipped with
the PowerVault 120T DLT1, to clean the drive heads.
NOTE: Use only cleaning cartridges designed for use in a Benchmark
DLT1 drive. Any other type of cleaning cartridge or cleaning method can
damage the drive's read/write head.
Figure 3. DLT1 Cleaning Tape
After 20 cleanings, the cleaning tape is exhausted.
To keep track of tape usage, the cleaning tape label includes 20 small
boxes. Always place a check mark in one box each time the tape is used
for cleaning a drive head. Replace the cleaning cartridge when all boxes
are checked.
Table 3. Using a Cleaning Tape
If... |
It means... |
Try... |
The CT field
appears on the Operator's Panel LCD. |
The drive head needs cleaning. |
Cleaning the drive head using a cleaning cartridge.
When cleaning is completed, check a box on the cleaning cartridge label. |
A particular data cartridge causes the CT
field to appear on the Operator's Panel LCD. |
The data cartridge may be damaged. |
Backing up the data from the damaged cartridge onto
a replacement cartridge. A damaged cartridge causes unnecessary use of
the cleaning cartridge. |
The CT
field appears after performing a cleaning and a data cartridge is reloaded
in the drive. |
The cleaning cartridge has been exhausted or the
data cartridge may be damaged. |
Replacing the cleaning cartridge. Clean the drive
head with the new cleaning cartridge. If the CT
field appears at this point, back up the data from the damaged cartridge
onto a replacement cartridge. Use the replacement cartridge. |
Head Cleaning Procedure
An application's auto clean function, the AUTOCLEAN
feature
of PowerVault, and the CLEAN DRV
function on the Diagnostic Menu require using a home slot for storing the
cleaning tape. When this slot is better used to hold a piece of storage
media, the tape drive head can be cleaned manually.
Manually Cleaning the Head
To initiate the cleaning cycle manually, note the present
state of the PowerVault 120T DLT1 and the drive requiring cleaning. If
a cartridge is present in the drive, use the Mode
1B, EJECT DRV, operation to remove the
cartridge. Then, proceed with the following instructions:
-
Unlock and open the front door of the PowerVault 120T
DLT1.
-
Insert the cleaning cartridge into any empty storage
slot.
-
Use Mode 1A,
LOAD DRV, to load the cleaning tape into the
drive.
The cleaning cycle will be performed. When cleaning
is completed, perform the following instructions:
-
Use Mode 1B,
EJECT
DRV,
to unload the cleaning tape from
the drive and place it back in the storage slot.
-
Remove the cleaning cartridge and check a usage box
on the label.
-
To resume normal operation, close the front door of
the PowerVault 120T DLT1 and lock it.
Cleaning the Enclosure
Use a damp towel to clean the outside of the enclosure
for light cleaning. If deeper cleaning is required, apply a liquid, all-purpose
cleaner to a towel prior to wiping the surface. Applying a liquid, all-purpose
cleaner directly to the enclosure surface can damage the equipment.
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