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volume 2 software integration
LTO 4 FC, SCSI and SAS drives
HP LTO Ultrium tape drives technical reference manual
 Legal and notice information
 3 Use of tapes
Contents
1 Designing backup applications
2 Configuration and initialization
 4 Factors affecting performance
5 Supporting Ultrium features
 7 Exception handling
6 Sense keys and codes
 HP restricted
 Drives-general
Related documents
Documentation map
Documents specific to HP Ultrium drives
 Interface
Installation and configuration
Operation
Cartridges
 Dealing with errors
Maintenance and troubleshooting
 General documents and standardization
LTO Ultrium features
 Large data transfer size
1 Designing backup applications
Non-immediate commands
Optimizing performance
 Monitoring tape use
Cleaning tape heads
Managing the use of tapes
Information in Cartridge Memory
 Displaying drive information
Design goals for LTO backup applications
Diagnostic logs
TapeAlert
 Include the capability to download firmware
 Operating system drivers
2 Configuration and initialization
Inquiry string recovery
 SCSI protocol, regardless of transport or interface type
Example
16 Configuration and initialization
 Supporting additional LUNs
Support for additional LUN
Enabling additional LUN support
 18 Configuration and initialization
 LTO cartridge memory
Using Cartridge Memory attributes
Using MODE SENSE
3 Use of tapes
 Interpreting Log Sense data
Tape status and capacity
Finding the remaining capacity
 CDB fields
Using the SET CAPACITY command
Command descriptor block
 New additional sense codes and TapeAlert flags
Changes to SCSI commands
WORM media
How WORM media works
 Re-writing media labels
Error Usage page
ERASE commands rejected
SET CAPACITY command
 Unique media identifier
Using CM to check tape integrity
Behavior with a missing or inconsistent EOD value
 Barcode support
Responding to Cartridge Memory data
Load count
 Corrective action
RWW retry counts
 Ensuring the recommended minimum transfer sizes
4 Factors affecting performance
Ways of optimizing performance
Detecting the drive’s speed
 Media type identification
Using Cartridge Memory instead of tape headers
Using the Performance Log page for diagnosing problems
Time-out values
 Host-related factors
Recommended support of log pages
Factors affecting performance
 makes sense to split heavily used FC cards across separate PCI busses
Example
Recommendation
where possible or a reasonably sized RAID system. More disks means
 Do not interleave write commands with other commands, such as  READ
Drive-related factors
 Format-related factors
Page
 34 Factors affecting performance
 Further information
5 Supporting Ultrium features
Cartridge Memory LTO-CM
Automation interface
 Automation/Device Interface ADI
 Slave to a library controller
Automation Control Interface ACI
Modes of usage through ACI
 SCSI pass-through mode
ACI command set
ACI commands that affect drive streaming performance
 Backward compatibility
New features in ACI
 SCSI command
 Encryption support
 42 Supporting Ultrium features
Further details
Supporting the ACI protocol
Recommended ACI time-out values
 Treatment of reserved fields
Recommended power-up sequence
 Recommended load-unload configuration
 Upgrading the drive firmware
Firmware upgrade via tape
Recommended Get Drive Status polling frequency
ACI protocol communications retry
 Handling irregular cartridges
Firmware upgrade via the primary host interface
Firmware upgrade via ACI
Library firmware upgrade via tape
 Unreadable data cartridge
Cleaning cartridge HP-configured or Universal
Expired cleaning cartridge HP-configured or Universal
Non-HP Ultrium 1 cleaning cartridge
 Cartridge cannot be loaded
Valid firmware upgrade cartridge
Data cartridge with unreadable CM
Cartridge fails to seat or load
 Is there separate firmware for drives intended to go into libraries?
Frequently asked questions
Cleaning
Invalid firmware upgrade cartridge
 Resetting using the ACIRSTL line
Backup software
Resetting drives
Resetting via the ACI Reset command
 Buffer size at EW-EOM
Accessing Cartridge Memory without threading the tape
Controlling data compression
Other mode page information
 52 Supporting Ultrium features
Rewind on reset
Write delay time
Partition size
 Console Message
6 Sense keys and codes
Sense keys-actions to take
Action
 error to the calling application
“3h-MEDIUM ERROR” on page 62 . Also see the Media Access
For additional sense codes, see   “3h-MEDIUM  ERROR” on
log the error, terminate I/O to the drive, and pass the appropriate
 Console Message
Action
Console Message
Action
 page
 reached, unable to fit
Additional sense codes-actions to take
Physical
End-of-Tape
 0h-NO SENSE
 2h-NOT READY
1h-RECOVERED ERROR
 60 Sense keys and codes
The software must issue a  LOAD before media access
LUN not accessible, port in
The command cannot be executed because the specified
 mechanism tests are being executed. When the tests are
 62 Sense keys and codes
3h-MEDIUM ERROR
A READ , SPACE , WRITE  or WRITE FILEMARKS  command
 and the drive. Based on this, ask the user to clean the
Send a console message that an unrecovered error on
 64 Sense keys and codes
 Send a message to the console indicating that there is
 66 Sense keys and codes
The current command such as  READ,  SPACE,  REWIND
 4h-HW ERROR
 68 Sense keys and codes
5h-ILLEGAL REQUEST
A  MODE SELECT parameter list sent to the drive contains
 32 initiators to register, using  PERSISTENT RESERVE OUT
6h-UNIT ATTENTION
persistent reservation using the  PERSISTENT RESERVE OUT
allowed to execute. In other words, some commands can
 Action
 A SET DEVICE IDENTIFIER command has been successful
service action removed all reservations and the persistent
A PERSISTENT RESERVE OUT command was executed
WRITE BUFFER or MAINTENANCE OUT command
 7h-DATA PROTECTION
 Action
 8h-BLANK CHECK
 related to a missing EOD data set. The most likely cause
Bh-ABORTED COMMAND
READ BUFFER command
 76 Sense keys and codes
Dh-VOLUME OVERFLOW
A  WRITE or  WRITE FILEMARKS command has encountered
 4. Allow the user to reset devices
Typical escalation procedure
1. Retrieve fault information
3. Allow the user to try recovery
 Supporting TapeAlert
Monitoring the condition of the drive and media
 Type
Flags
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 TapeAlert models
Designing software to use the TapeAlert log
 TapeAlert informational exception usage model
Reading the TapeAlert log
TapeAlert polling usage model
 Supporting OBDR
One-Button Disaster Recovery OBDR
Responding to the ‘Clean’ LED
 Requirements for drivers and logical device managers
Providing pass-through mode
 Glossary
 see ”read-while-write”
 Index
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