Chapter 5 ATAPI Interface
Page 40 Seagate Travan 40 Product Manual
Note:
Fields marked with (*) will reset on power cycle, SCSI reset, cartridge insertion, rewind, or
PCR.
Page 2Eh—TapeAlert Diagnostic
Data Bits
Byte 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Hex
0 0 0 Page Code 2E
1 Reserved 00
2
3
MSB
Page Length
LSB
00
140
TapeAlert Flags
5n-1
5n
MSB
Parameter Code
LSB
nn
nn
5n+1 DU DS TSD ETC TMC Res LP 80
5n+2 Parameter Length 01
5n+3 Value of Flag (set when bit 0 = 1) 01
TapeAlert Diagnostic page conforms to TapeAlert Specification 2.0. This page is
supported when LOG SELECT page 32, byte 17, bit 7 is set to enable TapeAlert
Diagnostic reporting.
TapeAlert is a tape drive status monitoring and messaging standard that detects
problems that could have an impact on backup quality. TapeAlert provides easy-to-
understand warnings of errors as they arise, and suggests a course of action to
remedy the problem. The TapeAlert standard has been designed to allow easy
integration into backup applications from any software vendor.
To take advantage of TapeAlert, you need TapeAlert-compatible tape drives and
TapeAlert-compatible backup software.
TapeAlert firmware constantly monitors the drive hardware and the media, checking
for errors and potential difficulties. Any problems identified are flagged on the
TapeAlert Diagnostic page, where 64 bytes have been reserved for use by
TapeAlert.
After a backup has been completed, the TapeAlert-compatible backup application
will automatically read the drive’s TapeAlert log page to check for any problems. If an
error is flagged, the backup software displays a clear warning message on the user’s
screen, and adds the TapeAlert messages to its logs. These messages are standard
across all applications that support TapeAlert, and are designed to give clear
explanation of the problem and suggested resolution. For example, a user
attempting to backup onto an expired tape would encounter the message:
WARNING: The tape cartridge has reached the end of
its useful life:
1.Copy any data you need to another tape
2.Discard the old tape
TapeAlert currently checks for errors occurring in the following main categories:
• Drive recoverable and unrecoverable read problems
• Drive recoverable and unrecoverable write problems