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1993-04-28
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Tech Note # 093-020
Updated: 04-28-93
Subject: Suggested maintenance for tape drives
Keywords:
Network Archivist Version: All
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE FOR TAPE DRIVES
Your tape transport, whether it is from Palindrome or another
manufacturer, requires proper care and maintenance to function reliably
over the lifetime of the unit. The procedures and suggestions in this
section apply to ALL tape transports.
Failure to perform these simple preventive maintenance procedures
results in excessive wear-and-tear on the unit, possibly causing
failures during archiving or restoration.
NOTE: Failure to follow the prescribed cleaning practices, or meet
the recommended environmental specifications, may result in
your warranty becoming void.
Operating Environment
Usually common sense is all that's needed to ensure the proper operating
environment (e.g., keep all liquids away from your transport and tapes),
although Palindrome recommends a quick review of the recommended
environmental specifications.
Temperature and Humidity
Maintain a temperature range of +40 to +100 Fahrenheit and a relative
humidity of 20 to 80%. Most offices will meet these criteria. A bigger
concern is the difference in temperature between the tapes and the tape
drive. Both should be at the same relative temperature.
TIP: If a tape sat out in your car overnight and the outside
temperature was lower than 60 degrees Fahrenheit, don't use
the tape until it has reached room temperature.
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
Tape transports tolerate moderate levels of EMI. To minimize this
interference, keep external transports a safe distance away from
equipment that is known to generate excess amounts of EMI.
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
Most computer equipment is susceptible to ESD, including tape cartridges
and tape transports. Make sure that you discharge any static that you
may have accumulated prior to contacting a tape unit or its tapes.
Shock and Vibration
Like computer hard disks, tape transports are adversely affected by
sudden jolts and excessive vibration. To minimize vibration, mount the
tape transport on a stable surface, free from excessive vibration.
Air Flow Requirements
The tape transport requires adequate air flow through its vents to
dissipate excess heat. Do not obstruct the unit's vents, and allow
sufficient space around the unit to guarantee free air flow. Do not
operate your transport with its cover removed -- this may interfere with
proper cooling of the unit and will increase contamination from dust and
debris. Avoid excessively dirty environments, such as a warehouse.
Keep the unit away from paper dust generated from office equipment such
as printers and photo copiers. Do not mount a tape transport where it
may pick up carpet or other fabric fibers. The tape transport's fan
will draw dust into the unit, contaminating it and the tapes that you
used. In those dirty environments, clean the tape transport more
thoroughly and more frequently.
Power Protection
Most computer equipment is susceptible to power fluctuations. Your
Network Archivist system is no exception -- it can be vulnerable unless
it receives clean, uninterrupted power. While LAN managers usually
protect their file servers with uninterruptable power supplies (UPS),
the archiving systems power supply is often left unprotected, or only
protected with a simple surge protector.
Studies show that power spikes account for a minority of electrical
disturbances. Most often, blackouts, brownouts, voltage sags, or line
noise cause the bigger problems. An inexpensive surge suppressor is not
the answer. It may not trap power spikes quickly enough, and it does
not address the other electrical disturbances mentioned above.
Palindrome highly recommends connecting the tape transport and
workstation running the Network Archivist to a UPS. Power disturbances
can damage the tape transport and the Network Archivist workstation, and
will create problems that are unpredictable and difficult to trace.
Periodic Maintenance
Tape transports require regular maintenance. If magnetic dust or debris
collects at one or more of the tape heads or in the tape path, magnetic
media may become unreadable or unwriteable. To reduce the possibility
of hardware or media errors, establish a regular cleaning schedule.
NOTE: Failure to maintain your drive properly will void your
warranty.
Palindrome provides a list of the recommended cleaning practices for
each tape transport below. Use only manufacturer-approved cleaning
cartridges available from Palindrome or your authorized dealer.
Palindrome specifies use of its cleaning cartridges because some
cleaning cartridges are very abrasive and may damage the tape heads and
void your warranty.
Do not exceed the recommended maximum number of cleaning passes with a
single cartridge. Refer to the documentation supplied with the cleaning
cartridge for specific instructions on cleaning procedures. FAST 2200
(2.2GB) Tape Transport
Palindrome's FAST 2200 2.2GB tape transport (or any 2.2GB tape transport
on the market) requires cleaning of the tape head/path once a month or
after thirty hours of data transfer, whichever comes first. Cleaning as
often as once a week may be necessary. Video machine cleaning tapes
should NOT be used. They often consist of only plastic tape, which can
abrade tape heads. Use only a Palindrome-approved, dry cloth cleaning
cartridge, available from Palindrome or your authorized dealer.
NOTE: Run the cleaning tape immediately after a new blank tape is
placed into service.
FAST 2000 Tape Transport
Clean the tape head/path of Palindrome's FAST 2000, 2.0GB tape transport
after each initial pass with a new tape cartridge, as well as every
thirty gigabytes or fifty hours of data transfer, whichever comes first.
Whenever the Cassette In Place Status LED flashes (the green light at
the front of the drive), you should clean the drive heads with a
Palindrome-approved cleaning cassette (do not use cleaning cartridges
designed for audio DAT machines).
Note: The slowly flashing green LED may refer to a damaged tape or
a tape nearing the end of its life. If cleaning the head
does not correct the flashing LED condition, replace the
cassette. The slowly flashing LED does not indicate a loss of
data, nor does it affect operation.
FAST 250 or FAST 525 Tape Transport
Palindrome recommends cleaning the recording head after each initial
pass with a new tape cartridge, in addition to cleaning after every
eight hours of read, write or erase activity. Clean the sensor openings
and tape cartridge cavity whenever you can see dust or debris inside the
cartridge cavity.
NOTE: Do not over clean the drive. Excessive cleaning will reduce
tape head life.
Tape Handling
Tapes are very sensitive to environmental conditions. Exercise great
care in storing and using them. Physical damage to the tape is often
the root behind unsuccessful recovery of archived data. This damage can
be caused by equipment, environment or mishandling.
The second most probable cause of tape failure is contamination.
Contamination can pre-exist, originate, or be created during every phase
of the storage process.
If you take care of your tape transport and store the tapes according to
recommended procedures below, you can successfully recover data from
archived media that is over ten years old! Palindrome recommends the
following procedures to enhance the shelf life of your company's
precious data.
Use only data-certified tapes.
Palindrome recommends using high quality tapes and cleaning the tape
transport after the initial pass of a new tape cartridge.
NOTE: Use only Palindrome-approved tape cartridges! Do NOT use
video or analog grade tapes, no matter how economically
appealing they may be. They are generally of a lesser
quality, and are not approved for use with the tape
transport.
Palindrome customers have experienced a greater number of media errors
with unapproved media. Additionally, use of unapproved tapes can
ultimately cause approved tapes to become contaminated.
Cleanliness.
Dirty tape transport heads and media account for the second most
probable reason for recovery failure. The cleaner the better; both in
the operation and the storage areas. Do not permit smoking, eating or
drinking in the area where you perform backups. Keep everything clean.
Recording.
The tape transport used for recording archive data must be exceptionally
clean and must be operating within electrical and mechanical
specifications.
NOTE: The Network Archivist performs frequent start and stop
operations on the tape, so Palindrome advises tape
retensioning, but only for Palindrome FAST 250 and 525
drives.
Retension your 250MB and 525MB tapes after every other use of the tape,
regardless of the operation you perform.
Storage.
Store the tapes on edge. Do not stack them horizontally. Store your
cartridges in their protective box, away from heat sources and
electromagnetic fields when it is not mounted in the tape transport. Do
not place cartridges on the computer, monitor, or any other peripheral
device.
TIP: Do not locate a tape transport unit near a printer or a
copier, or any other sources of stray magnetic fields or
paper dust.
Follow the guidelines presented above and you will be well on your way
to ensuring reliable, worry-free archiving and restoral. A little
preventive maintenance now can ensure reliable restoral of data later,
when you need it most.