The only routine maintenance required by the tape drive is regular cleaning of the tape drive heads and tape path. Proper storage and maintenance of your data cartridges maximizes the shelf life of your tapes and assures data integrity.
Silicon Graphics recommends that you clean your tape drive with the Exabyte 8 mm cleaning cartridge (supplied with your package) or an Exabyte-approved cartridge. Using this cleaning cartridge regularly allows you to maintain data integrity and improve reliability of the tape drive.
 | Caution: Using a cleaning method or cleaner other than the recommended brand can void the tape drive warranty and possibly lead to premature wear of the recording head. |
You should clean the tape drive's heads either once a month or after every 30 tape motion hours (or more frequently if you are operating in a particularly dirty environment).
The tape drive keeps track of its tape motion hours internally. When 30 tape motion hours have elasped, the top and bottom LEDs will flash rapidly and the middle LED will flash irregularly, depending on SCSI bus activity. For best results, clean the tape drive as soon as possible after the LEDs begin flashing. Table 2-1 in Chapter 2 describes the LED pattern indicating that the tape drive needs cleaning.
To use the cleaning cartridge, follow these steps:
Make sure that the tape drive is on and has run the power-on self-test in Table 2-1 in Chapter 2.
Remove any data cartridge from the tape drive.
Check the cleaning cartridge to see if there is sufficient cleaning material remaining on the supply reel. If there is no cleaning material remaining, discard the cleaning cartridge and use a new one.
The 8505XL ships with a cleaning cartridge that can be used for up to nine cleanings.
Caution: Do not rewind and reuse the cleaning cartridge. Reusing a cleaning cartridge redistributes contaminants previously removed from the tape path. Insert the cleaning cartridge into the tape drive. The cleaning cycle is performed automatically by the tape drive and takes from 2 to 3 minutes. When the cleaning cycle is complete, the cleaning cartridge is automatically unloaded and ejected from the tape drive.
Note: If there are no more cleaning cycles remaining for the cleaning cartridge, the tape drive ejects it without completing the cleaning cycle. Confirm that a cleaning was done. Look at the LEDs on the front of the tape drive. If the cleaning cycle was successful, the top and bottom LEDs will be off. If the cleaning cycle was not performed, the LEDs will continue to flash.
Store the cleaning cartridge for future use if it still has cycles remaining. Or, discard it if no more cleaning cycles remain. You may want to maintain a record of how many times the cleaning cartridge has been used.
To maximize the shelf life of your tapes and assure data integrity, follow these guidelines when storing data cartridges:
Place a label or other reference information on the cartridge adjacent to the write-protect switch. On the label, you may want to include the cartridge number (log number), date of backup, and format of the tape.
Keep cartridges in their protective boxes when not in use.
Do not open the cartridge's access door or touch the tape.
Store cartridges in a cool, non-magnetic environment. Follow the cartridge manufacturer's specifications for storage temperature and other environmental requirements. Do not allow the temperature and humidity in the storage environment to fluctuate.
Keep the storage location as free of airborne particulates as possible. To eliminate obvious sources of particulates, do not permit anyone to smoke, eat, or drink near the storage area, and do not store cartridges near a copier or printer that may emit toner and paper dust.
Store data cartridges as soon as possible after you have written data to them. Immediate storage helps avoid many of the conditions that can damage tapes, such as temperature and humidity fluctuation, particulate contamination, and excessive handling.
Store data cartridges with the write-protect switch in the protected position (see “Write-Protecting a Data Cartridge”).
Store each cartridge on one of its long edges, not flat on its side. When a data cartridge is stored on its side, the tape inside the cartridge is actually on its edge. In this position, stress is placed on the tape edges and can lead to tape damage. For the same reason, never stack cartridges on top of each other or lean them at an angle for extended periods of time.
Approximately once each year, you may want to read all information on a tape and check the read error statistics. If errors have increased significantly since the previous test or if they exceed a certain predetermined threshold, you should rearchive the data to a new tape and discard the old tape.