Manuals

Installing and Removing Tape Cartridges: Dell^™ PowerVault^™ 130T Library

Installing and Removing Tape Cartridges With the Power Off | Installing and Removing Tape Cartridges With the Power On | Cleaning Tape Drives

Installing and Removing Tape Cartridges With the Power Off

The library has storage cells for 30 tape cartridges unless four drives are installed, which reduces the number to 28. Five of the storage cells are in a removable magazine.

To install tape cartridges in the library with the power off, perform the following steps:

1. Make sure that the tape cartridges have the volume serial number (VOLSER) labels properly applied.
2. Unlock and open the front door of the library.
3. Slide each tape cartridge into the storage cell until the cartridge stops and catches on the retaining boss.
   Install each tape cartridge with the words "DLT CompacTape" on top and with the VOLSER label facing out. Refer to the Dell PowerVault 130T Library User's Guide for instructions on how to apply the cartridge label.
4. Close and lock the front door.

To remove tape cartridges from the library, perform the following steps:

1. Unlock and open the front door of the library.
2. Remove the tape cartridges by sliding them out of the storage cells.
3. Close and lock the front door.

Installing and Removing Tape Cartridges With the Power On

When the PowerVault 130T Library is in the Automated mode, the robot mounts and dismounts cartridges to the DLT drives automatically on request from the host software. Some manual operations, such as inserting or removing cartridges through the cartridge access port (CAP), might be necessary.

The procedure for inserting cartridges through the CAP is the same for data, diagnostic, and cleaning cartridges.  Depending on the operation, the library unlocks the CAP door automatically or at the operator’s command.

To install a tape cartridge with the power on, perform the following steps:

1. If the CAP door is not unlocked, press ENTER when the status display is visible.
   The CAP door unlocks and the CAP state on the status display changes to CAP Unlocked.
2. Lift the door.
3. Slide the tape cartridge all the way into the CAP.
   Ensure that the tape cartridge is right side up (writing on top) with the VOLSER label to the right.
4. Close the CAP door by lowering it until it locks.

To remove a tape cartridge from the CAP, perform the following steps:

1. Wait for the robot to place the tape cartridge in the CAP.
2. Press ENTER when the status display is visible to unlock the CAP door.
3. Open the door and remove the cartridge.

   NOTE: A small lip in the CAP slot prevents cartridges from slipping out of place. When removing a cartridge, lift it slightly to clear the lip.

4. Close the door.

Cleaning Tape Drives

If your host (controlling) software supports the Auto Clean option, you may enable it and keep a cleaning cartridge in the cleaning-cartridge cell (column 0, cell 7) of the library (see the Dell PowerVault 130T Library User's Guide for storage cell locations).  When the Auto Clean option is enabled, the PowerVault 130T automatically cleans tape drives when needed. The robot retrieves and mounts the cleaning cartridge for that operation.  If you choose not to enable the Auto Clean option, a drive that needs to be cleaned sends a Clean Me message to the operator panel.

To clean a drive, perform the following steps:

1. Select Clean a Drive from the Drive Utilities menu and press ENTER. 
2. When prompted, specify the number of the tape drive that needs to be cleaned.
3. Open the CAP door.
4. Insert a cleaning cartridge into the CAP. 
   The robot mounts the cleaning cartridge to the specified drive. The drive runs the cartridge to clean its read/write heads.  After the cleaning finishes, the robot returns the cleaning cartridge to the CAP.
5. Remove the cleaning cartridge from the CAP.
6. Close the CAP door.