HP Ultrium Drive and LTO cartridges caring notes

Caring for HP Ultrium LTO cartridges

Under optimum environmental conditions, Hewlett-Packard LTO cartridges are currently specified to 1,000,000 passes over any part of the tape. In operational terms, this can be translated to about 2000 full backup or restore operations. Under severe environmental conditions, particularly where the tape drive is used at very low humidity or if certain areas of the tape are accessed frequently, the number of backup operations should be limited even further.

Caution: Ensure that only one label is stuck to the label area of the cartridge. Never use non-standard labels, and never stick anything to the cartridge other than in the label area.

 

Using of HP Ultrium LTO cartridges

Only use Ultrium LTO cartridges in temperatures in the tape drive's operating range from 10C to 35C (50°F to 95°F) and 20 to 80% relative humidity (noncondensing). If you expose cartridges to temperatures outside the operating limits, stabilize them before you use them. To do this, leave the cartridges in the operating environment for 24 hours.

 

Storing HP Ultrium LTO cartridges

Store cartridges at temperatures between 16°C and 32°C (61°F and 90°F ) with a relative humidity between 20% and 80%.

Always keep the cartridges in a clean environment.

Always store cartridges in their plastic cases when not in use.

 

Maximizing life of HP Ultrium LTO cartridges

Do not touch the tape surface.

Do not attempt to clean the tape path or tape guides inside the cartridge.

Do not leave cartridge tapes in excessively dry or humid conditions.

Do not leave cartridges in direct sunlight or in places where magnetic fields are present (for example, under telephones, next to monitors or near transformers).

Do not drop cartridges or handle them roughly.

Do not stick more than one label onto cartridges; extra labels can cause the cartridges to jam in the tape drive.

 

Avoiding condensation of HP Ultrium LTO cartridges

Condensation can be a problem for tape drives and cartridges. To minimize the chance of condensation, stay within the specifications for using and storing cartridges above and observe the following guidelines:

1.  Position the drive where the temperature is relatively stable -- away from open windows, heat sources and doors.

2.  Avoid leaving cartridges in severe temperature conditions, for example, in a car standing in bright sunlight.

3.  Avoid transferring data (reading from and writing to cartridges) when the temperature is changing by more than 10°C (18°F) per hour.

4.  If you bring a cold tape drive or tape cartridge into a warm room, allow time for it to warm to room temperature before using it. For example, if you have

moved the drive from a cold car to a warm room, allow time for the drive to reach room temperature (up to 24 hours if the temperature change is extreme).

 

Cleaning strategy  of HP Ultrium Drive

Ultrium drives have been developed to have a minimal cleaning requirement. The Use cleaning cartridge orange LED on the tape drive will flash when the drive needs cleaning. Only insert a cleaning cartridge into the tape drive when the light flashes.

IMPORTANT: It is essential to use only HP Ultrium cleaning cartridges with HP Surestore Ultrium tape drives. Cleaning cartridges from other media manufacturers will not be accepted by the drive. Use of HP cleaning media will ensure your tape drive is fully protected.

 

HP Ultrium LTO cleaning cartridges

You must use only HP Ultrium cleaning cartridges to clean the tape heads. A cleaning cartridge is supplied with each tape drive. Do not use swabs or other means of cleaning the heads. The cleaning cartridge uses a special tape to clean the tape heads. A cleaning cartridge can be used up to 15 times. If the cleaning cartridge is ejected immediately then it has expired or it is not an HP Ultrium cleaning cartridge. Discard it and use a new one.

 

Cleaning the tape heads on a HP Ultrium Drive

1.  Insert a cleaning cartridge into the drive. The tape drive automatically loads the cartridge and cleans the heads. During the cleaning cycle the orange 'Use Cleaning Cartridge' LED will be on and the green 'Ready' LED will flash. At the end of the cleaning cycle, the drive ejects the cartridge. The cleaning cycle can take up to 5 minutes. If the cleaning cartridge ejects immediately, it has expired or it is not an HP Ultrium cleaning cartridge. In this case, discard the cleaning cartridge and repeat the operation with a new one.

2.  Remove the cleaning cartridge from the drive.

Note: The drive's TapeAlert feature will send a message to your backup application when the tape heads need cleaning or a cleaning cartridge has expired.