Requirements For Worm Capability; Cleaning Cartridge; Cartridge Memory Chip (Lto-Cm); Bar Code Labels - IBM TS2900 Setup, Operator, And Service Manual

v Inserting a WORM tape cartridge into a drive that is not compatible with WORM causes the cartridge
to be treated as an unsupported medium. The drive reports a media error code 7. Upgrading the drive
firmware to the correct code level resolves the problem.

Requirements for WORM capability

To use the WORM capability of your LTO Ultrium drive, you must use a compatible WORM tape
cartridge. See "Cartridge compatibility" on page 109 for cartridge and VOLSER compatibility and
"Ordering media supplies" on page 125 for media supplies.

Cleaning cartridge

An IBM Ultrium Universal Cleaning Cartridge is required to clean the tape drive. The drive itself
determines when it must be cleaned and notifies the library. When notified, the library indicates that the
drive needs cleaning by turning ON the "Clean Drive" LED on the front panel of the library and posting
a message on the library display.
A tape drive within a library requires the use of a library menu function to either automatically or
manually clean the tape drive. See "Operations" on page 61.
Important: The drive must be cleaned only when it is requested by the drive.
The IBM Ultrium Universal Cleaning Cartridge is valid for 50 uses. The cartridge's LTO-CM (Cartridge
Memory) chip tracks the number of times that the cartridge is used.
Note: The drive automatically ejects an expired cleaning cartridge.

Cartridge memory chip (LTO-CM)

All generations of the IBM LTO Ultrium data cartridges include a Linear Tape-Open Cartridge Memory
(LTO-CM) chip ( 1 in Figure 113 on page 107), that contains information about the cartridge and the
tape (such as the name of the manufacturer that created the tape), and statistical information about the
cartridge's use. The LTO-CM enhances the efficiency of the cartridge. For example, the LTO-CM stores the
end-of-data location which, when the next time this cartridge is inserted and the Write command is
issued, enables the drive to quickly locate the recording area and begin recording. The LTO-CM also aids
in determining the reliability of the cartridge by storing data about its age, how many times it was
loaded, and how many errors it accumulated. Whenever a tape cartridge is unloaded. The tape drive
writes any pertinent information to the cartridge memory.
The storage capacity of the LTO Generation 7 and 6 is 16320 bytes. For Generations 5 and 4, the LTO-CM
is 8160 bytes. LTO Generations 3, 2, and 1 have an LTO-CM capacity of 4096 bytes.

Bar code labels

A bar code label contains:
v A volume serial number (VOLSER) that is human-readable.
v A bar code that the library can read.
Note: LTO drives do not require cartridges to have bar code labels. Specific library types or models
might require cartridges to have bar code labels.
Table 20. Bar code label requirements for Ultrium tape drives and libraries
Ultrium Tape Drive/Library
3573
3576
Bar Code Label Requirements
Required
Required
111
Media