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Qualstar Q1 User Manual
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Qualstar Q1 User Manual

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Qualstar Q1
User Manual
Document No. 511015 Rev. 07-01-19

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Summary of Contents for Qualstar Q1

  • Page 1 Qualstar Q1 User Manual Document No. 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 3 Copyright 2015 by Qualstar Corporation — All Rights Reserved Information contained in this document is copyrighted by Qualstar Corporation. It is intended for use by Qualstar's customers and prospective customers to evaluate, integrate, operate and maintain Qualstar products. Customers and prospective customers may reproduce this document as needed for these uses.
  • Page 4 European Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Qualstar encourages its customers to use current recycling practices in order to reduce the burden that waste electronic products place on the environment.
  • Page 5 High voltage ‐ Risk of electric shock DANGER  Do not remove power supply cover. No user‐serviceable parts are inside.  Refer servicing to qualified service personnel. WARNING Risk of damage to devices  Do not move unit while it is operating. Static sensitive ‐...
  • Page 6 Technical Support Information The best source for service-related information is your system reseller. Alternately, you can contact the Qualstar Technical Support Department Qualstar Corporation 1267 Flynn Road, Camarillo, CA 93012 Attn: Technical Support (805) 416-7055 Phone: Toll Free: (877) 886-2758 option 4 Monday –...

  • Page 7: Table Of Contents

    Table of Contents Qualstar Q1 ........................1-1 Overview........................1-1 1.1.1 Flexible Operation; Standalone or Networked ............ 1-1 1.1.2 Monitoring: Remote Desktop and traditional monitor ........1-2 1.1.3 The LTFS Format ....................1-2 1.1.4 Qualstar Software ....................1-2 1.1.5 Qualstar Q1 ......................1-4 Included In Your Package ....................
  • Page 8 Configuring DMC Software..................3-11 3.10 Care of LTO-6 Products in Extreme Conditions ........... 3-13 Appendix A LTFS Tape Operations .............. Appendix 1 Please follow these guidelines to ensure data integrity ........ Appendix 1 A.1.1 How to Create a Drive Dump and find the LTFS log file ...... Appendix 2 A.1.2 Additional useful tips and notes ..............

  • Page 9: Qualstar Q1

    Qualstar Q1 1.1 Overview The Qualstar Q1 is an economical and easy to use solution to add LTO tape archive and backup to your facility or production. It takes advantage of the industry standard LTFS (linear tape file system) allowing...

  • Page 10: Monitoring: Remote Desktop And Traditional Monitor

    And the Q1 can also be made a SAN client for direct copy from SAN to tape. Connect a computer (desktop or laptop) directly to the Q1 with simple network cable for easy backup from single computer.
  • Page 11 Players for major file types In addition Q1s come configured with video players preinstalled for the major file types so you can review footage easily on the Q1: REDCINE-X, P2 Viewer, XDCAM Browser, Canon XF Viewer and Scratch Player are supported.

  • Page 12: Qualstar Q1

    1.1.5 Qualstar Q1 LTO Tape Drive SD Card Slot MS Card Slot CF Card Slot Eject Button (Disabled with LTFS) Power On Button Figure 1-1 Front View with CF and SD Card Slots Qualstar Q1 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 13 External SAS Audio Green line-out USB 3.0 (Qty 4) Network 1Gb HDMI video P/S 2 USB 2.0 (Qty 2) Wireless Power connectors Figure 1-2 Rear View showing Connectors Qualstar Q1 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 14 Network cable Monitor connected USB keyboard and mouse connected to USB 2.0 ports Power Figure 1-3 Rear View with Connections Qualstar Q1 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 15: Included In Your Package

    1.2 Included In Your Package 1B Serial Number Please take note of the serial# on the back of your Q1. It begins with 1B followed by 4 digits. We will ask you for the 1B serial# during all support calls and it will be required for all RMA’s (return authorizations for service).

  • Page 16: Other Items You Will/May Need

    1.4 Stand-Alone Operation You do not need another computer to utilize the Qualstar Q1. It may be used, on its own, as a stand-alone tape archive solution. This frees up other machines in your facility from having to be involved in the archive task. The Qualstar Q1 is especially suited to this task because of the high-speed interconnects offered.

  • Page 17: Set-Up And Power On

    Press the RED power button on the front of the unit to turn it on, and wait for the system to boot Windows. You will see the following icons on your desktop: If you double-click the “Computer” icon you will see the drives displayed in Windows Explorer: Qualstar Q1 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 18 When a piece of LTO tape media is inserted into the drive and loaded, the T drive letter icon will appear as shown below if you have inserted a tape that has been formatted and has data on it: See Appendix A for detailed notes on LTFS operation. Qualstar Q1 1-10 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 19 Rollback buttons are operations is running: load, format, check, rollback, or eject. unavailable. Eject and Properties are available. The medium is inserted, but is not an LTO 6 The Check and Rollback buttons medium. are unavailable. Qualstar Q1 1-11 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 20 SAFELY EJECT the tape via the desktop before initiating shut down/restart of the Qualstar Q1. The process of ejecting the tape media forces the LTFS system to update the file index on tape and properly “close” the tape volume maintaining integrity of the LTFS file system.

  • Page 21: Ltfs Configuration - Assigning A Drive Letter

    If you fail to eject the tape from the tape drive before Q1 system is shutdown (or have unexpected power loss), you risk losing data on the tape as some data (including the file index) may not have been flushed from the buffers to tape (it may still be in memory).

  • Page 22: Network Operation

    This is what the Qualstar Queue software is designed to do. To copy to the tape from a SAN, make the Q1 a SAN client and copy directly from the SAN to the tape drive initiating the copy from the Q1 as client.

  • Page 23: Asset Management

    Qualstar Queue application is running on the Q1. Refer to section 2 for more information. Then, copy files into the “Qualstar Watch” folder (the shared folder on the D:\ drive of the Q1). The Qualstar Queue application will queue these files and copy them to tape sequentially.
  • Page 24 This page left blank intentionally. Qualstar Q1 1-16 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 25: Qualstar Queue Application

    The Qualstar Queue application is a windows program that comes pre-installed on the Qualstar Q1 unit, It is used to automate a series of tasks to be performed on files put into a the Qualstar Queue managed folder called the “watch folder”.

  • Page 26: Actions Menu

    After the task list has been cleared, the Queue application will add, as NEW, any files/folders currently located in the watch folder. So, you may want to clear the watched folder before you clear the task list. Qualstar Queue Application 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 27: Clear Log Files

    2.3.2 Clear Log Files For debug/support purposes, the Queue application keeps a log. Qualstar may ask for a copy of this log to help to support you and/or may ask you to clear the log before running a few tests. On a regular basis, you can clear the log for housekeeping.

  • Page 28: Path For Watch Folder

    You may enter a path or click “Browse” to select the folder to be watched: The default setting on the Q1 for this folder is “Qualstar Watch“. The default destination path is the drive letter of the tape drive, “T:\”.

  • Page 29: Queue Folders Vs. Queue Files

    This is how often the Queue application scans the watch folder for new files or to see if the newly queued files/folders have stopped growing and are ready for processing. The default scan interval setting in the Q1 is 10 seconds. 2.5 Task 1, 2 and 3 Each file can have up to 3 separate tasks run on it sequentially before the processing of that file is complete.

  • Page 30: Delete Files/Folders After Processing

    2.6 Delete Files/Folders After Processing Select this check box if you wish to have the Queue application automatically delete files from the watched folder after they have completed processing. Qualstar Queue Application 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 31: Qualstar Dmc Software

    3.1 Overview The Qualstar DMC (Data Move Copy) Software is a simple easy-to-use automated backup software designed to be used in conjunction with the Qualstar Q1 product. It has the following advantages over the standard windows copy routine: Copy multiple sources at the same time to multiple destinations in parallel...

  • Page 32: To Start Dmc

    Number of cards/drives being transferred simultaneously 3.3 To Start DMC Note: Some Q1s will auto-start DMC software when the Q1 is powered on. To manually start DMC software from the Windows desktop, double-click the “DMC” icon on the Q1 desktop.

  • Page 33: Main Screen

    For each status there is also an informational message displayed above the progress bar. The operation color-coding is as follows: Qualstar DMC Software 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 34 If memory cards/drives were already in place at the time the DMC software was started, it would look like Figure 3-2: The message “source connected” along with a green status indicator would be the first message before the copy operation actually started. Qualstar DMC Software 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 35: Initiating A Copy

    When you have sources selected and have the DMC software application open whenever you initially/first insert a card or connect a drive, the copy process will begin immediately, without any further action needed on your part. If you do not Qualstar DMC Software 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 36: Destination Folder Name

    The data from each card/drive will be stored on the destination drive in a date-time- stamped folder automatically created by DMC, the time stamp assigned to the folder is based on when the copy was initiated. Qualstar DMC Software 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 37: Special Features In Dmc For Handling P2 And Red Media

    When using DMC with P2 media DMC automatically displays P2 specific picons and also embeds P2 metadata in the folder name. As the video is copied off the card, the DMC software shows a picon for each video clip as it is transferred. Qualstar DMC Software 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 38: Verification

    Figure 3-5, the P2 card transfer is in the process of being verified (indicated by the orange status indicator and “Verifying” message)while the CF card and eSATA drive are still copying (indicated by the yellow status indicator and “Copying,,,,DO NOT remove card” message) . Qualstar DMC Software 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 39 Since the DMC software is asynchronous and processes in parallel, one source can be copying while another is verifying and a third is ready to be removed, as in the example in Figure 3-6: Qualstar DMC Software 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 40 This is an advanced feature but comes built into the way DMC software operates. This is why you see the categories “free/used/reserved” on the DMC screen. Qualstar DMC Software 3-10 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 41: Configuring Dmc Software

    You can calculate the checksum and save the checksum log even if you do not use these values to verify the copy, immediately (they can be used later). Qualstar DMC Software 3-11 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...
  • Page 42 (in parallel) and again, calculate a checksum value for each file (now based on the data on the destination drives). DMC software will compare these checksums with the original checksums Qualstar DMC Software 3-12 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 43: Care Of Lto-6 Products In Extreme Conditions

    3.10 Care of LTO-6 Products in Extreme Conditions The Qualstar LTO6 Q1 products are designed to be portable and to be taken on-set for data backup to LTO6 tape. Although we make every effort to make the Q1 rugged, care must be taken when transporting and using the drives.
  • Page 44 In more dusty environments, you may need to clean the tape drive more often. A Cleaning Tape should always be available. Cleaning instructions are attached. Please don’t hesitate to contact Technical Support if you have any questions. Qualstar DMC Software 3-14 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 45: Appendix Altfs Tape Operations

    Appendix A LTFS Tape Operations LTO TAPE DRIVE USAGE – MUST READ !!! IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO PREVENT DATA LOSS LTO tape with the LTFS file system is the most modern way to archive valuable data. When proper procedure is followed you will have a fast, reliable backup. Not following the guidelines could result in a corrupt file system (which can be repaired, but takes time) or, at worst, a total loss of all data on the tape.

  • Page 46: How To Create A Drive Dump And Find The Ltfs Log File

    LTFS>LTFS Configuration” to assign a drive letter to tape drive. A.1.1 How to Create a Drive Dump and find the LTFS log file To help troubleshoot a tape drive problem Qualstar support may ask you for the LTO tape drive dump and LTFS log file.

  • Page 47: Additional Useful Tips And Notes

    Pre-printed barcode labels, which are both human- and machine-readable, are available from a number of sources including Qualstar. LTO cleaning tape – after a certain period of time (in months) the tape drive unit will show a LED character “C”...

  • Page 48: Using An Ltfs Drive In Windows Explorer

    There are three ways to access the tape drive and tape in a Qualstar Q1 from workstations on your network: Do all tape transfers at the Q1 system itself, with screen, keyboard and mouse connected. You can share a folder on the networked workstations (we put shortcuts to these folders on the Q1 desktop).

  • Page 49: Assigning A Drive Letter To A Tape Drive

    conditions, when a cartridge is loaded, the icon changes to indicate the status of the medium and possible user action as shown in Table 3-1. MEDIUM ICON RIGHT-CLICK MENU OPTIONS The medium is not inserted. Properties is available. The Check and Rollback buttons are unavailable.
  • Page 50 Qualstar has already assigned the drive letter T to your tape drive, but should you have any issues where T:\ does not appear or you need to unmount and re-mount LTFS, you can use the Start menu and select All Programs > IBM > LTFS > LTFS Configuration to do this.

  • Page 51: How To Eject A Tape That Is Stuck In The Drive

    This topic describes how to format media for the IBM Linear Tape File System (LTFS) by using the Format Medium panel. About This Task Complete the following steps to format a medium for LTFS. Note: Qualstar also provides a desktop shortcut for “Format Tape”. Double-click and follow the rest of the instructions.
  • Page 52 In the Tape Serial Number and Tape Volume Name fields, shown in Figure 3-10, enter the tape serial number and tape volume name. You also have the option of ejecting the medium after formatting by selecting the Eject the medium after formatting completes check box. Figure 3-10 Format Medium Panel Note: The tape serial number is required to use six alphanumeric characters.
  • Page 53 Figure 3-11 Advanced Options Panel The following formatting rules display: Size Filter (numeric value): Only files smaller than the size set in this field are copied to the index partition. The numeric values and byte size units, B (byte), KiB (kibibyte), MiB (mebibyte), and GiB (gibibyte), can be set from the drop-down menu.

  • Page 54: Accessing Media Information

    A.1.7 Accessing Media Information This topic describes how to access Linear Tape File System (LTFS) media information by using the Properties panel. To access the Properties panel, right-click the tape drive icon after inserting a medium to display a drop-down menu, then click Properties. A Properties panel displays as shown in Figure 3-12.

  • Page 55: Checking And Recovering Media

    Figure 3-13 Details The Details window displays the following information: o Configuration • LTFS version • Drive ID • Drive serial • Drive firmware o Recent event logs • Level (error or warning) • Date & time • ID (a number assigned to a specific system error or warning message with a link to the LTFS Information Center) •...
  • Page 56 About this task Directory and file data are stored in index files that specify their exact position and size. If the index file is inconsistent or does not match the data on the medium, LTFS cannot access it. LTFS, however, can recover extra data blocks from which metadata is excluded from the index file.

  • Page 57: Rolling Back Media

    Figure 3-14 Check Medium Complete Note: To view a recent event log of error and warning messages, return to the Properties panel and click Details. The log includes the level (error or warning), date and time, ID, and description. The ID links to a message in the LTFS Information Center that provides an explanation and action to help solve the problem.
  • Page 58 Note: This window only displays on Windows 7 with LTFS version 1.2.1 or earlier. Click OK when the Rollback Cartridge dialog box displays to continue or click Cancel to quit the operation. Note: Even if you click Cancel, it can take some time to mount the medium again.

  • Page 59: File Name Characters

    Figure 3-15 Rollback Medium You have the option of selecting the Erase all rollback generations with a date and time later than the selected rollback generation check box. Click OK to complete the procedure. Note: To view a recent event log of error and warning messages, return to the Properties panel and click Details.

  • Page 60: Error Codes And Messages

    CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, LPT9 Note: On Linux and OS X operating systems, however, reserved device names can be used as file names. This means that an LTFS-formatted medium used on Linux and OS X can have a Windows-reserved file name.
  • Page 61 CAUTION If the drive detects a permanent error and displays an error code other than , it automatically performs a drive dump. If you force a drive dump, the existing dump will be overwritten and data will be lost. After you force a drive dump, do not tum off the power to the d rive or you might lose the dump data.
  • Page 62 ERROR CAUSE AND ACTION CODE Qualstar Technical Support. The error code clears when you place the tape drive in Maintenance mode. Firmware or hardware problem. The tape drive determined that a firmware or tape drive hardware failure occurred. Complete the following steps: 1.
  • Page 63 ERROR CAUSE AND ACTION CODE If the operation succeeds, insert a scratch data cartridge into the first unit and run Function Code 1: Run drive diagnostics. If the diagnostics fail, replace the tape drive. If the diagnostics succeed, the error was temporary. If the operation fails and another tape drive is not available, insert a scratch (blank) data cartridge into the unit and run Function Code 1: Run drive diagnostics.
  • Page 64 ERROR CAUSE AND ACTION CODE If the diagnostic succeeds, replace the cartridges that caused the problem. The error code clears when you remove the tape cartridge or place the tape drive in Maintenance mode. Media error. The tape drive determined an error occurred because of a faulty tape cartridge or an invalid tape cartridge.
  • Page 65 ERROR CAUSE AND ACTION CODE Tape drive or RS-422 error. The tape drive determined that a failure occurred in the tape drive hardware or in the RS-422 connection. See “Function code 7: Run RS- 422 wrap test” to isolate the problem to the drive. The error code clears when you place the tape drive in Maintenance mode.
  • Page 66 ERROR CAUSE AND ACTION CODE Encryption error. Displayed when the drive detects an error associated with an encryption operation. If the problem occurred while the tape drive was writing data to, or reading data from, tape: 1. Check the host application to make sure that the host application is providing the correct encryption key.

  • Page 67: Cleaning The Drive Head

    A.1.12 Cleaning the Drive Head Clean the drive head whenever is displayed on the single-character display and the status light is flashing amber once per second. You do not need to clean the drive head on a periodic basis. Note: In Maintenance mode, a flashing with the solid amber status light, means to insert a cartridge, not clean the drive head.
  • Page 68 This page left blank intentionally. LTFS Tape Operations Appendix A-24 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...

  • Page 69: Appendix B Restoring A System Backup Image

    Qualstar creates a backup image of the state the system is in at the time of shipping for every customer. This Ship Image is then stored in two locations;...
  • Page 70 Once the ATIHD splash screen loads press Enter to select the True Image application. On the left hand menu bar choose Recovery. To select a backup image, click the Browse for backup… button. Restoring a System Backup Image Appendix B-2 511015 Rev.
  • Page 71 A window will appear, choose Removable Drive to select a backup image located on the USB stick. By default - Qualstar stores backup images in the System Backups DO NOT DELETE folder in two locations: Library L: Drive USB Boot Stick Navigate to the folder that contains the backup image.
  • Page 72 Click the Disk Recovery button to begin the recovery wizard. This page confirms that you are using the correct image, press Next to continue. Select the option Recover whole disk and partitions, press Next to continue. Restoring a System Backup Image Appendix B-4 511015 Rev.
  • Page 73 Choose all partitions by checking the checkboxes to the left, press Next to continue. Assign the destination for each partition by clicking New Location. Match the boot partition to the boot partition on the destination drive. When the Wizard prompts for FAT 32 (Unlabeled), choose FAT 32 (Unlabeled) in the partition destination window.
  • Page 74 Match the OS partition to the OS partition on the destination drive. When the Wizard prompts for NTFS (System 7-64), choose NTFS (System 7-64) in the partition destination window. CAUTION: This action will overwrite and delete all data that is currently on the OS partition! If possible - be sure to backup any important data before continuing!

  • Page 75: Support

    B.1 Support This manual should provide you with enough information to get started using your Qualstar Q1. More detailed information is available in the “Manuals and Utilities” folder on the desktop of the Q1. Should you have any additional questions, please call Qualstar support at 805-416-7055 or e-mail support@qualstar.com.
  • Page 76 This page left blank intentionally. Restoring a System Backup Image Appendix B-8 511015 Rev. 07-01-19...