Rear Panel of the SCSI Drive
Figure 3. Rear panel of the drive
Speed Matching and Channel Calibration
To improve system performance, the drive uses a technique called speed matching to
dynamically adjust its native (uncompressed) data rate to the slower data rate of a
server. With speed matching, the drive operates at one of five speeds when reading
or writing the Generation 3 cartridge format to achieve a native data rate of 40, 50,
60, 70, or 80 MB per second (MB/s). If the server's net (compressed) data rate is
between two of the preceding native data rates, the drive calculates the
appropriate data rate at which to operate. Speed matching dramatically reduces
backhitch, the condition that occurs when a tape stops, reverses, and restarts
motion. A backhitch is usually the result of a mismatch between the data rates of
the server and the drive.
System performance is further optimized by a feature called channel calibration, in
which the drive automatically customizes each read/write data channel to
compensate for variations in such things as the recording channel's transfer
function, the media, and characteristics of the drive head.
1
SCSI connector
2
SCSI ID connector
3
Power connector
1
4
Library/Drive Interface (LDI or
RS-422 interface) connector
5
Serial port
2
3
4
5
3
Product Description