Before You Start - HP VS160 - StorageWorks DLT Tape Drive Troubleshooting Manual

Before you start

The HP StorageWorks VS160 tape drive is a high-capacity, high-performance streaming tape
drive. Before starting to install your tape drive, you should consider the following.
Which operating systems are supported?
HP StorageWorks VS160 drives can be connected to servers running under Windows®.
Refer to the "HP StorageWorks Tape Software Compatibility" topic on our World Wide Web
site ( www.hp.com/go/connect ) for more information about the operating system versions
that are supported.
How do I use the tape drive with my system?
Check the usage models on page 7. This shows how the HP StorageWorks VS160 tape drive
can be used in different system configurations; direct attach and network attach.
How do I connect the drive to my server?
Your tape drive is supplied with a 68-pin, wide, VHDCI-to-HD SCSI cable to attach to the host
server. You will need a properly installed and configured SCSI host bus adapter (HBA) or a
built-in SCSI controller on your server with a spare LVDS SCSI port with a 68-pin, very high
density (VHDCI), wide SCSI connector.
For optimum performance your tape drive should only be connected to an Ultra 160 or Ultra
320 host bus adapter or SCSI controller and it should be the only device on the SCSI bus. Do
not connect more than two tape drives per SCSI controller. Do not attach the drive to the same
SCSI bus as your disk drive or RAID controller, unless it is a ProLiant server with a Smart Array
6i RAID controller.
See also Table 1, "supported SCSI bus types," on page 11.
Why is the SCSI bus type important?
The SCSI bus type determines the speed at which data can be transferred between devices on
the bus and the maximum length of cable that can be used. HP StorageWorks VS160 tape
drives are high performance Ultra 160 SCSI devices with a maximum burst transfer speed of
160 MB/second. To benefit from this level of performance, it is important to ensure that the
drives are connected to a SCSI bus of a similar or higher specification. This means that you
need:
• An Ultra 160 or Ultra 320 SCSI bus. Ultra 160 SCSI supports the maximum bus speed of
160 MB per second; Ultra 320 SCSI exceeds this.
• LVD-rated SCSI cabling and terminators. The LVD interface and cable enables the data to
be transferred at the drive's maximum rate and provides a maximum cable length of 12
meters.
If you attach the drive to a lower specification SCSI bus, it may still work, but data will not be
transferred as quickly. For example, on a single-ended (SE) Ultra 2 SCSI bus the maximum
burst transfer speed of the drive is 40 MB/second and the maximum cable length is restricted
to 3 meters. See also Table 1, "supported SCSI bus types," on page 11.
Note The drives are not compatible with high voltage differential (HVD) SCSI devices.
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