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Tape Alert
Tape storage systems have a vital role
to play in backing up essential data safely and securely. Yet until now, there
has been no reliable way to identify errors and potential problems that may
compromise their effectiveness or reliability.
Thanks to a new industry standard however, that situation
has changed. TapeAlert is a tape drive status monitoring and messaging utility
that makes it easy to detect problems which could have an impact on backup quality.
From the use of worn-out tapes to defects in the drive hardware TapeAlert provides
easy-to-understand warnings of errors as they arise, and suggests a course of
action to remedy the problem.
To take advantage of TapeAlert, you need:
TapeAlert-compatible tape drives
TapeAlert-compatible backup software
How it works
TapeAlert compatible tape drives - such as the DELL PowerVault
110T LTO drive - are delivered with TapeAlert features built in as standard.
The internal TapeAlert firmware constantly monitors the
drive hardware and the media, checking for errors and potential difficulties.
Any problems identified are flagged on a new SCSI log page, where 64 bytes have
been reserved for use by TapeAlert.
After a backup has been completed,
the TapeAlert-compatible backup application will automatically read the drive's
TapeAlert SCSI log page to check for any problems. If an error is flagged, the
backup software displays a clear warning message on the user's screen, and adds
the TapeAlert messages to its logs. These messages are standard across
all applications that support TapeAlert, and are designed to give clear explanation
of the problem and suggested resolution. For example, a user attempting to backup
onto a worn-out tape would encounter the message:
WARNING: The tape cartridge
has reached the end of its useful life:
1. Copy the data you need to another tape
2. Discard the old tape
Errors Monitored
TapeAlert currently checks for errors occurring in the following main categories:
Drive recoverable read problems
Drive recoverable write problems
Drive unrecoverable read problems
Drive unrecoverable write problems
Drive hardware defects
Worn-out media
Expired cleaning tapes
Wrong media used
Abnormal error conditions
TapeAlert is an advanced technological standard which provides
a comprehensive range of state-of-the-art features and functions. However, it
has also been designed to allow considerable expansion and development in the
future, as new possibilities and opportunities open up.
Summary
Reliable, high-quality backups
are essential to safeguard the vast amount of data stored on computer systems
today. TapeAlert is an innovative standard that enhances reliability by monitoring
tape drives and associated media during backup procedures.
Offering clear warnings of problems as they arise, TapeAlert
allows users and network managers to eliminate unnecessary errors and ensure
that data integrity and security is never compromised. Already gaining substantial
support across the industry, TapeAlert is set to become the established standard
for tape drive management.
