The eMag Link Monthly Articles
September Edition
View previous articlesTape Maintenance/Storage Tips
As one of the original manufacturers, eMag has a long and storied history through our Graham Magnetics subsidiary in the tape media world. Over the last 40 years, we encountered just about every situation imaginable, and we have developed a wealth of information so we thought we'd just pass along some of that knowledge with the following tape maintenance and storage tips.
- Use only data grade media of the proper type and length for your drive.
- Tape technologies that employ data integrity checking and correction (ECC) should be preferred. The more sophisticated the ECC system the more secure is your backup.
- Always keep the cartridge in its storage case when it is not in use.
- Store the tapes in a cabinet in a cool, dry area with the cartridge "supply side up", or in the vertical position.
- Keep tapes away from monitors, motors, or any other source of strong magnetic fields.
- Whenever media has been exposed to temperatures and/or humidity extremes, such as during shipment, recondition the tape by storing it in the system environment for at least twenty-four hours before use.
- Perform a re-tension cycle on the new tapes after re-conditioning them and on any tape after repeated start-stop operation. (NOTE: Even in the streaming mode, the tape may start and stop many times due to mismatches in the data transfer rates of the system, controller and drive.)
- In order to minimize the possibility of data errors, do not use the software erase or overwrite commands. Instead, use a bulk degausser to fully and cleanly demagnetize the tapes. The same process should be used on all new tapes before they are first used. (The exception is servo track written media. This type of media is becoming more popular due to narrower track widths needing more precise track alignment. There are many types, and you should check with the manufacturer whether there are servo tracks on your media.)
- Clean the tape head on the drive at the intervals recommended by the drive manufacturer, using the materials and methods recommended by the drive manufacturer. Please refer to your user manual for these recommendations. (NOTE: Use of other materials or methods may damage the drive.)
- Make sure that all cables are plugged in correctly and securely. Do not forget to attach any ground wires to the frame or the case.
- High capacity cartridges can maintain the desired single cartridge backup of a system. Update your drive technology as your backup requirements grow.
- Don't keep all your eggs in one basket. With high capacity cartridges it's feasible to backup weeks of backups to one tape. Don't be tempted to leave the tape in the drive and use the same tape. Rotate tapes and take current backups off site. Use at least a rotating three tape cycle, namely tape 1 for week 1, tape 2 for week 2, tape 3 for week 3, and then tape 1 for week 4. Always label your tapes, and keep the label current as the tape is cycled through.
- Always do a directory or verify of the tape after the backup is complete to ensure that the data was written to the tape and can be read back by the drive. Alternatively use a tape technology that will automatically perform a read after write to ensure that the data recorded matched the data on the system.
- Make sure that the database from your backup software is backed up onto tape and taken off site on a daily basis. This is often the key to your data without which your backup tapes can be next to useless.
- Retire any tapes that report read/write errors or I/O errors. Mark them read only if they contain data and physically write "protect the cartridge." Consider making a copy of the tape if no second copy exists and once the data retention period has expired do not reuse the tape.
- Disposal of old tapes should be performed with care. While the tapes themselves are generally suitable for normal office waste disposal, the data that they contain will be company confidential and should be erased before the cartridge is disposed. For sensitive environments physical destruction of the tape cartridge may be the best option.
- When you change tape/optical technologies be careful not to leave behind islands of data that is no longer accessible. Migrate all archive data at the same time. The longer you wait the more difficult it becomes.
If you have any questions or comments or you would like to suggest some tips, please don't hesitate to contact us today.
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