Connecting new tape reader in an old server HP9000

[Jeziel Salinas]

Hi!
I have a big question.
Here is the situation.
I have an HP9000 server, it was installed in the 90’s, but its internal tape reader is not accepting new tapes for backups. I was using 8GB tapes, now I use 24GB DDS3 and they are rejected. I found an external reader made by COMPAQ model EO2007 for DDS4.
I know there is not problem to insert lower DDS tapes, however I don’t know if the server will accept the new external reader.
In my last experience with similar servers I only connected it without any rebooting or drive installing.
Does anyone have experience doing this?
Will I have to install drivers or reboot the server?
Thanks in advanced.

[TTr]

It would help if you tell us what kind of server it is and what kind of SCSI adapters/interfaces it has available. The DDS tape drives are usually narrow single ended SCSI. If you have a SCSI connector that has no other active devices on it, you may be able to connect without rebooting. You should not need any drives since you already are using a tape drive on the server and apparently the drivers are already installed.

[Deepak Kr]

As server installed 90s so it seems quite older one. Provide server model and scsi details it would be easier to help!!

But i believe it is better to take a downtime, shutdown server, connect and power on new drive and boot the server and check if drive is configured auto.

[Steven Schweda]

> Provide server model and scsi details [...]

"uname -a"?

It might help if the SCSI tape driver in the
OS knew something about a newer drive, too.

> Will I have to [...]

Not enough info here to permit a good guess.
If the SCSI hardware is at all compatible,
then it should be harmless to connect the
drive and see if anything good happens.

[Jeziel Salinas]

Here's the model:

HP-UX isso2 B.11.00 A 9000/800 262287381 two-user license

About the tape drive, it's the only data I have. :S

I found it in a spare parts warehouse and I wrote what I saw in its label. It looks new and not used.

What do you thinks guys?

[OldSchool]

well the "24GB" tapes would be DDS-3's while the "old" drive appears to have been a DDS-2 (since it won't take the tapes).

As for "accepting" the new tape drive, its gonna depend on what you've got to connect to...you might be able to get away w/ daisy-chaining off the old drive (that would have worked for an HP DDS-3) or simply connecting to an open scsi port...

What little I've been able to dig up on the Compaq drive says its LVD/SE.

[Patrick Wallek]

The output from the 'model' command would be helpful as well.

# model

Are there any available SCSI ports on the back of the server?

[Jeziel Salinas]

OldSchool:

I don't know why, but the old tape drive is rejecting the 24GB tapes, and it's a DDS3 type. Before, I used to backup with 8GB tapes.

I'm searching on the web if maybe it needs a special configuration but I don't find something helpful.

Any suggestion?

Patrick Wallek

Here's the command output:

# model
9000/800/K410

About the SCSI port, there's one available.

Thanks for all your comments guys.

[TTr]

You have a K410 server. Your only hope is if you have a single ended SCSI/parallel port add-on interace card. It is a half-height card (HPPB type) and would be installed vertically on the bottom interface slot. It would have 2 connectors a 50-pin SCSI connector and a 25 pin parallel printer connector. All other SCSI connectors would be 68 pin and are FWD SCSI connectors. None of the tape drives I have seen or heard of can be connected to the FWD 68 pin connector. Your other choice would be to install the drive internally in the same bus with the CDROM drive but for that you need to shutdown the server.

[Jeziel Salinas]

This is the info of my internal tape drive:

10/12/5.0.0 stape C1533A 4 GB DDS Data Compression Tape Drive (DAT)

It was accepting 8GB tapes before.

Anyone has a suggestion to it accepts 24GB tapes?

I want to end all the possibilities before to use the external one.