We have a remote office that performs backups using NTBackup to a DLTVS80 drive. According to all the documentation I have found, these tapes are readable in a SDLT drive. At our location we have a Compaq 110/220GB SDLT drive (192106-B21) but it does not recognize the tape format. I have upgraded the firmware to v75, but still no luck. I found a document that states that it is supported by the SDLT with the part number 192106-B25, but it does not include the B21. The only difference is the color of the drive as far as I can tell. Has anyone run into this problem before or know of any solutions?
SDLT220 and SDLT320 drives are suppose to be able to read DLTtape IV carts written in by a DLT VS80 drive.
It's possible NT Backup is not enabling a mode which allows this format reading via SDLT?
I know we have problems sometimes reading DLTtape IV carts written by DLTx000 drives in SDLT drives. We have to tell the software to "think DLT", not "think SDLT", when issuing commands to the drive. Possible that SDLT drives can't gear down correctly? Don't know. Various ideas, but outside my realm.
I'm guessing it is a problem is related to the products being from different vendors. The DLTVS80 is IBM, the SDLT is Compaq. My second guess is that the media is somehow different and that the SDLT doesn't know how to read an IBM formatted tape. Any other suggestions?
It is a DLT IV tape. I have tried other DLT IV tapes that have been written by NTBackup and they work fine. The difference is that all of our DLT drives are Compaq/HP and none are DLTVS drives. This is our first attempt at being able to read a DLTVS written tape.
Although, as correctly stated, SDLT can read any format written in a DLTIV tape (black), including vs80 format, from experience I found that sometimes it is not the case.
Is the tape loaded in the drive correctly? I mean, does it eventually stops loading and normal state appears on the drive? That should be the first important step. If this does not happen, you will not manage to read your vs80 tapes at any stage.
The tapes do load correctly. I am trying to get the firmware revision of the DLT VS80 drive at our other location. I suspect that there is a firmware conflict between the IBM DLT VS80 and the Compaq SDLT 110/220. Can anyone explain the firmware "personality" and how that affects the drive performance? I notice that HP has only released V075, while Quantum (who actually makes the drive) is at V082.
Lisa, could you load the cartridge in the SDLT, try to cataloghe the tape, and after the error without ejecting it, collect a Sticket from L&TT, posting it? I would like to see how the tape is recognized from the unit
