ML350 G3 and Ultrium 448 internal compatibility

[Marty Sag]

Hi,

I was looking to install an Ultrium 448 (DW016A) internal drive in a Proliant ML350 G3 server (269786-011)

However when I checked out the compatibility information I found it was not supported internally. See http://www.hp.com/products1/storage/compatibility/tapebackup/ISS/Detail/16-0029-0006.html#INTERNAL

I for one cant think why it is not supported. I can only assume it is a mounting problem and not an interface problem.

Can anyone shed more light on this?

I'm loathed to install the Ultrium 460 (Q1518B) as it seems it will cost $2000 more for the same LTO 2 format. What is the difference between these 2 drives?

I might have to resort to the external drive but would prefer the convenience of an internal drive due to space considerations.

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Marty

[marius402]

Marty,

The LTO460 is a full height drive running at 30MB/s native. The LTO448 is a half height drive running at 24MB/s. Capacity is the same. With the speed of these drives it is not really going to make much of a difference since your ML350 will hardly be able to sustain a data rate to saturate the LTO448 in any case.

From experience I have learned that if the drive is not certified for the server then don't use it in that server, rather use external or rack-mount unit. Sometimes the drive does not physically fit, the screw holes might be wrong etc but typically the drive power and heat generating capacity of the drive might cause your server to overheat or fail. Rather be safe than sorry

Cheers

Marius

[Marty Sag]

Marius,

Thanks for your response. I'm really glad I researched this and stumbled on the compatibility chart before making the costly mistake of buying the internal drive. Still curious to know exactly why its not suitable :)

I think I'll spend the extra $300 for the external model rather than an extra $2000 for the same capacity drive.

Now I just have to figure out what I need for the server to make the external drive available. I think I need a special cable to make the internal SCSI available on the back faceplate? I'd appreciate some help on this from someone before I make another mistake!

--
Marty

[marius402 · Accepted solution]

Marty,

If you use external then you will also need an external SCSI cable, part 341176-B21. This is a VHDCI to 68HD cable. You will also require a SCSI interface with external port on your server. If you have a spare SCSI port internal to the server you can use a "cliffhanger" cable (I think the part nr is 333377-B21 or something). This cable plugs into the onboard SCSI port and fits into a PCI breakout slot at the back. This will make your internal SCSI an external port. The port on the outside is typically a VHDCI port and the port on the back of the external devices from HP is mostly HD68 plugs.

Remeber that the SCSI tape drives pull a lot of power and generate a lot of heat. If you have a fully configured server with max mem and all I/O slots filled you might find that the extra power requirement and heat generated by the LTO can cause instable server. So, it is not that internal will not work or ever give problems, but if you do log a support call at HP then they will tell you that you have an uncertified configuration. You can even loose your warrantee if you are running an uncertified solution.

Let me know if there is anything else that I can help with

Regards

Marius

[Jaclyn Rothe]

This is the compatibility information for connecting a LTO 448 with the ML350 G3 server:

http://www.hp.com/products1/storage/compatibility/tapebackup/ISS/Detail/16-0029-0006.html

[Marty Sag]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your replies. Jaclyn, yes I already had that web address, thats what prompted my original query on why the internal drive was not compatible -- it didnt explain.

I didnt think about power draw, and it makes complete sense that this could be the deciding factor (the power supply of this server might not be rated for supplying all available slots and this drive). I would have thought a full-height drive would draw more power but theres a reason for everything I'm sure!

I'm going with the external drive. At least then if I upgrade the server to a rackmount system I can still use the drive no matter what type of box I have.

Thanks for the part numbers too, should be very useful.

--
Marty

[Marty Sag]

While not a definitiver answer, some very valid points on why the drive might not work were raised and alternatives were suggested.