TL890 Library Expansion Question

[Pete Simpson_1]

Good Afternoon,

We have a Compaq Storageworks TL890 tape library purchased in March 2000. The unit consists of the following pieces:

Qty P/N Descrip
--- ----------- --------------
(1) DS-TL890-NE MiniLibrary Expansion Unit
(1) 120876-B22 TL891 MiniLibrary (w/2 drives)
(3) 128670-B21 MiniLibrary Data Unit

I get the impression from the manual, and from looking at the Overland Data website (who apparently really made this thing as opposed to DEC / Compaq) that it may be possible to add two more drive modules for a total of 6 tape drives in the library.

Can anyone confirm what my expansion options are for this library? I'd be happy to loose some of the tape storage capacity from the MiniLibrary Data Unit's if it meant I could have more tape drives.

Thanks,

Pete

[Christian Schwartz-Søre]

The generel specs on the library:

"The TL891 is built on a modular concept, offering unparalleled scalability and the ability to custom configure a rack mount solution to meet specific performance and capacity requirements. The TL891 product solution is based on three distinct modules: the TL891 MiniLibrary Base Unit, the MiniLibrary Expansion Unit, and the MiniLibrary Data Unit. The TL891 solution can be configured as a single device or a multi-module device, using up to (6) six modules in a single rack configuration.
TL891 MiniLibrary Base Unit
The TL891 base unit can support up to two DLT 35/70 drives, offering up to 10 MB/s of native performance. With 10 data cartridges, the TL891 base unit offers 700 GB of compressed storage capacity in a small 4U height.
MiniLibrary Expansion Unit
The MiniLibrary Expansion Unit assumes control over all attached TL891 modules, allowing for the creation of a multi-module virtual library in a single rack mount configuration. It also provides an additional 1.1 TB of capacity (no drives). The Expansion Unit supports up to (5) five additional modules in a single rack mount configuration. With the use of a special pass-through mechanism, all tapes within this multi-module configuration are available to all DLT drives, making a single virtual library.
This true scalability of performance and capacity allows the end user the opportunity to configure the device to meet their specific requirements, as well as offers a "???pay as you grow" solution for easy capital management. The multi-unit configuration can also be disassembled at any time and each module redeployed independently to meet changing corporate backup strategies.

MiniLibrary Data Unit
The MiniLibrary Data Unit is a 16-cartridge, rack mount module that provides for additional capacity (up to 1.1 TB of compressed storage) in a TL891 multi-module configuration."

The Data unit is only capable of holding more slots. If you want additional drives you should add another base modul with the required number of drives.

And don't forget to add the passthrough mechanics.

Regards
christian