Ultrium 460 Drives & Storagetek L20

[Latif Yahya_1]

We have just invested in 2 X Ultrium 460 Drives to upgade the old Seagate (LTO1) drives inside the Storagetek L20 Library.
The problem we are having is getting the drives to fit onto the tray where old drives used to sit. Because the backs are different, tray doesn't seem to support HP drives.
So I have called Storagetek and explained this to them. They said these drives require a different type of tray and HP should have supplied the trays with the drives.
Another call to our supplier and he says he knows nothing about these trays?!?!?!?!
I am going in circles as you can see. I'm hoping someone out there has an anser to this, or even better, part number?
Thanks.

[Ian Vaughan]

Howdy,
According to STK tape matrix, the HP LTO Gen 3 drives are compatible with the L20 (available Q1-05). That's how it reads to me anyhoo.
http://www.storagetek.com/upload/documents/TZ0005D_Tapematrix.pdf

All of the drives for L20 I have had in the past have come from Storagetek although they have been IBM / Quantum internals and have always been mounted on a special Storagetek tray.
I would say that it is up to whoever you bought the drives from to sort out. However, I didn't think that HP sold parts for Storagetek libraries was it meant to go into an HP MSL library?
HTH
Ian

[Latif Yahya_1]

That is exactly the same pdf file I have forwarded to our supplier and they came back with HP LTO ULTRIUM2 drive which was available under our budget.
I have informed our supplier and they asked me to email them some part numbers like the existing tray which I will do tomorrow morning.
I just never thought it would be this much trouble to sort this thing out.

[Curtis Ballard]

This problem comes up quite a bit lately.

Tape library drives are unique to that library and MUST be purchased from the library vendor specifically for that tape library. For your STK library you have to purchase a drive upgrade from STK.

You must purchase a library drive for that specific library from the library vendor. If it is an HP tape library that is HP but it has to be the library drive, standalone drives can't be used in a library.

Even if you can mount the drives they may not work.

Standalone drives do not contain the firmware for integration into a library. With SDLT and DLT occasionally you can purchase a tape drive from a different library and mount it in your trays, but you have to be careful since there are 3 different library drives.

With LTO tape drives the different library vendors all have their own unique firmware that is customized for them and it is very unlikely that a drive will work unless it has the correct firmware for the library.

[Latif Yahya_1]

You are absolutely right. I found this hard way but perhaps my supplier should have notified me when I told them it was for a Storagetek L20 Library. As a result I am sending drives back for a refund.
Whats unbeliavable is that there is £5000 price difference!
We are not getting rid of out Storagetek libraries.
Thanks for your hel