Arcserve error W6929, tape memory failed, Ultrium 215 drive

[André van der Goes]

I have a customer which is using Arcserve 2000 for their backups. It has been running seemingly without problems for a while now.
The jobs finish without errors, but I am getting a warning in the log about the tape memory. The exact Arcserve warning is this:
"W6926 The memory in the cartridge has failed, which reduces performance"

At first I got this error only on two weekdays, so I replaced the tapes on those days. However, the error seems to be happening more and more often, even on the replaced tapes.

In the eventlog there are no events about this or other related events.

I haven't been able to find any information on the error number, on the internet nor on the CA site.

And last but not least: The drive itself gives no errors what so ever. I cleaned it several times to make sure that was not the issue.
But isn't the drive supposed to not accept the tape if the memory on the cartridge has failed?

[André van der Goes]

I downloaded and ran the Library and tape tool. It also gives the same errors as arcserve:


Analysis Results
LTO Drive Assessment Test, version V15.05.2005
LTO Drive Assessment Test, module version V20.06.2005
LTO Drive Assessment test
Product ID is 'Ultrium 1-SCSI'
Device Analysis for LTO Drives, module version V22.06.2005
Firmware rev 'N27D' is up-to-date for 'Ultrium 1-SCSI' as of Thu Jan 23 20:00:00 2003.
Rule 8
Problems were reported trying to access the tape cartridge memory (Serial Number: 055M102173).
However, this occurred with the same tape as last time.
This could be a faulty tape or associated with an unsuccessful tape load.
It should only be considered a problem if it repeats with multiple tapes after a successful load.
Please try using a different tape (ideally one that has been confirmed to be good in another drive, otherwise try a new tape).
hp recommends the use of hp storage media.
Please run the LTO Drive Assessment Test to check the operation of your drive.
Device Analysis has checked the historical information and warnings have been reported.
Testing has completed and some warnings were reported.


I have tested with new tapes and even though I have used two different tapes, the programs reports that it was the same tape?

Is there something else I can try or do I have to start thinking about hardware failure of the drive itself?

[Marino Meloni_1]

It may be a hardwre failure in the drive.
The LTO tapes have inside a CM (cartridge memory) that is connected to the drive via radio frequency.
This cartridge contain some informations (that are also present at the beginning of the tape itself), accessing the CM is faster and immediate from the drive, and do not need to read the media itself to know informations about the tape.
a failed CM do not cause problem to the data, but in fact slow down some operations.
as usual the problem may stay in the media or in the tape. so do some test and then ask for a drive replacement if the media giving you the error is working fine in another drive.

marino

[André van der Goes]

At the moment I don´t have another customer with an LTO drive, but I´ll ask around and see if I can find a collegue who can test a tape for me. With those results we´ll determine a further course of action.

Thanks for the help