HP SureStore DLT-8000 Tape drive failures

[Shawn Farrell]

I have an installed base of around 60 DLT80 drives attached to servers in a large data centre. They are now 2 to 3 years old. Backups are done nightly and tape drive cleaning done at regular intervals. I have been replacing DLT's that refuse to backup at a steadily increasing rate. Issues are firmware refresh (020 to 080). Log Page 7 errors, Controller errors etc, Zombie. Some have to be changed others are able to be resurected using the HP Library tape tools. Is there a common problem with these drives or is it just a faulty batch?

[Eugeny Brychkov]

Shawn,
most probable you've overcleaned drives.
DAT/DDS drives should be cleaned every 5 full backups or 20 tape pulling hours; DLT/LTO drives should be cleaned only by their request.
This difference is because DAT/DDS drives are using helical scan technology, but DLT/LTO are using linear (serpentine) technology.
Overcleaning and undercleaning are shorten drive's life
Eugeny

[Shawn Farrell]

Eugeny,
I will check on the tape cleaning regime and let you know. I would expect they clean on the DLT cleaning request light but it could be otherwise. I had another drive fail this morning. HP do just replace them but its the time and effort not to mention the inconvenience to the business on the production servers.
Shawn Farrell