LTO Cleaning Tape

[Frank E. Friedman]

Where can I find documentation that will tell me how many cleanings an LTO cleaning tape can perform on a LTO-2 drive?

We have an Imation cleaning tape and we default it to 25 cleanings (mounts). However, we want to confirm that this is the correct number.

thanks in advance for your help,
Frank

[Mike Shilladay]

Hi Frank

HP cleaning tape gives 15 cleans for LTO1, 50 for LTO2. If the cleaning tape has been exhusted, then the "clean" light will remain on.

Note: LTO drives should only be cleaned when the clean light is on. Figures apply only to HP LTO drives.

Mike.

[Glen Harris]

http://support.overlandstorage.com/jive/servlet/KbServlet/download/2383-102-63/LTO_Cleaning_wp.pdf

Basically, the LTO drives have an internal, non-abrasive brush as a head cleaner. It removes debris from the tape drive head as frequently as required. We've set up a reserved slot for the cleaning tape and set up Automatic cleaning. In theory, it should only use the cleaning tape on an as-needed basis. Also,...in theory, an alert should be sent to you if you have notifications set up for it. Any other comments?

[TarunJain]

No. of Cleaning cycles depends on the tape quality.
Please contact "imation" for the exact no. for their media.
For hp medias the no. is already given above.