Spectra Logic 10000 - Manual (Page 86)

Chapter 6. Maintaining the Library
86
Cleaning Drives
Built-In Cleaning Feature
The Sony AIT drive uses a built-in head cleaner designed to last for the life of the drive.
This built-in cleaner works well, but it should not be relied upon as the only
drive-cleaning mechanism, particularly in environments where more excessive drive
head contamination may occur.
Spectra Logic recommends that drives be cleaned after every 100 hours of use in
normal data center environments. If excessive read or write errors occur while the
drives are being cleaned with that frequency, Spectra Logic recommends cutting the
cleaning time to every 50 hours of drive use.
Caution: Drive cleaning should be performed using only approved Sony
SDX-TCL cleaning cartridges. For ordering information, see
Purchasing Additional Library Accessories on page 64.
The AIT tape drive is an extremely reliable media storage subsystem; performing a few
simple maintenance procedures will keep the drives reading and writing reliably for
many years.
• For best performance with AIT tape drives, perform a read/write confidence test
with your backup software regularly. For information about performing this
operation, see the documentation for your backup software.
• As previously explained, the drive cleans itself when necessary. If further cleaning
is necessary, as may be indicated by the read/write confidence test, use only Sony
SDX-TCL cleaning cartridges. For ordering information, contact your sales
representative.
For more information about cleaning your drives, see Tape Drive Head Cleaning on
page 87.