Cartridge quality and maintenance

Cartridge quality and maintenance.

The IBM® tape cartridge provides high performance and reliability with IBM magnetic tape cartridge drives when the cartridge is properly handled and stored. Repeated handling or inadvertent mishandling can damage the physical parts of the cartridge and make it unusable.

The magnetic tape inside the cartridge is made of highly durable materials. However, the tape wears after repeated cycles in the tape system. Eventually, such wear can cause an increase in tape errors.

Track the error data available by monitoring both the cartridge and your tape system performance. By monitoring error data, you can identify and replace cartridges that are no longer acceptable for continued use.

Proper maintenance of your cartridge helps to keep IBM magnetic tape cartridge systems operate in a reliable and efficient manner.

Attention: Do not degauss a cartridge tape. Degaussing the tape erases the servo tracks and make the cartridge unusable. An attached host can be used to run a Data Security Erase if the data on the tape must be physically erased. This action physically overwrites the data on the tape without damaging the servo tracks.