CLI Guide

5 Cartridge Memory
Tape drives require information about the tape cartridge being used. For LTO tape cartridges, this
information is stored in a small chip within the tape and is referred to as the Cartridge Memory (CM). CM is
a nonvolatile memory that responds through a passive radio frequency interface.
The CM holds the following information:
• The type of cartridge
• Important information that the drive uses to setup and calibrate
• The tape directory to enable a quick search for data sets
You experience difficulties with the cartridge if the CM is damaged or corrupted. However, the user data
can still be recovered. To recover the data, set the write protect tab on the cartridge and the load the
cartridge into an Ultrium drive.
The drive stores enough information on tape to be able to recognize the tape. However, the data directory
is lost. Hence, the drive can only search from the beginning of tape (BOT) to end of tape (EOT) across all
wraps to find the data. A Fast Search to the correct location is not possible.
Note: Recovery of data from a full tape could take up to 3 hours.
13 Dell PowerVault Tape Systems | A05