HP A3716A DDS-3 Autoloader User's Manual - 3716-96001
Care of Cartridges and Drive
Choosing Cartridges
6-7
n Orientation: With the longest dimension vertical. This means a magazine
should be stored on its side.
n Temperature: Between 5°C (40°F) and 32°C (90°F). Wet bulb temperature
should be less than 26°C (40°F).
n Humidity: Between 26% RH and 60% RH.
n Duration: Tests conducted by Sony Corporation for the DDS Manufacturers
Group show that data can successfully be stored on DDS cartridges for up to
30 years.
During transportation, cartridges may be exposed to temperatures between
40°C (40°F) and 45°C (160°F), and relative humidity between 5% and 80%.
Choosing Cartridges
For optimum performance, use only HP DDS-3 (125m) cartridges. HP uses the
finest quality media available, which ensure the very best performance and
reliability.
If you use DDS-1 (60m or 90m) and DDS-2 (120m) cartridges, the autoloader
will automatically read and write to these in DDS-1 and DDS-2 formats
respectively. This is to ensure backward compatibility with other DAT drives.
Caution To avoid damage and loss of data, use only cartridges labeled DDS.
Never use tapes labeled DAT. These are intended for audio use, which makes
less demand on the tape and cartridge mechanism. For example, audio tapes
tend to be played continuously, whereas computer data tapes can be subject to
frequent repositions (sequences of stop-rewind-play). This is particularly true if
the hosts data transfer rate is too slow for the autoloader to continue
streaming, or if you frequently need to restore individual files from different
places on the tape.
These repositions are the greatest cause of physical strain on the tape. Because
computer data storage involves so many more repositions, it is vital to ensure
that the tapes can stand this extra strain and will have a reasonable working life.
To provide this extra guarantee of quality and ruggedness for computer use, a
standard for DDS media was developed. This stipulates more stringent
mechanical, environmental, reliability and durability specifications than the
DAT standard. The Media Recognition System was also introduced to enable
drives to recognize cartridges that meet DDS standards. All DDS-2 and DDS-3
cartridges are Media Recognition System cartridges.