HP StorageWorks Ultrium Full-Height SCSI Tape Drives User Guide (EH853-90905, August 2007)

When will I be ask
ed to enter the key?
Encryption is primarily designed to protect the media once it is offline and to prevent it being accessed
from another machine. You will be able to read and append the encrypted media without being
prompted for a key as long as it is being accessed by the m achine and application that first encrypted it.
There are two ma
in instances when you will need to know the key:
• If you try to import the media to another machine or a nother instance of the backup application
• If you are recovering your system after a disaster
What happens if I don’t remember the key?
If you are unable to supply the key when requested to do so, neither you nor HP Support will b e able to
access the encrypted data.
This g ua rantees the security of your data, but also means that you must b e c areful in the managem ent
of the encryption key used to generate the tape.
WARNING!
You should keep a record or backup of your encryption keys and store them in a secure plac e separate
from the computer running the backup software.
Does encryption affect tape drive per formance?
Hardware encr yption can be used with o r without compression and without speed or capacity penalties.
Does the tape drive encrypt media in an earlier Ultrium format?
No. Encryption is supported only on Ultrium 1.6 TB media (C 7974A or C7974W).
Ultrium 1.6 TB tapes encrypted on an HP Ultrium 1840 drive can be read on any compatible Ultrium
1840 tape drive that supports hardware encryption.
HP Ultrium 1840 tape drives can read Ultrium 800 GB and Ultrium 400 GB media and write Ultrium
800 GB media, but hardware encryption is not supported on these formats.
Where can I get more in formation?
For more information about AES encryption, encryption keys, and using hardware encryption with
your HP Ultrium 1840 tape drive, see the White Papers on h
ttp://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/
tapewhitepape rs.html .
For detailed instructions about enabling encryption please refer to the documentation supplied with
your backup application. This will also highlight any default states, for example when copying tapes,
that may ne ed changing if using encrypted tapes.
Write protecting cartridges
WARNING!
Alwaysremovethecartridgefromthetapedrivebeforeyouchangethewriteprotection.
If you want to protect the data on a cartridge from being altered or overwritten, you can write protect the
cartri
dge.
Ultrium full-height SCSI Tape D rives
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