ThunderboltTM LTO mTape
1 Thank you for purchasing mTape! You are now the proud owner of the world’s first certified Thunderbolt LTO tape drive! mTape revolutionizes LTO, empowering users to easily connect LTO technology to portable, desktop and all-in-one computers that feature Thunderbolt connectivity. Another mLogic first. Welcome to mTape. For more information contact us at support@mlogic.com or visit us at www.mlogic.com Copyright 2019 mLogic LLC. All rights reserved. mLogic & mTape are registered trademarks of mLogic LLC.
2 System Requirements 4.50” 11.61” 7.210” 1) A Mac running macOS 10.10.x or above with a Thunderbolt port and a Thunderbolt cable (included). 2) mTape LTFS Utility or compatible tape backup/archive software.
3 mTape Features. 4 1 1 2 1 3 6 3 2 4 7 5 REAR VIEW FRONT VIEW 1 Cartridge door 5 Fault light (amber) 1 Thunderbolt ports 2 Cartridge unload button 6 Single character display (SCD) 2 On/Off switch - Note: On/Off Switch powers 3 Ready light (green) 4 Encryption key 7 SCD dot on the LTO drive only.
Unpack your mTape 4
Disabling Sleep Mode It is necessary to disable your Mac’s sleep mode to ensure your Mac does not go to sleep when archiving content. Disable System Sleep when using LTFS macOS systems can corrupt an LTO tape cartridge if the system goes to sleep or hibernates while an offload is in process.
Connecting mTape to your computer With your computer powered off… 1) Connect the included Thunderbolt cable to your computer and the other end of the cable to one of the Thunderbolt ports located on the rear of mTape. 2) Attach the power plug to the power jack on the rear of mTape and plug the power cord into a power outlet.
Powering on mTape 7 Note: Before powering on mTape, ensure that the cooling holes located on the bottom of the unit are not blocked 1) Press the power button located on the back of the unit down to the “I” position 2) Wait for the Green Ready Light on front of mTape to illuminate 3) Power on your computer Note: When initially powered on, mTape will perform a hardware Power On Self-Test (POST). The POST checks to make sure that the LTO drive is functioning properly.
Verify mTape is recognized by your system 1) Under “System Information”, verify mTape is displayed under “Thunderbolt” setting..... If mTape is not displayed, check your Thunderbolt cable. You may need to unplug and replug the cable for your system to detect mTape.
Verify mTape is recognized by your system (continued...) 2) Under “System Information”, verify that the Ultrium-HH tape drive inside of mTape is displayed under the “SAS” setting… If the Ultrium-HH is not displayed, make sure you have powered on mTape and the green Ready Light is on. Note: Once mTape is powered on and you attach mTape to your computer, it takes approximately 20 seconds for the tape drive to show up in “SAS” setting.
Loading the LTO cartridge into mTape 10 1) Make sure mTape is powered on and the Green Ready Light is illuminated. Do not try to insert a tape cartridge before the Green Ready Light is on and steady. 2) Insert the cartridge in to the LTO drive. The cartridge goes in with the arrow pointing upward. 3) Apply gentle pressure until the drive engages the cartridge. 4) When the cartridge is loaded, the Green Ready Light will glow steady green.
Linear Tape File System (LTFS) 11 mTape supports the Linear Tape File System (LTFS). LTFS is an industry standard file system designed by IBM that effectively mounts mTape as a volume on your desktop. LTFS makes it possible to drag and drop content to mTape as if it were a hard disk. mTape ships with a simple drag and drop LTFS archiving/retrieve utility. Download the mLogic LTFS Utility here... www.mtapeltfsutility.
Cleaning the LTO Tape Drive 12 mTape will alert you when it becomes necessary to clean the LTO tape drive. The SCD will display a “C” to indicate that cleaning is required. To clean, insert the included cleaning cartridge in to the LTO drive. Cleaning is performed automatically. When the cleaning is finished, the cartridge is unloaded and the SCD will be blank. Note: The drive will automatically unload an expired cleaning cartridge. Cleaning cartridges are valid for 50 uses.
13 Appendix A: Cartridge Compatibility 12TB mTape LTO 8 mTape LTO 7 mTape LTO 6 LTO Tape Cartridges 6TB 2.5TB 1.
14 Appendix B: Status Lights / Error codes The status of mTape is indicated by the front panel SCD and Status lights as outlined below.
Ready status light Fault status light Encryption status light SCD SCD dot Meaning Off Off Off Off Off The drive has no power or is powered off. Off On or off Off Off The drive is powered on and in an idle state. Off The drive is reading from the tape, writing to teh tape, rewinding the tape, locating data on the tape, loading the tape, or unloading the tape.
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Off Flashing amber (once per second) Off Flashing amber Off Flashing amber (twice per second) Off Off Amber and solid Off Off Displaying error code Displaying Off Flashing Off An error occurred and the drive or media may require service, or it may require cleaning. Note the code on the SCD, then go to Appendix C Off The drive needs to be cleaned. Off The drive detected an error and is performing firmware recovery. It will reset automatically.
Appendix C: Error codes and messages 18 If the drive detects a permanent error, it displays the error code on the SCD and flashes the Fault light (Ready light is Off). Make note of the SCD error code before a cartridge is removed or the SCD error code is cleared. If an error ocurred with the cartridge in the drive, push the Unload button to eject the cartridge. To clear the SCD error code and power cycle the drive, press the Unload button for 10 seconds. Error Code Cause and Action Temperature problem.
Error Code Cause and Action Firmware or hardware problem. The tape drive determined that a firmware or tape drive hardware failure occurred. Tape drive hardware problem. The drive determined that a tape path or read/write error occurred. To prevent damage to the drive or tape, you cannot insert a cartridge if the current cartridge was successfully ejected. The error code might clear when you cycle power to mTape. Tape drive or media error.
Error Code Cause and Action Degraded operation. The tape drive determined that a problem occurred which degraded the operation of the tape drive, but it did not restrict continued use. The tape drive must be cleaned. Clean the tape drive. See “Cleaning Cartridge” on page 12 Write operation to a write protected cartridge was attempted (includes any attempt to overwrite a WORM protected tape). Ensure that the tape cartridge is the correct media type.
LIMITED WARRANTY 21 mLOGIC, LLC (the “Company”) warrants its products will be free from defects in material and workmanship for two years from the date of purchase of the product. This Limited Warranty only applies to the original purchaser of the product, and is not transferable to subsequent owners.
