Every organisation today faces the common challenge of secure data management. As the amount of data generated and stored during daily operations increases exponentially, successful data management emerges as the key to continued growth. It is for this reason that protecting valuable data is of the highest priority.
New half-inch tape technologies offer many advantages over previous technologies such as significantly increased capacity and improved overall system reliability. The compressed capacity of a single cartridge can approach 300GB, which is almost 500 times the compressed capacity of a 3480 cartridge. With today's growing capacity and performance demands, data centre managers must emphasise the care and handling of media to help prevent loss of valuable data, time, and money. Continuing emphasis on cartridge handling, transportation, storage, and environment will not only protect valuable data written on cartridges, but also ensure that cartridges meet or exceed expected lifetimes.
Handling of Cartridges
All tape cartridges require the same basic care and handling. High capacity cartridges are more susceptible to damage due to increased linear density, increased track density, reduced substrate thickness, and the positioning of the data and servo tracks closer to the tape edges.
Below are some basic rules for handling cartridges:
- no more than six cartridges should be stacked or carried at a time to minimise the risk of dropping the stack
- cartridges which are dirty or damaged should not be placed in a drive
- finger grips should be utilised, if present, for the most effective method of lifting a single cartridge
- leader blocks should not be removed and doors should not be opened to prevent tape damage
- tape surfaces should never be touched since residue from a fingerprint can create greater head-to-tape separation and result in loss of signal (data)
Dropped Cartridges
If a high density half-inch tape cartridge is dropped, there is a strong possibility that the media inside the cartridge has been damaged, even if there is no visible evidence of damage on the outside of the cartridge. Tape edge damage or misalignment of internal components, such as the hub or tape pack may occur. This damage may not present itself initially, but may develop over time. For this reason, it is recommended that for any dropped cartridge, the data on that cartridge should be copied to another cartridge, and the dropped cartridge be retired. With large amounts of compressed data per cartridge, the importance of proper handling of cartridges cannot be overstated.
Transportation of Cartridges
Proper packaging of cartridges is imperative to guarantee the life of the cartridge, and the integrity of the data contained on it. Cartridges shipped with inadequate packaging could be damaged, which may result in data loss or reduced cartridge life.
There are many occasions that require a cartridge or cartridges be shipped off site. In these situations it is imperative that the packaging that is used to ship the cartridges is strong enough to withstand shipping damage, does not allow for cartridges to hit or rub against each other, minimise s the internal forces within the package, does not contaminate the cartridges, and can be used for repeated shipments without degradation of the packaging materials.
To ship a single cartridge, the cartridge should be enclosed in a plastic bag that is approved for use with data tape cartridges
The cartridge should then be placed in a shipping carton which is lined with several layers of bubble wrap. After inserting the cartridge in the box, another couple of layers of bubble wrap should be placed on top of the cartridge prior to sealing the box. Bubble wrap layers should be sufficient enough such that the cartridge cannot move around in the box. Appropriate precautions to minimise shock and debris should be taken at all times.
If shipping more than one cartridge in the same container, a package must be used which will allow for all cartridges to be shipped safely, without impacting the quality of any of the cartridges surrounding it.
The use of transport cases such as “Turtle Cases” is highly recommended. These consist of a hard outer shell, with a moulded internal casing designed specifically to fit your tapes and cartridges.
In situations where disaster recovery or off site storage services are contracted by a vendor, the requirements for containers used to transport cartridges are the same as those mentioned above:
- containers must be strong enough to withstand shipping damage
- containers must be constructed so that cartridges are either isolated from each other, or are not free to move or rub against each other
- containers must be built in such a way that internal forces within the package are minimised
- containers must not contaminate cartridges in any way
- containers must be able to be used for repeated shipments without degradation
It is recommended that periodic inspections be done of multiple cartridge containers after repeated shipments to assure that all of the requirements mentioned above are met.
During shipping there are three basic potential hazards which can lead to loss of data in the cartridge, or reduction in archival life of the cartridge. Those hazards are impact loads and vibration, extremes of temperature and humidity, and stray magnetic fields. The following recommendations should minimise damage to tape cartridges during transportation:
- avoid mechanical loads that would distort the cartridge shape;
- avoid dropping the packaged cartridge(s) more than 1 metre;
- utilise specified packaging per recommendations above;
- orient cartridges inside the final box such that their tape-reel axes are horizontal;
- mark the final box to indicate correct orientation;
- avoid extreme changes in temperature and humidity whenever possible — refer to recommended temperature conditions for unrecorded and recorded cartridges below;
- position cartridges so that there is a nominal spacing of 80 mm (3.15 in) between cartridge surface and the outer surface of the shipping container to avoid the corruption of data due to stray magnetic fields.
Below are the recommended conditions for transportation of cartridges:
Unrecorded Cartridge
- -23 to 49° C (-10 to 120° F)
- 5 to 80 percent relative humidity
- 26° C (78° F) maximum wet bulb
Recorded Cartridge
- 5 to 32° C (40 to 90° F)
- 5 to 80 percent relative humidity
Operating Environment
To maximise tape life, tape cartridges should be kept in an atmosphere free of contaminating dust particles and corrosive gases or chemicals. Cartridges should always be acclimated to the operating environment prior to mounting the cartridge on the drive. We recommends a minimum of 24 hours of acclimation time to make sure the cartridge is at the same humidity and temperature as the drive for newly received tapes. The following range of operating conditions are considered acceptable:
- 16 to 32° C (60F to 90° F) dry bulb
- 20 to 80 percent relative humidity
- 26° C (78° F) maximum wet bulb
It is recommended to target the midpoint of these ranges, and to avoid the extreme conditions for extended periods of time. Note that localized temperatures in excess of 48° C (120° F) may cause tape damage.
Storage of Cartridges
The best storage container for the cartridges, until opened, is the shipping container. The shrink wrap or plastic bag prevent dirt or dust from accumulating on the cartridges. Cartridges can be stored within the following temperature and humidity ranges:
- 5 to 32° C (40 to 90° F) dry bulb
- 5 to 80 percent relative humidity
- 26° C (80° F) maximum wet bulb
It is recommended that cartridges not be stored at temperature or humidity extremes for longer than four weeks.
Optimal long term archival storage conditions (i.e., more than four weeks) are as follows:
- 15 to 25° C (59 to 77° F) dry bulb
- 30 to 40 percent relative humidity
- 26° C (78° F) maximum wet bulb
Situations Requiring No Special Requirements
Below is a list of conditions requiring no special precautions:
- airport metal detectors (detector field intensity 1.2Oe to 398Oe)
- x-rays
- adar systems
- high voltages (<15,000 V)
- nuclear radiation
- light and laser beams (unless associated with intense heat or physical damage to the media)
- high pressure (other than avoiding permanent physical distortion to the media)
This information has been supplied courtesy of Imation. For more detailed guidelines regarding the storage and transportation of media, please visit their site www.imation.com.au