Re: problem exchanging 8mm tapes using Exaby

Bob,
  You are correct about having to re-configure to 7208.  The drive is
probably writing in a -012 or higher (*5GB or *7GB) format and you
can't change that when it is emulating 9348.

  As to the 2621, Oh S**t.  Probably gonna need an IPL to recognize
the card again.  I didn't think removing cards was possible without
messing around in SST.

  Hope this helps and good luck!
 
  - Larry

Bob Clarke 3rd x4502 wrote:
> 
> I'm having a problem supplying data to one of our software vendors via
> 8mm tape.  This vendor needs several libraries backed up to tape.  The
> only suitable common tape technology between us is 8mm.  I have an
> Exabyte 8505XL attached to a 2621 IOP on a model 310 running V3R2.  The
> Exabyte is configured (within the physical unit itself) as a 9348 (I'm
> not entirely clear on why this is ... I believe I recall the vendor
> mentioning that this was the optimal setting for maximum capacity).
>  Anyway, I've never had a problem exchanging 8mm tapes with any vendor in
> the past with this configuration.  Several other parties have read my
> tapes and vice versa, without regard to who was using what.
> 
> Upon finding out that our software vendor could not read the tape that we
> sent, I learned that they are using a 7208-002 tape drive.  They
> requested that I format the tape as *FMT2GB.  I tried to initialize the
> tape as such using the existing aforementioned configuration, but it
> would not allow me to do so, reverting instead to 6250, apparently due to
> the tape drive being configured as a 9348.  After a little digging
> through the Exabyte manual, I found that it is capable of being
> configured as a 7208.  Thus I proceeded to re-set the Exabyte, bringing
> it up in configuration mode, set it to 7208 emulation and followed up by
> resetting the IOP via WKCFGSTS on the device.  Following this process, I
> was unable to access the tape drive at all only to find that the tape
> controller and the 2621 were disabled.  I then went into WRKHDWRSC to
> remove the controller and inadvertently removed the 2621 IOP.  This is
> where I stand today and these are my questions:
> 
>  -  Having removed the 2621 (not so bright, I admit), is there any way to
> get it back other
>     than to IPL (the system is set to auto-configure)?
> 
>  -  Is there any way that the vendor can or should be able to read the
> tape I'm creating on
>     their 7208?  If so, how?
> 
>  -  Does anyone know what I did wrong in attempting to re-configure the
> exabyte as a
>     7208 that caused the drive (controller) and IOP to become disabled?
> 
> I'd greatly appreciate any help I can get here.  Already a trip by
> several of our staff to the vendor's site had to be cancelled because of
> our inability to provide this data.  Needless to say I'd like to rectify
> this situation as quickly as possible.  Thanks!!
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Bob Clarke
> 
> 
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-- 
Larry Bolhuis         | What do you want to reload today?
Arbor Solutions, Inc  | 
(616) 451-2500        | Two rules to success in life:
lbolhui@ibm.net       | 1. Never tell people everything you know.
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