Re: Is a "test" tape really necessary?

Rob,

I've tested lot's of different models, and always use a scratch tape, but
almost never a test tape. in fact, the few 0km sealed from the factory lto
units i've gotten to unpack havent had the test tape (like the old mlr
series which did come with one).
So i guess a normal tape is good too.

Best Regards,

Roberto


On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 11:21 AM, <rob@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Is it important to have a "test" tape (45E1129 LTO-4 Test Cartridge) or
will a regular data cartridge be ok?

From what I've read test LTO tapes are no shorter than production LTO

tapes.
When I read about performing tests it always says that if you use a
production tape make sure that you don't care if the data gets erased on
it, because it will get erased. This leads me to believe that I can run
tests with production tapes.

Finding test tapes, which some are listed as "not customer orderable", is
hard. And we've got quite a discount on quantities of LTO4 production
tapes.

Performing test procedures:

http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/topic/iphdt/fc5746selftest.htm

Types of tape cartridges for use in LTO4 drives:

http://pic.dhe.ibm.com/infocenter/powersys/v3r1m5/index.jsp?topic=/p7hdt/fc5746selftest.htm


Rob Berendt
--
IBM Certified System Administrator - IBM i 6.1
Group Dekko
Dept 1600
Mail to: 2505 Dekko Drive
Garrett, IN 46738
Ship to: Dock 108
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Kendallville, IN 46755
http://www.dekko.com

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