Overland Storage LTO-5 User manual

10400303-001 06/2010 ©2010 Overland Storage, Inc. Page 1 of 4
LTO Half-Height SAS
External Tape Drive
Quick Start Guide
Overview
This document describes how to unpack and install an
Overland LTO Half-Height SAS External Tape Drive to
an external port using a purchased cable.
WARNING: To reduce the risk of electric shock or damage
to equipment, always remove any power cords while
working with the unit.
AVERTISSEMENT: pour réduire le risque de choc
électrique ou endommagement de l'équipement, retirez
toujours les cordons électriques en travaillant avec l'appareil.
CAUTION: While working with the unit, observe standard
Electrostatic Discharge (ESD) precautions to prevent
damage to micro-circuitry or static-sensitive devices.
NOTE: Cables are not supplied in the External Tape Drive
product kits. These cables must be purchased separately.
Register First
Before starting, it is essential that you activate your
Overland warranty. Technical and warranty support are
not available until this is done:
1. Go to the Overland Storage web site
(http://www.overlandstorage.com/).
2. Select Service & Support > My Products.
3. At the Site Login, enter your e-mail address and
password, and click GO.
NOTE: If you are not yet a member, click “New member?”
and follow the instructions given. It’s free and easy!
4. Click the Register New Product button.
5. Fill in the information and click Submit.
IMPORTANT: Within three business days, you will receive
an e-mail from Overland with your warranty certificate.
Follow the instructions included to complete the process.
Introduction
Before you install your tape drive, make sure:
•That the connection to your SAS server is supported.
•You are able to connect to the host SAS controller via
an installed host bus adaptor (HBA).
•You have the correct cable (available separately) to
attach the tape drive to the HBA.
Preparing The Host
SAS HBA Card
The following instructions are valid ONLY for servers
with an HBA that supports external SAS ports.
If you do not already have a SAS HBA card installed, you
must purchase a supported HBA card along with a
matching cable. You need a spare PCI slot for the card.
Drivers
For Windows systems, download the latest drivers from
the HP tape drive drivers web site. For other operating
systems, patch to the latest version of the operating
system, following the instructions in the patch
documentation.
Backup software
It is recommended to upgrade your backup software
application to ensure it works correctly with the new
external tape drive. We do NOT recommend native
backup applications, such as Windows Backup, because
they do not support the full features of the tape drive and
may cause performance problems.
NOTE: Some backup applications require you to use their own
drivers. Refer to the documentation of your software
application to ensure you are using the recommended driver.
Connecting the Tape Drive
CAUTION: Turn off and remove the power cords from the
server.
1. Connect the SAS cable to the server HBA card.
The cable connector may be different than the one
pictured depending on the HBA card used.
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2. Connect the SAS cable (1) and power cord (2) to the
tape drive.
3. Power up the tape drive and server.
a. Power on the tape drive using the power button
located at the front of the tape drive.
b. Check the Ready LED on the front panel to make
sure the tape drive is ready for use.
c. Plug in and turn on the host server.
Watch the boot screen carefully during the boot
process. Check to see that the new tape drive is
listed in the boot sequence.
NOTE: If there are any error or unexpected messages, go
back and check the SAS cabling carefully.
Checking Product Performance
If performance is not meeting expectations and you are
not meeting your backup window, check for bottlenecks
in your system architecture.
What causes bottlenecks? Review the numbered items
that follow which match the graphic numbering below.
1. We recommend direct connection for LTO-4 and
LTO-3 tape drives. If you back up over a network,
anything less than Gigabit Ethernet may limit
performance.
2. A single disk may limit backup performance. Have
disks in parallel (for example, RAID 5) if possible or, if
your backup application supports interleaving of data,
back up streams from multiple sources.
3. Use the latest version of your backup application.
Native backup applications, such as Windows backup,
may limit performance.
4. For optimum performance, use LTO-4 R/W and
WORM cartridges with LTO-4 tape drives, LTO-3 R/W
and WORM cartridges with LTO-3 tape drives, and
LTO-2 R/W cartridges with LTO-2 tape drives.
Hardware Encryption
An LTO-5 external SAS tape drive provides the ability to
hardware encrypt your data, applying the strongest level
of AES industry-standard encryption and protecting the
data from unauthorized access and use. Encryption is
supported on LTO-5 (3 TB) and LTO-4 (1.6 TB) media;
media encrypted on a LTO drive can only be read on a
compatible Ultrium tape drive that supports hardware
encryption.
Hardware encryption can be used with or without
compression and without speed or capacity penalties.
IMPORTANT: Hardware encryption is a powerful feature, but
should be used with care. If you need to import your media
onto another machine or to recover after disaster you will be
required to enter an encryption key.
•Hardware encryption is turned off by default and is
switched on by settings in your backup application,
where you also generate and supply the encryption
key.
•Your backup application must support hardware
encryption for it to work.
1. SAS Cable 2. SAS Connector
1. SAS Cable 2. Power Cord 3. Power Switch
1. Power Button
4

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•You should keep a record or backup of your encryption
keys and store them in a secure place separate from
the computer running the backup software.
•If you are unable to supply the key when requested to
do so, neither you nor Overland Storage will be able to
access the encrypted data.
Understanding LEDs
Media Choice and Care
Your high-performance tape drive works best with high-
performance LTO media. For optimum performance
always use a data cartridge that matches the
specification of your tape drive (see table).
The recommended cleaning cartridge is the LTO
universal cleaning cartridge. This cartridge is designed to
work with any Ultrium drive and may be used for up to
50 cleans.
It Pays to Look After Your Media
Many tape drive and backup failures are caused by
damaged or badly handled tape media. Follow these
steps:
•Keep media in the case provided.
•Follow the temperature, humidity, and
acclimatization guidelines on the media packaging.
•Avoid dropping it or rough handling, as this is likely to
damage the cartridge.
•Inspect it regularly for damage.
•Do not exceed normal cartridge life (260 full volume
backup or restore operations).
For detailed information on media care and best practice
and to order online, refer to Overland's web site.
1. Encryption – blue/amber
•On (blue or amber): at
power on.
•Off: drive is idle with no
encryption key.
•Off with Ready LED flashing:
drive is reading/writing
unencrypted data or
unloading cartridge.
•On (blue): drive is idle with
encryption key.
•On (blue) with Ready LED
flashing: drive is reading/
writing encrypted data.
•Blue and Amber flashing
alternately: encryption or
decryption error.
2. Clean – amber
•On: cleaning cartridge in
use.
•Off: the drive does not
require cleaning.
•Flashing: the drive needs
cleaning.
3. Tape – amber
•Off: no fault has been
detected.
•Flashing: the cartridge
currently in the drive is faulty
(damaged / unsupported).
Discard the cartridge.
4. Drive – amber
•Off: no fault has been
detected.
•Flashing: the drive
mechanism has detected a
hardware error.
5. Ready – green
•On: the drive is ready for
use.
•Off: the drive power is off or
there was a failure during
self-test.
•Flashing: the drive is busy.
Table 1: LTO SAS Data Cartridge Compatibility
LTO-5
LTO-5 3 TB*
* Capacity assumes 2:1 compression.
Read/Write
(Recommended)
LTO-5 3 TB*WORM
Write Once Read Many
(Recommended)
LTO-4 1.6 TB*Read/Write
LEO-4 1.6 TB*WORM Write Once Read Many
LTO-3 800 GB*Read only
LTO-3 800 GB*WORM Read only
LTO-2 400 GB*No
LTO-1 200 GB*No
1. Write-Protect Switch

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Troubleshooting More Information
Access Product Information
For detailed information about your products including
entitlement, click the Service & Support tab and select
My Products > View Products. Log in if you haven’t
already done so.
For the answers to the most commonly asked questions,
select the appropriate product family page under
Downloads and FAQ’s tab.
To search our extensive knowledge base for more
answers, select Get Help > Search Knowledgebase.
NOTE: If you want to be notified whenever a change is made,
click Watch Category in the Tools box on the upper right on the
Knowledgebase sub-category pages.
Detailed Warranty Information
To view detailed warranty information for Overland
products, click Service > Warranty or follow this link:
•http://support.overlandstorage.com/support/service-
coverage.html
You can get additional technical support on the Internet at http://support.overlandstorage.com, or by contacting
Overland Storage using the information found on the Contact Us page on our web site.