1.1 Which SCSI tape drives are supported for the IBM P/390?The following table lists the SCSI tape devices which have been tested in the IBM P/390 environment and which device drivers support them.
NOTE: Please see the special note following this table regarding tape
drive support for the IBM 3006 Integrated Server.
NOTE: On the IBM 3006 Integrated Server, the 4mm DAT tape unit is only supported for reading tapes. Furthermore, it is very likely that tapes generated on a DDS-2 4mm tape unit (e.g., IBM Server 500) will not be readable on the DDS-3 tape unit on the IBM 3006 IS. Interprocess does not support the 4mm DAT tape drive on the IBM 3006 IS system for XTAPE backups and restores. The DLT4000 and DLT7000 are the primary tape drives supported by Interprocess for reliable XTAPE backup and restore operations on the IBM 3006 IS. For 18-track and/or 36-track tape processing, the Fujitsu tape drives listed in the above table are the only 3480/3490/3490E compatible SCSI tape drives which are supported by Interprocess software on the IBM 3006 IS. Other tape drives may or may not function properly on the IBM 3006 IS. In any case, only DLT and Fujitsu M2485 and M2488E models are fully supported by Interprocess software on the IBM 3006 IS.
1.2 What is the difference between SCSI "Fast/Narrow" and "Fast/Wide"?The term "Fast" means the "Fast SCSI" option of SCSI-2. Almost all SCSI tape devices now come with Fast SCSI interfaces as opposed to the older, slower SCSI-1.The terms "Narrow" and "Wide" refer to the bus width -- the number of data lines -- and affects the amount of data that can be transferred. "Fast/Narrow" has an 8-bit bus width, supporting synchronous communication up to 10MB/second. "Fast/Wide" increases the bus width to 16-bit, and the synchronous transfer mode to 40MB/sec. Where this most affects you is when connecting a SCSI tape drive to your system. A Fast/Wide tape drive needs a SCSI cable with a 68-pin connector. A Fast/Narrow tape drive has a 50-pin connector (either Centronics 50 or High-Density 50). Fast/Narrow and Fast/Wide devices can be mixed on the same SCSI chain -- just be sure that all Fast/Narrow devices are connected after the Fast/Wide devices. When going from a 68-pin adapter or device to a 50-pin device, it is advisable to use a cable which has "active termination" in the 68-pin connector so that the unused 9 lines are properly terminated.
1.3 What is the difference between SCSI "Single-ended" and "Differential"?On a single-ended SCSI bus, devices communicate over one set of wires. Information is interpreted by the voltage (signal strength) on the wire, and is somewhat more susceptible to electrical noice which could cause voltage fluctuations and corrupted data.On a differential SCSI bus, devices communicate over two sets of wires. The information is interpreted by the difference in voltage between the wires. Outside noise will affect both wires equally, so the impact of noise on signal quality is diminished. Single-ended communication is fast over short distances. For SCSI-1, the maximum distance was 6 meters. For Fast SCSI (a SCSI-2 option), the recommended maximum distance is 3 meters (9.84 feet). (So keep your external SCSI cable lengths reasonably short.) For differential, the maximum distance goes up to 25 meters. For people installing SCSI tape drives on P/390 IBM Server systems, the native SCSI subsystem (RAID or integrated SCSI) is always single-ended. The only way to attach differential devices is to install a differential adapter (e.g., Adaptec AHA-2944UW). The IBM 3006 S/390 Integrated Server supports ONLY differential SCSI tape drives, not single-ended. An AHA-2944UW PCI differential adapter must be installed in the Integrated Server in order to connect external tape devices. Note that you CANNOT mix single-ended and differential devices on the same SCSI bus.
1.4 I installed a P390 "Fixpack". Why are my tape drives no longer working?The P390 "Fixpack" process can update the IPL.CMD and the DEVTYPE.MGR files in the P390 directory. You probably need to restore some of the modifications which you made to these files to enable SCSI tape processing.The "Fixpack" process stores all changed files in a backup directory under the main P390 directory. Check the old settings which you had in the backup copies of these files and merge those changes with the new files. Another problem can be introduced if you renamed your previous P390 directory and tried installing a completely new version of P390 code. In this case, OS/2 keeps a pointer to the old files (e.g., in the P390 folder where the "IPL P/390" icon points to the file IPL.CMD!). So when you install the new code into the new P390 directory, the icons pointing to IPL.CMD are still pointing to the old IPL.CMD in your renamed directory! In short, renaming is NOT a good idea. If you want to keep a backup copy of the P390 directory, back it up! Then delete it before installing the new version. Don't forget to make use of ISIDDVAL to investigate where things may be incorrectly set up in your various P/390 configuration files. The program ISIDDVAL.CMD can be downloaded from our FTP site (see DOWNLOADS on our Main Menu).
1.5 How do I get a P/390 I/O trace?A P/390 trace can be started anytime after you IPL the P/390 microcode. For a detailed description of how to start and save a P/390 I/O trace, please refer to file 'p390trc.doc' in the download directory of our FTP site (accessible through DOWNLOADS at the Main Menu).
1.6 How do I migrate to AWS34XX?The new AWS34XX.SYS device driver from IBM accepts a startup parameter which makes it very convenient to migrate from previous versions of SCSI tape device drivers. The startup parameter which makes this possible is "/ID=".If your OS/2 CONFIG.SYS currently starts up "ISITAPE" as follows: DEVICE=D:\P390\ISITAPE.SYS 05,02 you can invoke the new AWS34XX to run with an ID of ISITAPE using: DEVICE=D:\P390\AWS34XX.SYS 05,02 /ID=ISITAPE Similarly, if you currently run "ISITAP0" as follows: DEVICE=D:\P390\ISITAP0.SYS 04,01 you can invoke AWS34XX with an ID of ISITAP0 as follows: DEVICE=D:\P390\AWS34XX.SYS 04,01 /ID=ISITAP0 Using the above naming technique, no other changes need to made to your existing P/390 configuration (IPL.CMD, etc.). NOTE: In the longterm, you can use AWS34XX.SYS as a native facility to run as "AWS34X0" (the default ID), "AWS34X1" (/ID=1) and so forth, by making the appropriate changes in CONFIG.SYS, IPL.CMD, AWSCTYPE.MGR and the P/390 Configurator. For example, if your CONFIG.SYS currently has:
DEVICE=D:\P390\ISITAPE.SYS 05,02 you could change to:
DEVICE=D:\P390\AWS34XX.SYS 05,02 and you will be running device drivers "AWS34X0" and "AWS34X1". Complete documentation about the AWS34XX.SYS device driver will be found in file AWS34XX.DOC.
Tape Media/Format:1.11 What is the difference between 3480, 3490 and 3490E?A 3480 tape drive is an 18-track cartridge tape device which does not have the data compression feature.A 3490 tape drive is an 18-track cartridge unit which has the data compression feature installed. (Note: This is commonly accepted usage but is a little blurred by the fact that some models of IBM's "3490" tape units (e.g., the A10, A20 and a few others) were actually 36-track units. Let's ignore those exceptions.) A 3490E tape drive is a true 36-track cartridge unit. These tape drives actually write in 18-track mode down the entire length of a tape and then reverse to write again on a 2nd set of 18-tracks. This explains why rewind times can be very good for a full 36-track tape -- it's actually back at the physical load point even though it's at the logical End-of-Tape (EOT).
1.12 What is the IDRC feature?IDRC stands for "Improved Data Recording Capability" and is another term for data compression. On 18-track tape drives, the IDRC feature is an extra cost option. On 36-track capable tape drives, it is a standard feature.Some operating systems such as MVS also refer to the IDRC data compression feature as COMPACT when defining a tape drive using the Hardware Configuration Dialog (HCD). If you do not have the IDRC feature on your 18-track tape drive, don't forget to remind people who are sending you tapes to turn off their data compression when generating tapes (e.g., on MVS they would specify DCB=TRTCH=NOCOMP).
1.13 How much data can I get on a 34xx cartridge?A standard length cartridge (545 feet) in 18-track format will hold 200MB without data compression and up to 600MB with IDRC.A standard length cartridge (545 feet) in 36-track format will hold 1.2GB (IDRC is always active in 36-track mode). An extended length cartridge (1100 feet) will hold up to 2.4GB in 36-track format. Extended length cartridges are also called 3490E cartridges or sometimes just E-carts. You can distinguish between a standard length cartridge and an extended length cartridge by the color of the shell: a standard length cartridge is all black or dark grey, while an extended length cartridge has a black or dark grey top with a cream colored lower section. Note that the capacities listed above are theoretical. The actual amount of data that is written to a tape depends on the compressibility of the data and the blocksize. As an example, we tested with XTAPE (which writes in 32K blocks) to back up the "OS39R_1.A80" OS/2 file (an MVS system pack) onto extended length cartridges. The amount of data actually written to the first tape volume was only 2GB versus the 2.4GB theoretical maximum.
1.14 Can I write in 18-track format on an extended-length (3490E) cartridge?It depends on the tape drive model. For instance, with a Fujitsu M2485xx you can. But with an Overland T490E/L490E or a Fujitsu M2488Exx, you cannot write in 18-track mode on a 3490E cartridge. These drives return a "command reject" which is passed on to the P/390 as ERPA code 27 (visible in the 4th byte of the SENSE information on an MVS IOS000I error message).In any case, you can always write in 36-track format on a standard length "3480" cartridge.
1.15 Where can I get 3480 and 3490 tapes and cleaning cartridges?Many computer supply companies carry 3480 and 3490 tape media in their catalogues. Some of the companies from whom we have ordered are listed below. The brands most commonly carried are BSF, Bull, Graham, and 3M (Black Watch and Royal Guard). Prices start around $5 for 3480 tapes, $10 for 3490E tapes, and $20 for cleaning cartridges. The minimum tape order quantity is usually 10, sometimes 30.
1.16 Which type of tape cartridges (DLTtape IIIXT or IV) should I use with a DLT7000 drive?Both DLTtape IIIXT and DLTtape IV cartridges can be used in a DLT7000 tape drive. Although both DLTtape IIIXT and DLTtape IV cartridges are really the same length (1828 ft), their magnetic coercivity ratings are different. The DLT7000 drive will only write a maximum of 20GB uncompressed (40GB compressed) on a DLTtape IIIXT cartridge, but can write the full capacity of 35GB/70GB on a DLTtape IV cartridge. The estimated archive storage life is the same for both DLTtape IIIXT and IV tapes -- over 30 years.So, if you want to take advantage of the DLT7000's 70GB capacity and speedy 5.0 MB/second transfer rate, you should use DLTtape IV. But the less expensive IIIXT tapes (around $40 for IIIXT vs. $80 for IV) will do just fine, too.
Tape Drive Operation/Support:1.21 Why doesn't my auto-cartridge loader load the next tape?If your ACL is not sequencing to the next cartridge in the magazine when it should, there are two common causes: (1) your tape drive is not one of the supported models for the SCSI tape device driver that you're using; (2) the ACL options on the tape drive are not set correctly.ISITAPE Version 2.04 and higher supports any of the Fujitsu auto-cartridge loader models, the M4 M490L, and the Overland L490 and L490E. Refer to the Interprocess "Tape Tech Notes" for your particular model to determine what the proper ACL option settings are.
1.22 After unloading the last cart, why does my ACL load cart 1 again instead of ejecting the magazine?An ACL unit can be set up to do a repeat cycle (always go back to the first cartridge in the same magazine) or to eject the magazine. The most logical method for mainframe applications is to have the magazine ejected after the last cartridge is unloaded.Refer to the user's guide for your tape drive to see how to set the options for controlling the magazine.
1.23 The "SEL" light on my Fujitsu tape drive flickers even when no tape is loaded. Is something wrong?There's nothing wrong with the drive. The microcode is constantly cycling and causes the "SEL" light to flicker; it's actually an indication that everything is OK.
1.24 Why do my 9-track tapes rewind but not unload?9-track tape units have an option that allows an unload command to be accepted from the host computer.For example, on the M4 M9906G and M9914, bit 6 of Option 6 needs to be 0 to enable host initiation of REWIND/UNLOAD. The suggested setting of Option 6 is 'A1', which then also allows host density selection.
1.25 The display on our Overland T490E shows FE, but the manual only describes F0 and FC. What is FE?FE stands for 36-track mode (3490E). F0 indicates 18-track mode without IDRC (3480); FC indicates 18-track mode with IDRC (3490).
Overland has provided the following addendum to the TapeXpress T490E Installation and User Manual (P/N 104124-101).
Page 18, under Option 43 Format Display should read:
1.26 Who can I call for tape drive hardware support?Although the first instinct is to call the reseller, most tape drive hardware problems ultimately have to be resolved between the owner and manufacturer. If you purchased your drive from Interprocess -- especially for the P/390 environment -- you can certainly give Interprocess an initial call about your problem. If it's a problem that's previously occurred at other customer sites, we can save you some time. Or, if there's some question as to whether the error is caused by hardware or software, or if a P/390 I/O trace needs to be interpreted, we'll try to help. But if it's truly a physical hardware error (Fault Symptom Code, OZONE error, tapes won't load, etc.), here are the manufacturers' support numbers that you'll need:
The following authorized service providers can also be contacted for "time and materials" support/repairs on specific drives:
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