Installing a SAS LTO tape drive (2024)

The half‑height media bay 1 supports the installation of a SAS LTO tape drive option.

Prerequisites

Before you perform this procedure:

Make sure that a Smart Array controller board option is installed.
In a server that has the maximum number of drives installed in box 2 and box 3, and the RDX drive is present in the half-height media bay 2, make sure that the fan cage is installed.
Make sure that you have the following items available:
- Fan blank
- LTO tape drive SAS-power Y-cable
  See Also
  What is LTO tape technology? | Ultrium LTO Frequently Asked Questions - Tape & Data Migration Services What is Linear Tape-Open (LTO)? | Definition from TechTarget How To Remove Tape Residue | Remove Duct Tape Residue
- LTO/RDX power extension Y-cable
- LTO tape drive option – The SAS and/or power cables that ship with the drive option will not be used in this server.
- T-15 Torx screwdriver

Procedure

Remove the front bezel.
Power down the server.
Remove all power:
1. Disconnect each power cord from the power source.
2. Disconnect each power cord from the server.
Disconnect all peripheral cables from the server.
Do one of the following:
- Server in tower mode: Position the tower server for hardware configuration.
- Server in rack mode: Extend the server from the rack.
Remove the access panel.
Remove the air baffle.
If installed, remove the fan cage.
Remove the blank from the half-height media bay 1.
Install the metal shims on the LTO tape drive.
The shims and the T-15 Torx screws are included in the LTO tape drive option kit.

If you are installing an LTO tape drive that does not include its own mounting screws, use the preinstalled media drive spare screws.

See Also
How to Remove Duct Tape Residue: 5 Easy Methods – Ram Board
Slide the LTO tape drive into the half‑height media bay 1 until the rear edge of the drive is aligned with the rear edge of the drive box.
Connect the LTO/RDX power extension Y-cable to the LTO tape drive SAS-power Y-cable.
Observe the guidelines for managing cables.
Connect the LTO tape drive cables:
1. Connect the common end of the SAS-power Y-cable to the LTO tape drive.
2. Connect the common end of the power extension Y-cable to the drive box 1 power connector.
3. Connect the SAS end of the SAS-power Y-cable to the Smart Array controller board.
To view the cable routing, see SAS LTO tape drive cabling.
Slide the LTO tape drive fully into the half‑height media bay 1 until it clicks into place.

CAUTION: To prevent improper cooling and thermal damage, do not operate the server unless all bays are populated with either a component or a blank.
If the fan cage was removed, do the following:
1. While pressing the release latch, pull up the fan 1 out of the bay.
2. Install the fan blank in bay 1.
3. Make sure that the blank is firmly seated in the bay.
4. Make sure that all the system cables that are routed through the front cable channel are properly secured in the metal cable tabs.
  This is done to prevent system damage due to cables being inadvertently caught under the fan cage.
5. Install the fan cage.
Since the fan 1 was replaced by a fan blank, redundant fan mode is no longer supported in this configuration.
Install the air baffle.
Install the access panel.
Do one of the following:
- Server in tower mode: Position the tower server for operation.
- Server in rack mode: Slide the server into the rack.
Connect all peripheral cables to the server.
Connect each power cord to the server.
Connect each power cord to the power source.
Power up the server.
Install the front bezel.
Perform the verification and configuration procedures required by the drive option.
For more information, see the drive user guide from the Storage section of the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Information Library.

The installation is complete.

FAQs

How to connect LTO tape drive? ›

Slide the LTO tape drive into the half‑height media bay 1 until the rear edge of the drive is aligned with the rear edge of the drive box. Connect the LTO/RDX power extension Y-cable to the LTO tape drive SAS-power Y-cable. Observe the guidelines for managing cables.

Read On ›

What is SAS tape drive? ›

The ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Generation 7 (LTO 7) SAS Tape Drive is a high-performance, high-capacity data-storage device that is designed to back up and restore open-systems applications.

Discover More Details ›

Why are tape drives no longer used? ›

Main Disadvantages of Tape Storage

First up is speed. Storing and retrieving data from tape storage systems is slow. System recovery from tape storage can take longer, increasing downtime and hurting operations.

How long do LTO tape drives last? ›

Most manufacturers estimate that LTO tapes will provide dependable data storage for 15-30 years. However, LTO archives require precise storage conditions. Slight deviations in temperature or humidity can affect storage life.

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Are LTO tape drives backwards compatible? ›

LTO specifications provide backwards compatibility to read/write with previous generations.

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What does LTO stand for in tape drives? ›

Linear Tape-Open (LTO) is an open-format tape storage technology created by HPE, IBM and Seagate Technology. Open-format storage gives users access to multiple sources of storage media products that are compatible.

Tell Me More ›

How does LTO tape work? ›

LTO Ultrium tape is laid out with four wide data bands sandwiched between five narrow servo bands. The tape head assembly, that reads from and writes to the tape, straddles a single data band and the two adjacent servo bands. The tape head has 8, 16, or 32 data read/write head elements and 2 servo read elements.

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What does a SAS connector do? ›

In computing, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is a point-to-point serial protocol that moves data to and from computer-storage devices such as hard disk drives and tape drives.

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How do SAS drives work? ›

SAS drives use a higher signal voltage than SATA drives and can reliably transmit data -- with better overall data integrity end to end -- at twice the speed of SATA drives. Drives using SAS technology, unlike their SATA counterparts, support multiple data paths, superior data path redundancy and HA.

Can I use a SAS drive in my PC? ›

Yes, you can use a SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) hard drive on a PC as long as your PC has a compatible SAS controller or adapter. SAS drives are typically used in enterprise-level servers and storage systems due to their higher performance and reliability compared to SATA drives.

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What is the major problem of tape drive? ›

Errors in reading and writing

Read/write failures on tape drives can be caused by partially aligned or filthy tape heads, problems with the tape drive hardware, or poor tape formatting. These flaws might result in data damage or loss.

Read The Full Story ›

What is the biggest disadvantage of using tape drives? ›

Low Speed. One of the biggest drawbacks of using tapes as your backup is their speed. Data is written sequentially, so it can take lots of time to back up large amounts of data. Restoring files also takes a lot of time.

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How often do tape drives need to be cleaned? ›

The average number of uses expected from a cleaning cartridge is 50, the minimum is 27, and the maximum is 70. The maximum recommended time between preventive-maintenance cleaning is 50 tape motion hours. Tape motion hours are defined as the time that the tape drive is moving tape.

Get More Info Here ›

How do I connect my tape library to my server? ›

Install the tape drive in a media bay on the server, or in a storage enclosure. Connect the tape drive to a supported SCSI cable that comes with server or is required by tape drive to run in server. Note: you can find what cable that you tape drive requires by looking in the latest Options Guide.

How does LTO tape drive work? ›

How Does LTO Tape Work? Data is written on the tape in sequential order, one file after the next. Access is also sequential. The maximum transfer speed is reached as soon as the tape is positioned on the respective data block.