Questions:
- What is Travan?
- What are the applications and types of users for which Travan is best suited?
- Why choose Travan?
- Isn't Travan really a desktop technology? Is it fast enough to backup my network?
- Isn't Travan media more expensive than other drive formats?
- Why do I need to retension my tape? How often?
- What to do with Bad Block and Media Errors?
- How can I improve my Travan tape drive transfer rate?
- What should I do if my Travan tape drive is having difficulty reading the tape?
- I cannot reach full capacity on my Travan tapes, why?
- What causes SCSI timeout?
- How do I resolve a "Tape drive not found" problem with my SCSI Travan tape drive?
- How do I resolve a "Tape drive not found" problem with my ATAPI (IDE) Travan tape drive?
- What causes "System lock-up or freezing" problem?
- Why can’t I format tapes with my Travan tape drive?
- Why can I do a successful backup on some days, the backup fails on other days?
- How can I tell if I have an ATAPI (IDE) Travan tape drive?
- What does it mean when I get a "data mismatch" error"?
- Why do I get CRC errors on my SCSI Travan tape drive?
- How do I set SCSI ID for my SCSI Travan tape drive?
- How do I terminate my SCSI Travan tape drive?
- Why does the connector on the cable not match the pins on my ATAPI (IDE) Travan tape drive?
- What is the recommended cleaning interval for my Travan tape drive?
- My Travan tape drive motor does not spin when a tape is inserted?
- How do I determine the firmware revision of my Travan tape drive?
Answers:
What is Travan? Travan is a highly reliable, proven, high performance, cost-effective and proven tape technology that provides excellent backup storage capabilities for the desktop, entry-level server and high-end workstation.
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What are the applications and types of users for which Travan is best suited? Travan is the ideal storage medium for data backup in entry-level servers (defined as servers used by less than 1,000 users), such as those found in small and medium businesses as well as departments within large companies. It provides excellent performance for backing up and restoring data quickly. The outstanding reliability of this technology ensures the integrity of mission-critical data, and yet it is cost-effective to match the typical budgets for entry-level servers.
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Why choose Travan?
There are many reasons to choose Travan over other technologies including:
Performance - Travan provides the performance needed for fast backup and restore.
Reliability - Travan's linear tape technology is designed for maximum reliability in helping protect critical data. Unlike other tape technologies, linear tape technology was developed specifically for data storage applications and is entirely self-contained in the double-spooled cartridge. This helps extend the life of the tape, reduces wear and tear, and enhances performance.
Cost-effectiveness - Travan fits within the budgets of today's entry-level server user, providing the security of data backup at an affordable cost.
Installed base - Travan and its predecessor, quarter-inch cartridge technology, has an installed base of more than 10 million drives since its introduction in the early 1980s. By comparison, the installed base for competing technologies such as DLT (1.3 million) are much smaller.
OEM adoption - Travan technology is supported by major PC and Mac OEMs, including Apple, Dell, IBM, HP, Fujitsu and Gateway.
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Isn't Travan really a desktop technology? Is it fast enough to backup my network? Travan is both a desktop and server solution. Its desktop legacy is an important positive attribute - it means Travan's performance and reliability are well established and proven. The high capacity, outstanding performance and OEM adoption of Travan make it an ideal solution for entry-level servers as well.
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Isn't Travan media more expensive than other drive formats? On a per-gigabyte basis, Travan media is similar in cost to other formats. Comparing total cost of ownership, and factoring in the affordable drive cost, Travan is a very cost-effective solution.
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Why do I need to retension my tape? How often?
Tape drives have a read/write head that remains in constant physical contact with the tape. If the tension on the tape is inconsistent, the head can momentarily lose contact with the tape, making it impossible for the drive to read or write that section of the tape.
Tape retensioning is recommended under the following conditions:
Each time a backup is performed
The first time a new tape is used
If you begin to receive read or write errors
If the tape has not been used in the past 30 days
If the tape has been exposed to a temperature change
If the tape is dropped or receives a similar physical shock
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What to do with Bad Block and Media Errors?
Retensioning the tape. This is an important procedure whenever encountering any type of problem with tapes on the SCSI and IDE minicartridge tape drives.
Regular cleaning of the tape head will allow proper transfer of data. Please refer to the "Cleaning the Tape Drive" section in your installation manual or the Maintenance section for your specific tape drive on this site for detailed information. Try another tape after exiting, then re-starting the software. Try initializing the tape through the backup software to see if that solves the problem. If not, do a Secure Erase (if your backup software permits) of the tape before the next backup is attempted. This will take over 1 hour and will completely wipe the tape. It will leave the format intact. A Secure Erase or Initialize is not an option if you are attempting to restore from the tape in question. Either procedure will remove at least the tape header and the data will no longer be retrievable from the tape.
Do not attempt to bulk erase a tape as this will render the tape unusable. There is no way to format a tape with a SCSI and ATAPI (IDE) minicartridge tape drives.
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How can I improve my Travan tape drive transfer rate?
Typical symptoms include excessive shoe-shining, difficulty locating tape header or throughput far below normal range. The data transfer rate for your tape drive can fluctuate depending on many variables not limited to your available memory, CPU speed, Operating System, hardware and software configuration, backup file type, data cartridge used and controller card.
To achieve the best performance, which is defined by continual data streaming to the tape, try the following steps:
Check the SCSI bus configuration if using SCSI Travan tape drive. Device configuration is very important.
Regular cleaning of the tape head will allow data transfer at normal throughput. Please refer to the "Cleaning the Tape Drive" section in your installation manual or the Maintenance section for your specific tape drive on this site for detailed information.
Retension the tape. This is an important procedure in optimizing performance.
Replace the data cartridge if necessary. Damaged sectors on a tape often cause the tape drive to re-read the information numerous times and produce a "shoe-shining" effect. This can sometimes increase the backup time by 50% or more.
The backup transfer rate may decrease when you are attempting to backup data across the network. Check to see if a backup performed on a local hard drive has the same problem.
Use drive utilities such as SCANDISK, DEFRAG and anti-virus software on the drive where the backup software is installed, to be sure your tape drive is running in an optimized environment. Use the same utilities on the drives you are attempting to back up.
If your tape backup software offers a catalog cleanup or compaction function, run these utilities regularly.
Sometimes the 'Compression Type' selected in the backup software will affect the throughput of your tape drive. The best setting varies from system to system.
If the average file size you are attempting to backup is above 2MB, data transfer rate will also decrease. Also numerous small files being backed up can slow the transfer rate.
If you are using your tape drive under DOS or Windows 3.x, increase the available conventional memory by loading drivers or TSR's into upper memory. Increasing files and buffers above the minimum requirement may be helpful. Please refer to your DOS manual for instructions.
Your backup software requires a minimum of 520K of available conventional memory to function correctly. Optimum performance can be achieved by increasing the conventional memory above 520K.
Try to disable any program currently operating in the background. Multitasking can seriously reduce the data transfer rate due to limited system resources. This includes, but is not limited to, screen savers, anti-virus programs, background fax software, disk caching utilities, and email.
Try reinstalling your backup software. Corrupted program files can sometimes cause abnormal behavior such as slow transfer rate. Be sure to completely remove the software. Then run SCANDISK or CHKDSK before installing it again.
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What should I do if my Travan tape drive is having difficulty reading the tape?
Try another tape after exiting, then re-starting the software.
Retension the tape. This is an important procedure whenever encountering any type of problem with tapes on the SCSI or ATAPI (IDE) minicartridge tape drives.
Regular cleaning of the tape head will allow proper transfer of data. Please refer to the "Cleaning the Tape Drive" section in your installation manual or the Maintenance section for your specific tape drive on this site for detailed information. Was the tape made by another tape drive? Can the other tape drive still read the tape? This may indicate a head alignment problem or incompatible environment. Was the tape made in a compatible environment - software, operating system, tape drive?
If you are using your tape drive under DOS or Windows 3.x, increase the available conventional memory by loading drivers or TSRs into upper memory. Increasing files and buffers above the minimum requirement may be helpful. Please refer to your DOS manual for instructions.
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I cannot reach full capacity on my Travan tapes, why? Your tape drive is a streaming device. If the data buffer in the drive becomes empty during the backup process the tape will continue moving thus leaving areas on the tape with no data and reducing the tapes capacity - This can be caused by poor system performance or by backing up over a slow or busy network. Incorrect SCSI configuration can also cause data bottlenecks, for best performance it is recommended to configure the tape drive with a dedicated SCSI controller. Poor media condition can cause write errors, the data will then have to be written again, this also reduces tape capacity - Be sure your media is in good condition. If you are using data compression, remember that some files do not compress very well, ie: MPEG, JPEG, PDF etc. If your drive has built in hardware compression enabled be sure that you do not have the backup applications software compression enabled also.
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What causes SCSI timeout?
SCSI time outs occur when the signal sent from the backup source (through the SCSI card to the tape drive) is lost or greatly diminished in strength. The tape drive does not understand what it is being asked to do and a SCSI time out occurs. To stop SCSI time outs, do the following:
Check your cabling. Make sure both ends of the SCSI cable are firmly fastened in the connector. If the tape drive is the terminating device make sure there are no empty connectors between the tape drive and any other device that may be on the cable.
Make sure you have the latest drivers for your SCSI controller. Drivers are provided by your SCSI card manufacturer.
Check your SCSI settings to make sure they are set to the drive manufacturer suggested settings.
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How do I resolve a "Tape drive not found" problem with my SCSI Travan tape drive?
Verify that the operating system has identified the tape drive correctly during boot up or in its system configuration files after boot up (for example in Windows 95).
Is the proper SCSI controller card driver being loaded and is it the latest version? For DOS or Windows 3.1, load the ASPI driver as the first line of CONFIG.SYS file.
For Windows 95 and 98 load the ASPI driver in c:windowssystemiosubsys. For other operating systems refer to the user manual. Check the SCSI bus configuration. Device configuration is very important. Is there another tape drive on the same SCSI chain? If so, try putting the SCSI minicartridge tape drive at a lower SCSI ID than the other tape drive. Or, try temporarily removing the other tape device from the SCSI chain being careful to continue to observe SCSI termination rules.
Is the drive getting power? Check for drive activity by inserting a tape into the drive. Double check the power cable for correct installation.
Is the interface cable installed correctly? When connecting the interface connector on the internal drive ensure that pin 1 of the connector aligns with pin 1 on the SCSI connector. Be sure the connection is tight at both ends. If possible, try the tape drive on another computer system and different Operating System or try swapping the drive, card and cable with known working equipment.
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How do I resolve a "Tape drive not found" problem with my ATAPI (IDE) Travan tape drive?
When an IDE tape drive is not detected, first check all the physical connections.
Verify power is connected to the tape drive. A power connector is usually white with four (4) colored wires. The connector has one side that is beveled to ensure the connector is orientated correctly. Check the ribbon cable for a tight connection and proper orientation of the colored stripe on the cable. The colored stripe should be aligned with PIN 1 of the tape and PIN 1 of the IDE controller. If the cable seems to not fit right or the drive is still not detected check both the tape drive and the IDE controller for bent pins. Remove the cable and check the pins. If the pins are bent on the tape drive or on the IDE controller, use a tool such as a plier to carefully reshape the pins to their original form. Any one or a combination of the above listed problems can affect functionality of your tape drive.
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What causes "System lock-up or freezing" problem?
Typical symptoms include the backup software or Operating System becoming unresponsive, losing keyboard or mouse control and requiring a warm or cold boot to restart the system.
System lockup often occurs when there is a driver conflict or a program malfunction. Check for any changes to the computer that may have caused IRQ, DMA or Address conflicts with your tape drive controller card.
Check the SCSI bus configuration. Device configuration is very important.
Verify that the operating system has identified the tape drive correctly during boot up or in its system configuration files after boot-up (for example in Windows 95).
Check available hard drive space on the drive where the software is installed. The backup software may need to temporarily use hard drive space to function correctly.
Hard disc problems can also cause system lock up from time to time. Run a hard disc diagnostic utility such as CHKDSK or SCANDISK and repair any error it might find. Run anti-virus software.
Temporarily disable the current VGA driver and test with the standard 640x480x16 VGA driver supplied by Microsoft. If the problem does not reoccur, contact your graphics board manufacturer for an updated driver.
If software is loaded on a server, do you have supervisor or equivalent rights?
For Windows 9x: Not enough system resources or a misbehaving memory resident program may cause erratic system behavior. In some instances, files in some third party Recycle Bins have caused the backup software to lock up.
For DOS and Windows 3.x: Many memory resident programs (i.e. screen savers, anti-virus, email alerts or non-Microsoft memory managers) are often the source of the problem. Do not run any other application while your backup is in progress.
Try using Microsoft's "HIMEM.SYS" and "EMM386.EXE" in your CONFIG.SYS file. Other manufacturers' memory managers might be too aggressive for backup programs.
For DOS and Windows 3.x: Boot clean with only path, prompt, files and buffers and only absolutely essential drivers loaded.
Perform a clean boot on your system, delete the software, run CHKDSK or SCANDISK to fix any disk corruption. Then reinstall the backup software.
If possible, try the tape drive on another computer system and different operating system or try swapping the drive, card and cable with known working equipment.
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Why can’t I format tapes with my Travan tape drive?
One of the technologies used to achieve a balance between cost and speed is the basic relationship between the drive technology and the media it uses. These minicartridge tape drives utilize "Factory Pre-formatted" media. This is actually an understatement, as these minicartridge tape drives use a technology not dissimilar to disc, referred to as "pre-written servo's". This helps the drive to know what part of the tape it is accessing. These servo bursts are created by a special piece instrumentation. After these servo bursts are written, the track ID's are written. There is no way to re-create the precision servo bursts on the media without this very accurate instrumentation.
One of the side benefits of this approach of pre-formatted media is that they are pre-scanned and actually used, or certified before customer buys them. This is not the case with other media types. This process does add cost on the front end, but assures we have a good media that can record at appropriate densities for these drives. Moreover, it would take literally hours and hours to format this size tape if it were possible.
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Why can I do a successful backup on some days, the backup fails on other days? Replace the tapes that fail with known good tapes or new tapes if possible. The particular tapes that are not successfully backing up are most likely defective.
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How can I tell if I have an ATAPI (IDE) Travan tape drive? As with all ATA/IDE interfaces, the connector and cable use 40 pins.
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What does it mean when I get a "data mismatch" error"? This is caused due to the file was open and/or changed between the time of the backup and verify.
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Why do I get CRC errors on my SCSI Travan tape drive?
CRC errors generally indicates one of a few things:
Dirty tape head.
Bad tape. The tape may have bad sectors or is getting old and the coating material is coming off or has stretched due to high heat and/or use.
Bad tape drive. A bad tape drive can be manifested any number of ways including CRC errors, I/O errors and filling up tape rapidly.
Termination or other cabling problems.
Problem with SCSI controller and/or transfer rate is set up too fast for the tape drive.
Bad or outdated drivers.
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How do I set SCSI ID for my SCSI Travan tape drive? SCSI ID can be set by jumpers located at the back of the tape drive. Refer to your tape drive manual for more details. For external model, SCSI ID switch is located at the back of the unit.
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How do I terminate my SCSI Travan tape drive? Usually through a jumper at the back of the drive. For external model, an external terminator is required. Please refer to your drive manual for instructions specific to your model.
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Why does the connector on the cable not match the pins on my ATAPI (IDE) Travan tape drive? Some of the interface cables are keyed to prohibit incorrect installation. If you have this type of cable, make sure that the blocked pin on the interface connector corresponds with the missing pin on the interface card connector. Ensure that both pin 1 on the card and pin 1 on the tape drive are aligned with pin 1 on the cable. The pin 1 side of the interface cable is designated by a dark stripe on the edge of the cable. On the tape drive, install the cable with pin 1 closest to the power connector.
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What is the recommended cleaning interval for my Travan tape drive?
How often you clean your tape drive is based on both the amount of tape usage and the environment in which it operates. Here are some general rules to follow in order to determine the appropriate cleaning interval:
Do you use the tape drive for at least three hours every day?
If the answer is YES, clean your tape drive at least once a week.
If the answer is NO, clean your tape drive at least once a month.
Are you using your tape drive in an office environment?
If the answer is YES, then the above recommendations apply.
If the answer is NO, and the tape drive operates in an environment that is high in airborne contaminants (e.g. not air-conditioned), then double the number of cleanings per interval identified above.
If you are having trouble reading a tape, it is advisable to first retension the tape, and then clean the tape drive before attempting to read that tape again.
Brand new cartridges should be retensioned before they are used for the first time. It is also advisable to clean the tape drive after the first use of a brand new cartridge.
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My Travan tape drive motor does not spin when a tape is inserted? Check the power cable to the tape drive. Check the power source and ensure it is plugged into a working outlet. Check that the data cable is securely fit into both the controller and the tape drive. Check the tape to be sure it is not off of the spool. Try different tape.
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How do I determine the firmware revision of my Travan tape drive?
How do I determine the firmware revision of my Travan tape drive?
Use your SCSI controller card, the controller card may have a diagnostic utility or switch which will allow you to determine the firmware level of peripherals (including the tape drive) attached to the card. See your controller card documentation for information. Another way is to use tape drive manufacturer’s diagnostic utility which can be downloaded from the manufacturer’s web site. If none of the above is available, try the following methods:
*Windows 9x
From Windows 9x opening screen:
Click START - SETTINGS - CONTROL PANEL
Double click the Systems Icon; choose the Device Manager tab.
Double click onTape Drives, then highlight the appropriate tape drive name.
Click on Properties, then select the SETTINGS tape. You will see the Firmware Version.
Or
From Windows 9x opening screen:
Click START - RUN- type REGEDIT. Click OK.
Drill down: Hkey_Local_Machine- Enum - SCSI - Name of Specific Tape Drive
Note: The Tape category under Enum will not give much information.
Under the Tape Drive there will be a controller designation.
Click the controller entry; look in the right frame for Revision Level. This is the firmware information.
*Windows NT 4.0 / 2000
If the drive is attached to a Windows NT 4.x / 2000 server or workstation:
Click on START - SETTINGS - CONTROL PANEL and select Tape Devices.
From Tape Devices, select PROPERTIES and then the SETTINGS tab.
The firmware revision will be displayed.
OR
Access the Registry Editor.
Click on START | RUN, then type REGEDT32.EXE and click OK.
Select: Hkey_Local_Machine on local machine.
Drill down: Hardware - DeviceMap - SCSI - SCSI Port 0 - SCSI Bus 0 - Target ID x
- Logical Unit ID x (usually 0)
Target ID is the SCSI ID of the tape drive.
If there are multiple controller cards in the system, you may need to select an alternate SCSI Port.
Look at the right frame under Identifier to see the firmware.
*Novell Netware
The program BEDIAG.NLM will return firmware information. This may be obtained from the self- extracting BEDGNLM.EXE file. Load and run this NLM with the switch "/s/w" to get just SCSI bus information. Running the NLM will create an output file called BEDIAG.FAX. Find the line that lists the tape drive. The firmware version will be listed at the end of this line.
*Dos or Windows 3.X
The file ASPIINFO.EXE will scan ASPI compliant third party controller cards for firmware and other information for devices on the SCSI bus. The appropriate ASPI manager must be loaded at bootup in the config.sys file. Or through the backup software configuration settings.
*Unix
Check your controller card or operating system information for a possible SCSI interrogation utility. If possible, boot to DOS or any of the previously mentioned operating systems, and use the procedure for that operating system.
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