Cleaning cycle for PowerVault 112T

[Pam Astor]

> Using cleaning tapes is, to some degree, destructive to the tape heads,
> hence why it should only be done when "requested" and I wouldn't bank on
> Backup software reporting this correctly. Do a routine visual sweep of
> all drives to be sure.
>
> It's common for cleaning tapes to expire and people not realising. If
> there is a plastic window on the tape, check that the tape is not all on
> one side, because that way it's either brand new or expired. Cleaning
> tapes are usually rated with the cycles they have available for cleaning
> (lifetime), so it's important to mark the tapes after each use.

Can the clean tapes be rewound?  Or once they are at the end do I need to 
throw it out?  Tape does not have a window, how can I tell if it's expired or
at the end?  It's a benchmark BMKDLT1-02.

> With regards to the software, there may be a cleaning command for
> libraries, when a cleaning tape sits and waits in a specific slot, but
> not for single drives. Media needs to be marked, however some BU
> software maintains a database of when the cleaning tape was used and how
> many passes it's performed. Again, this is more in the realm of
> libraries/loaders, not single drives, and is still inaccurate as the
> tape might be used elsewhere in the mean time.

Are you familiar with Storix?  That's what I use for backups,
I don't think it has such ability to check heads.

> If light flashes, use tape. If it doesn't, don't. If it flashes
> immediately after cleaning and always wants cleaning, call Dell!

OK thanks.
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