Validation system for archive data stored on magnetic tape cassettes

Tape media life management in SpectraLogic's libraries

Many users of archiving systems approach the use of tape media as an archival medium with trepidation. The reason for this is past durability problems with older types of tape media. LTO technology, which has been on the market for 19 years, has eliminated these problems and definitely extended the archival life of the media.

However, despite the fact that LTO is a very reliable technology, errors associated with the use of tape media can still occur due to:

• worn or damaged tapes,
• Dirty tape drive heads,
• write-protected or encrypted media.

Very important information related to the use of carriers is:

• Number of media uses;
• Time of last media loading;
• Are there any errors associated with the carrier?
• Were the media used in a heavily depleted drive?
• Do they have the original barcode?
• Are they suitable for further secure data storage?

The solution to this problem is SpectraLogic 's media life management system, which is used and available in tape libraries manufactured by the company. It allows control of threats that can cause problems and monitoring of tape wear and tear, as well as tape life, which can affect the continued use of tapes.

Tape media lifetime management guarantees maximum data security during tape media operation and storage.

To maximize the time and safety of media use, SpectraLogic recommends the use of "Spectra Certified Media" in its libraries which:

• are pre-cleaned to remove contaminants generated during the carrier manufacturing process,
• have formatted for media life management purposes a standard memory chip inserted in each LTO cartridge,
• are inspected, labeled and packaged in special kits (Terapack) to ensure safe transport and then that they can be used immediately without having to be unpacked and placed in magazines.

Throughout the life of the media, data is collected related to tape access, the number of reads and writes, the number of errors and the number of loads.

The system continuously monitors the status of the media and informs the user in a clear and simple way.

The media are tracked based on their barcode. The status of the media is indicated by simple color icons:

• Green - the cartridge is safe for writing and reading operations,
• Yellow - a warning against further data writing to the cassette; however, data already written to the cassette is safe and available for reading,
• red - the cassette should be withdrawn from circulation, its further use risks permanent loss of data.

The status is estimated automatically using algorithms developed by SpectraLogic. It is also possible to use media not certified by Spectra, but in this case the data obtained is less detailed. All status data on the media used in the library is stored in a special database and is available for viewing or for export to external media analysis tools.

Users are notified all the time about the status of tape media via alerts on the system message screen. It is also possible to configure the alerts yourself according to specific requirements.

More than 40 parameters are tracked, such as, among others:

• Number of loadings;
• Write lock;
• Media type;
• First and last entry in the library;
• Maximum capacity;
• Corrected write and read errors;
• Recent drive statuses;
• Compression rate;
• Drive cleaning details.

The system allows you to check the integrity of the data. This can be done at 3 levels:

Level 1: Pre-scan; verifies that:

• The pin holding the tape in the drive is not broken;
• No write lock has been set;
• There is no incompatibility of the encryption key;
• There is no red status set for the carrier.

Level 2: High-speed scanning is:

• A single read verification run in heavy-duty environments;
• Supplement rather than replace full scanning.

Level 3: Full Scan:

• Full verification of the correctness of the reading of all data on the cassette;
• Notification of the need to migrate data to a new medium;
• It is recommended to conduct a full scan of all archive media once every 6 to 12 months.

The tape media life management solution used in SpectraLogic libraries allows for secure long-term storage of data on magnetic tapes. By monitoring a very large number of parameters determining the condition of the media and using pre-prepared tape cartridges, it provides a much higher degree of security for archival data than the standard mechanisms included in backup and archival software packages available on the market.

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