1 Product Overview

Modules

The SL150 Modular Tape Library is comprised of two types of modules: the base module (designated Module 1) and the expansion module (designated as Modules 2 through 10).

The base module is the smallest fully functional library. The base module contains: the front control panel, two 15-slot tape magazines (left and right), a mailslot, one robotic hand, a power supply (with an option to add a second power supply), one tape drive (with an option to add a second drive), and the robotics. Up to three tape slots in the base module can be designated as reserved slots to store diagnostic or cleaning tapes. The bridge drive must reside in the base module.

At the rear of the base module there is an Ethernet port for remote management and nine USB Type A ports for connection to expansion modules (see Figure 1-2).

An expansion module can be added to the bottom of the library to provide additional tape cartridge capacity and additional performance by adding tape drives (see Figure 1-1). An expansion module requires 2U of rack space. An expansion module ships with two 15-slot tape magazines (left and right), a module controller, and an expansion cable. The module controller is connected to the base module by an expansion cable that incorporates USB Type A connectors. The cable provides a communication path between the base and expansion modules and a power source for the module controller.

The module has slots for two tape drives and two power supplies. There is insufficient power from the expansion cable to support a tape drive. Therefore, a power supply is required when the expansion module has a tape drive.

Figure 1-2 Base Module and Expansion Module - Rear View

Illustration Legend:

1. Base Module

2. Expansion Module (Module 2 and Module 3)

3. Robot Lock

4. Tape Drive Tray

5. Power Supply

6. Module Controller (Module 2 and Module 3)

Robot

The robotic mechanisms reside in the base module. The bull wheel is located in the top of the base module. The Z platform cables go through pulleys and wind around the bull wheel. As the bull wheel rotates, the cables lower and raise the Z platform. A hand assembly moves along Z platform rods to provide the track motion. The hand assembly contains a retractable reach mechanism, and the hand rotates to align with the left magazine, right magazine, or a tape drive at the rear of the library. The reach mechanism has spring-loaded grippers to grip and release a tape cartridge.

Figure 1-3 Robot

Illustration Legend:

1. Hand

2. Pulleys

3. Suspension Cables

4. Z Platform

5. Bull Wheel

6. Z Motor

Vision

The hand assembly uses two vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) devices to scan barcodes and to target cells. One VCSEL is mounted on each end of the hand. Moving the VCSEL past a bar code or the edge of a tape cartridge slot generates a data stream which is decoded on the main processor to generate the bar code or to locate a target position.

Class 1 Laser Product Notice

The StorageTek SL150 Modular Tape Library System contains a class-1 laser as defined by IEC 60825-1 Ed. 2 (2007).

Human Interfaces

There are three ways to interact with the SL150 Modular Tape Library: the operator panel, mailslot, and remote interface.

• The front control panel (see Figure 1-1) contains a 7-inch LCD touch screen operator panel is an information point rather than as a maintenance tool (see Figure 1-4). Information shown on the panel is primarily in tabular format and is available for: the library, modules, magazines, the mailslot, partitions (if enabled), drives, tapes, and settings. The masthead displays the library health (Operational in this example) and the library state.

Figure 1-4 Operator Panel Home Screen

• The four cartridge mailslot, located above the right magazine in the base module, is used for entering tapes into and removing tapes from the library without interfering with robot operations. It can be opened from the front control panel touch screen or from the remote interface depending on your user role.

• The remote GUI is the primary management interface for the SL150, and it is accessed by entering the library hostname or IP address into a web browser (such as Firefox, Google Chrome, or Safari). The interface example (shown in Figure 1-5) is for a partitioned library, and provides menus for the library, partitions, drives, tapes, settings, and service.

  The library information is presented as a graphical representation of tape slots in the left and right magazines, mailslots, drives, the robot, and all installed modules (Module 1 is expanded in Figure 1-5) while Module 2 is collapsed. In addition, the slot identification information is shown for right magazine, first row, and first column. For additional information on slot identification see Appendix A, "Locations" and Appendix B, "Partitioning Overview".

  The Library control beside the Help icon provides the capability to display library properties, audit the library, run a self test, expand all available modules, or collapse all modules.

  The partitions, drives, tapes, settings, and service menus present information in a tabular format. Some of the menus have tabs to present information in distinct categories. For example, the Settings menu for the administrator role contains the following tabs: Library, Partitions, Drive Port Settings, Network, SNMP, and User.

  An administrator creates individual user accounts for the library and assigns a distinct user role to each account. The library recognizes four user roles: viewer, operator, service, and administrator. Each of these roles has limits on what screens are seen and what actions can be performed.

  Refer to the StorageTek SL150 Modular Tape Library System User's Guide or the Help system of the remote interface for specific information regarding the user interface.

Figure 1-5 Remote Management Interface

Illustration Legend:

1. Section navigation

2. Left magazine control

3. Right magazine control

4. Slot identification

5. Tape drive (two-headed arrow indicates a bridged drive)

SNMP

The library's SNMP agent can automatically send traps that alert network management stations of faults and configuration changes. Both version 2c and version 3 of the SNMP standard are supported.

• Version 2c is backward compatible with earlier versions of the standard, but it is not secure because authentication credentials (community strings) and management data are exchanged in clear text.

• SNMP version 3 is not backwards compatible, but it supports a more secure authentication method and can encrypt management data.

The administrator defines SNMP users and recipients in the SNMP tab of the Settings section of the remote GUI. The MIB can be downloaded using the management interface. Refer to the StorageTek SL150 Modular Tape Library System User's Guide or the Help system of the remote interface for specific information.

Partitions

The SL150 Modular Tape Library can be divided into a maximum of two partitions with each having at least one tape drive and one magazine. Each partition behaves as an independent library, but all partitions share the use of the reserved cells, the single robot, and the mailslot. When ejecting cartridges, the mailslot must be explicitly assigned to a partition before any cartridge movement takes place. The user must specify the destination partition when entering cartridges through the mailslot.

Library Specifications

Physical

• Depth: 925 mm (36.4 inches including 2.25 inches of tape drive extension)

• Height:

  3U (130.8 mm, 5.15 inches): base module (Module 1)

  2U (88.9 mm, 3.5 inches): expansion module (Modules 2 through 10)

• Width: 481 mm (18.9 inches)

• Weight:

  21.3 kg (47 pounds [base module, two cartridge magazines, one tape drive, and one power supply])

  14.3 kg (31.5 pounds [expansion module, two cartridge magazines, no tape drive, and no power supply])

Power:

• AC voltage: 100-240 VAC

• Line frequency: 50-60 Hz single phase (autoranging)

• Library (operating maximum continuous—not peak): 614 BTU/hour, 1.42 A at 120V or 0.75 A at 240V

Rack space requirements:

• Base module: 3U (131 mm, 5.15 inches)

• Expansion module: 2U (88.9 mm, 3.5 inches)

• Depth (minimum): 925 mm (36.4 inches)

Environmental Information

Temperature:

• Operating: +10° to +40°C (+50° to +104°F)

• Non-operating –40° to +60°C (–40° to +140°F)

Relative Humidity:

• Operating: 20% to 80% non-condensing

• Non-operating: 10% to 95% non-condensing

The operating environment must adhere to the additional requirements listed in Appendix C, "Controlling Contaminants".

Tape Drives and Media

The SL150 Modular Tape Library supports the Linear Tape Open (LTO) half-height, Generation 5 tape drive manufactured by the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP).

Firmware version required:

• Fibre Channel: Y5BS or greater

• SAS: Z55S or greater

Cartridges supported:

• Generation 5:

  L5 media ID: read and write in LTO5 format

  LV media ID (WORM): read and write in LTO5 format

• Generation 4:

  L4 media ID: read and write in LTO4 format

  LU media ID (WORM): read and write in LTO4 format

• Generation 3:

  L3 media ID: read only

  LT media ID (WORM): read only

• Universal Cleaning Cartridge