HP Ultrium

Cleaning
Strategy

white paper

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning

strategy

Abstract
This white paper explains how HP develops a highly effective cleaning strategy for
the new generation of high-performance HP Ultrium tape products. It describes
the preventative and corrective cleaning regimes that enable the drive to deliver
its outstanding reliability.

Figure 1: HP LTO tape drive

How to use this white paper

This white paper describes the reason that cleaning is required for a tape drive,
differences due to technology, various components working in unison to ensure
optimal cleaning strategy, the cleaning algorithm, the role of cartridge memory
and the behavior of drive’s firmware. It also includes a Q&A section on most
commonly asked questions regarding cleaning cartridge.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 1

Contents

The HP Ultrium tape drive is a

new, high performance tape The main topics in this white paper are:
drive that requires less frequent
cleaning. HP long term •= Why do you need to clean a tape drive?
reliability testing has proven
•= Why LTO technology is different?
that regular preventative
cleaning is not necessary on HP •= Preventative cleaning using the Internal Head Cleaner
Ultrium tape drive even after
6,000 hours continuous runtime •= How effective is the Internal Head Cleaner?
•= Corrective cleaning using the Cleaning Cartridge
•= What is the impact of multiple cleaning operation?
•= HP Cleaning Algorithm
•= Duration of a cleaning cycle
•= Role of Cartridge Memory (LTO-CM)
•= Prevention against non-approved cleaning
•= Universal cleaning cartridge
•= Firmware Behavior
•= FAQ
Executive Summary
A new generation of tape drives has been developed that can back up higher
capacities of data in a shorter amount of time and it requires very little cleaning
after an extended period of use. The new tape technology is the Linear Tape
Open (LTO). The HP Ultrium represents one of the new breeds of tape drives that is
setting a new paradigm in tape backup.
Tape Bearing Surface
Why do you need to clean a tape drive?
Recording Elements
For optimum recording characteristics the recording element of a tape drive
must be very close to the media during operation. The tape tension is carefully
controlled within a tight tolerance in order to maintain this head/media
separation*. The head/tape interface is normally air-cushioned when the tape is
flying over the head, however, some initial frictional contact is inevitable and this
is known as the burnishing effect. As the media surface wears with increasing
number of passes, media debris is generated.
Excessive debris or other material may accumulate on the head/tape interface if
the drive is used with non-approved media or operated in a hot, humid and dusty
environment. Such debris at the recording head/tape interface is commonly
Media debris on tape bearing known as a head clog, which degrades write/read performance due to increase
surface after completion of the in head/media separation or spacing loss. The head clog may result in errors that
one million pass testing. exceed the error correction capability of the drive.
In this case, the drive would report a tape error and/or flashes the Use Cleaning
Cartridge LED. This means that the drive head needs to be cleaned. In nearly all
* For MR heads some level of
protection against ESD is required cases of head clog, cleaning has proven to improve the drive performance.
due to this close proximity of head
and media. No current is applied IMPORTANT: It is essential to use only Ultrium cleaning cartridges with Ultrium tape
to the head when the tape speed drives as other format cleaning cartridges will not load and run.
is below the minimum recording
speed.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 2

 Why LTO technology is different?
Based on HP’s experience as a leading tape drive manufacturer, there are three
types of head contamination. These have been defined as follows:
•= Clog: Loose debris which can cause temporary spacing loss at the head
tape interface. Material can easily be removed.
Helical scratch pattern created •= Stain: Transfer of external material, usually from the media, forming a
by severe head clogs. highly adherent film, usually on the head. The result is loss of performance
due to spacing loss.
•= Smear: Transfer of pole tip, shield, and /or MR stripe material across the
head gap causing degraded performance or magnetic shorting.
In the DDS technology most foreign material that forms head contamination
comes from media. Formation of a head clog has been seen and in severe cases
can lead to helical scratching of the media surface. “Trenches” resulting from a
single helical scratch are responsible for further undesired cushioning of the head
away from the tape, thus increasing the spacing loss. Head clogs not only
degrade the performance of the drive but also can permanently damage the
recording media. Such physical damage may, in extreme circumstances, lead to
Media debris on a DDS write
data loss.
head.
Staining is a result of the frictional tribology phenomena between the head and
media material. The stain formation has been found under low humidity
operating condition and the amount of stain correlates with the performance
degradation seen as error rate drift. After extensive sustained low humidity testing,
minimal staining has been observed on the recording elements in the HP Ultrium
drive. The head and media are designed to prevent staining.

In the Travan technology some level of staining is expected in the recessed pole
tip region. Pronounced stains tend to form at the MR read transducer, possibly
Staining formation on DDS read due to thermal effects. The amount of staining depends on the abrasivity of the
head. recording media. With fresh tape, the abrasivity is high enough to prevent stains
from forming. As the tape wears, the abrasivity is reduced and staining begins to
occur. If the stains become severe enough to substantially increase head/tape
interface, the recording performance will degrade, leading to an increase in
error rate and possible failure of drive to write and read.
Recording
Element Smearing was observed to a lesser degree in the early prototypes of LTO drive. It
Direction of was found that lowering the electrical potential difference between the MR
Internal element and its shield significantly reduces the probability for smearing to occur.
Head Head Clean
Contour
The HP Ultrium head and media are designed to minimize the smearing.

In the HP Ultrium head design, the wrap angle is precisely controlled by head
geometry--creating consistent head-tape spacing. The slotted head contour is
designed for trapping debris. The slots are specifically designed to get the debris
out of the Head Tape Interface (HTI). The debris in the rails is removed via the
brushing action of the internal head cleaner. This design was a conscious choice
to control debris at the head/tape interface, since slotted heads have been
proven successfully for many years in much dirtier customer environments. The
Slotted Head Contour of a HP head structure is made of an extremely hard and durable ceramic material
Ultrium tape drive called Cermet (composite of Al2O3/TiC, same material as in disk drive heads).

Long term reliability testing has proven that the HP Ultrium drive, under typical user
environment, is capable of running without preventative cleaning and it requires
very minimal corrective cleaning.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 3

 Brush
Preventative Cleaning Using The Internal Head Cleaner
The internal head cleaner is a brush that can be drawn over the heads to 'scrub'
away loose debris. It is designed to operate in conjunction with the head contour
for trapping and removing media debris. It is non-abrasive to the head and thus
can safely be used as frequently as required.

The internal head cleaner is used:

1. Immediately after using a cleaning cartridge.
2. When a cleaning cartridge is being used too frequently*. The drive
performs an internal head clean instead of a clean using the loaded
cleaning cartridge.
New Internal Head Cleaner
3. As part of error recovery algorithm. For example, if multiple read retries
have failed, the tape is unthreaded, the internal head cleaner is operated
to remove loose debris, then the tape is re-threaded, and retries begin
again.
4. After an unthread, if more than 150 thousand meters of tape have been
Loop pair pitch
pulled since the last use of the head cleaner.
5. When the drive detects more than 10% error rate variation between the
channels.
Row
spacing
How Effective is the Internal Head Cleaner?
Loop pair width
The internal head cleaner is designed with the optimal brush pattern, stiffness and
modulus in order to achieve the most effective and efficient cleaning of the
DECEMBER
slotted head design. HP’s extensive testing found that the debris trapped inside
1 the slots is only removable by means of brushing action in the direction of the slot
Slope = 37 lbs/in
(i.e up and down the head). Without the aid of the head cleaner’s brush, the
0.9
0.8
0.7

debris would be permanently trapped inside the slots. Even the use of cleaning
Load (lbs)

0.6
0.5
Load
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
cartridge is ineffective for cleaning this type of head contamination.
0
-0.1 0 0.01 0.02 0.03 0.04 0.05 Debris Head Slots
Displacement (inch)
Before After
Brush pattern and stiffness
designed to give effective
cleaning.

The Internal Head Cleaner

has been designed to last the
life of the drive. Life test results
estimated useful life of about
20 years.

* See Preventing Excessive The above pictures demonstrate the effectiveness of the Internal Head Cleaner. Nearly
Cleaning Operation all of the media debris trapped inside the slots on the head was successfully removed
after 8 seconds of cleaning using the internal head cleaner. This is one of the reasons
that the HP Ultrium drive requires very infrequent use of the cleaning cartridge.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 4

 Tape Bearing Surface
Corrective Cleaning Using The Cleaning Cartridge
Media debris has demonstrated its propensity to stick to the heads as well as the
tape. Depending on the location on the heads, this debris can either be of no
consequence to the drive’s write/read performance or it can be detrimental
when the debris is stuck to the recording elements. Certain usage/environmental
conditions promote ‘gathering’ of media debris on the head/tape interface,
which even the best internal head cleaner could not successfully brush away.
The cleaning cartridge is designed specifically for removing debris of this type.

Abrasivity plays a critical part in dislodging the sticky debris from the head. When
the debris is loose, it can be easily transferred onto the cleaning tape, which is
Media debris on Tape Bearing wound into the cleaning cartridge and removed from the drive at the end of the
Surface. cleaning operation. This is one of the reasons for using a fresh piece of cleaning
media for every cleaning operation. Another reason is the abrasivity of the
Head Slot
cleaning tape is reduced after each pass over the head, thus producing less
effective cleaning.

Different technology results in very different types of media debris formation and
cleaning requirement. In DDS technology the cleaning tape is about 200 times
more abrasive than normal recording tape. In LTO technology high abrasivity
could result in undesired effect such as Pole Tip Recession (PTR). For the HP Ultrium
tape drive this high contrast abrasivity is unnecessary. There is less debris being
generated, more being trapped by the slotted head contour, and the internal
head cleaner frequently brushes loose debris away from the head/tape
interface. Also the type of debris generated inside LTO drive appears to be less
Media debris on the recording sticky in nature (compared to DDS). HP has developed a unique cleaning tape
element. that balances PTR with effective debris removal.

Recording What is the Impact of Multiple Cleaning Operation?

Element
The HP cleaning cartridge test data shows only a small degradation results from
PTR effect after 390 consecutive cleaning operations. The cleaning cartridge
when used in the HP Ultrium drive is good for 15 uses. Assuming user cleans once
Drive E130000027 Wrap 5 @ 4.1m/s MRT4.5 Before 150
Cleaning Cycles

Minimum BER =

-3
-6.73 a week, 390 cleans is equivalent to 7.5 years.
-3.5--3
-3.5
-4--3.5
-4

Gauge Spec Sample 2-A Sample 2-B Sample 2-C

-4.5--4
-4.5
-5--4.5
-5
-5.5--5
-5.5 BER
-6--5.5
-6

Pole Tip Recession Change 25 nm 22.2 nm 22.4 nm *16.9 nm

-6.5--6
-6.5
8

-7--6.5
12

-7
16

Bandwith -7.5 -7.5--7

20

-8--7.5

Debris Generation Minimal None None None

-8
24

6
28

4
2
0

Boost

Resolution Change* N.A. -0.108 -0.134 -0.103

Head tuning parameters
BEFORE 150 cleaning cycles. High Frequency Signal Change* N.A. -39.791 -43.540 -26.434

Drive E130000027 Wrap 5 @ 4.1m/s MRT4.5 After 150 Low Frequency Signal Change* N.A. -24.880 -26.152 -14.814
Cleaning Cycles

Minimum BER =
-5.96
PW50 Change* N.A. 31.199 36.823 20.658
-3
-3.5--3

Beginning Average BER Log10 (BER) * - 5.50 < -7.256 -7.332 -7.201
-3.5
-4--3.5
-4
-4.5--4
-4.5
-5--4.5
-5

Ending Average BER Log10 (BER) * -3.25 < -6.815 -6.318 -6.640
-5.5--5
-5.5 BER
-6--5.5
-6
-6.5--6
-6.5
8

-7--6.5
12

-7

Change in Log10 (BER) 1.6 -0.15 ~ 1.26 -0.05 ~ 2.08 0.09 ~ 1.18
16

Bandwith -7.5 -7.5--7

20

-8 -8--7.5
24

6
28

4
2
0

Boost

Head tuning parameters AFTER * Parameters are required for proper drive function, and are not in cleaning cartridge qualification
150 cleaning cycles shows based on the First Generation LTO Ultrium Cleaning Cartridge Specification, Revision B.
minimal error rate change and IMPORTANT: Do not use swabs or other means of cleaning the heads. The
stable tuning range.
cleaning cartridge uses a special tape to clean the tape heads. The user must
use only approved Ultrium cleaning cartridges to clean the tape heads. Non-
approved cleaning cartridge will be rejected by the drive.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 5

 HP Cleaning Algorithm
The cleaning algorithm used is critical to the cleaning operation being effective in
removing the debris from the head/tape interface. HP has developed a unique
algorithm that minimizes PTR and maximizes cleaning effectiveness. The algorithm
is as follow:
1. Thread the tape.
Each clean uses 18.4 meters of 2. Start moving the heads up and down.
tape. The first clean is started 3. Move to starting point on tape.
at 8 meters. Thus the starting 4. Run tape over heads at 4 meters per second
point is at distance = 8 + 18.4 * 5. Run tape over heads at 4 meters per second in the reverse direction.
(Thread_Count - 1) meters from 6. Rewind the tape.
BOT.
7. Stop moving the heads up and down.
8. Unthread the tape.
9. Operate the internal head cleaner.

Duration of a Cleaning Cycle

Every clean cycle uses a fresh piece of cleaning media. This results in the
overhead of cleaning time as depicted by the following chart. The first cleaning
operation takes 51 seconds, compared to the 15th cleaning operation that takes
2 minutes and 55 seconds because it includes the time it takes the drive to find a
new fresh piece of cleaning media.

Time Interval Per Cleaning Cycle

03:36.0

02:52.8 02:55.0
02:46.0
02:37.0
02:28.0
02:20.0
02:09.6 02:10.0
02:02.0
01:53.0
Time Interval Per Cleaning Cycle
01:44.0
01:34.0
01:26.4 01:26.0
01:16.0
01:08.0
00:58.0
00:51.0
00:43.2

00:00.0
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15

Cleaning Cycle

IMPORTANT: A cleaning cartridge can be used up to 15 times. The cleaning

cartridge is ejected immediately if it has expired or if it is not an approved Ultrium
cleaning cartridge. Discard it and use a new one.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 6

 Role of Cartridge Memory (LTO-CM)
The LTO cleaning cartridge has a cartridge memory device known as LTO-CM.
Access to the content of the CM is achieved via the LTO-CM Reader in the drive.
The reader communicates to the CM by radio frequency amplitude modulation.
The logical layout of the memory device is defined in the U1-ML (rev D) LTO
format specification document.
Many of the page definitions are the same as a normal LTO data cartridge,
except there are several pages such as EOD Information, Tape Directory etc. that
are not defined for a LTO cleaning cartridge. Other pages such as Cartridge
Status and Tape Alert and Cartridge Manufacturer’s Information are modified to
fit cleaning cartridge use. New pages for Cleaning Usage are added to track
thread count and drive information.
The fields of interest are :
Size of the LTO-CM inside
•= Estimated Cleaning Use Remaining, which indicates the estimated
the Cleaning Cartridge.
number of times remaining for the cleaning cartridge to be used before it
is expired.
•= Thread Count, which indicates the total number of times that the leader
pin has been extracted (threaded) from the cartridge. This value exists in
Cleaning Usage page as well as Cartridge Status and Tape Alert page.
The drive uses these two fields to determine if the cleaning cartridge has expired
or not.

Prevention Against Non-Approved Cleaning

The U1-ML format specification provides a method for the drive manufacturers to
prevent undesirable cleaning using non-approved cleaning cartridge by end
users. Non-approved cleaning media can permanently damage the head and
seriously degrade the drive’s recording performance. The prevention is achieved
through the Drive Manufacturer Support page in the LTO-CM. This page contains
the unique ID for each drive manufacturer that is supported by the cleaning
IBM & Seagate Cleaning cartridge. At least one drive manufacturer support page will exist in a LTO
Cartridge cleaning cartridge and the pages are all protected (i.e. it can not be rewritten).
The HP Ultrium cleaning cartridge is supported by the HP Ultrium tape drive only.
When a user inserts a cleaning cartridge, the HP Ultrium drive reads the CM and
checks the Drive Manufacturer Support page for HP unique ID. If this verification
fails then the drive will eject the cleaning cartridge and signal a tape error has
been detected. If the verification passes, the drive will proceed to determine if it
needs to initialize the CM. For used cleaning cartridge the drive will proceed to
determine if the cartridge is expired by checking the Thread Count or the
Estimated Cleaning Uses Remaining field. If it is expired, the drive will eject the
HP Cleaning Cartridge
cartridge and signal a tape error has been detected. Otherwise, it executes the
cleaning algorithm.
The U1-ML format specification prohibits a cleaning cartridge that has been
initialized by one LTO drive manufacturer to be accepted and used in a different
manufacturer’s drive. This is controlled by checking the Initialization Data page
for the drive manufacturer ID of the first drive to use/initialize the cleaning
cartridge.
The LTO Technology Provider Companies (TPC) have developed the Ultrium
For most optimal cleaning
Universal Cleaning Cartridge Document which defines the characteristics of a
performance, use HP brand
of Cleaning Cartridge on HP common cleaning cartridge supportable in all LTO Ultrium tape drives to facilitate
Ultrium tape drive. cleaning cartridge interchange-ability. This new cleaning cartridge is known as
the Universal Cleaning Cartridge.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 7

 Universal Cleaning Cartridge
The universal cleaning cartridge (UCC) is truly common amongst the LTO drives.
Universal cleaning cartridge This means a UCC that has been initialized in one manufacturer’s drive is
has common physical media recognizable and can be used in all manufacturers’ drives. The main advantage
characteristics, common LTO- of the UCC to an end–user is the full interchangeability of a cleaning cartridge
CM page definition, common with all LTO drives.
tape length, common expiry
criteria, distinctive marking and In order to achieve this level of interchange, a specification for the Ultrium
unique designator in the CM. Universal Cleaning Cartridge has been developed and approved by the TPC. It
specifies that the common cleaning medium is to be the same as the recording
media used in data cartridge, and it is not servo written. This cleaning medium is
acceptable, tried and tested by all LTO drive manufacturers using their own
unique cleaning algorithms.
The specification also defines four changes in the LTO-CM to accommodate the
UCC:
•= Universal Drive Support page, must have “LTO-UCC1”
•= Universal Initialization field in the initialization data
•= Last Location Used field in the Cleaning Cartridge Status and Tape Alert
Flags page.
•= Cleaning Usage page, also contains Last Location Used field
Each LTO drive recognizes a UCC by detecting the Drive Manufacturers ID field is
set to “LTO-UCC1”. The drive proceeds to initialize the cartridge if it is un-initialized.
Then it performs the cleaning operation. At the end of the cleaning operation,
the drive will update the appropriate fields (such as Thread Count and Last
Location Used etc.) in the CM pages and eject the cartridge. This is all
documented in the Ultrium Universal Cleaning Cartridge specification.
Other physical characteristics of the UCC are:

319 meters of cleaning media

Cartridge dimensions are the same as original cleaning cartridge

No write inhibit tab

Distinctive mark on the cartridge shell to denote a UCC
Support for the UCC requires new firmware in all LTO drives that recognizes the
unique “LTO-UCC1” identifier. The HP UCC firmware will support both the UCC as
well as the existing HP cleaning cartridge. HP will utilize the same cleaning
algorithm for the UCC and the original cleaning cartridge, which yields 16 cleans
per cartridge. The cartridge will be immediately ejected on the 17th cleaning
operation when the drive detects that the UCC is expired.
Because each LTO drive manufacturer uses a unique cleaning algorithm the total
number of clean per tape will not be the same across all LTO drives. Furthermore,
Unique cleaning algorithm deploying multiple universal cleaning cartridges across multiple LTO drives may
results in different total number yield a different total number of uses per cartridge for each UCC. A consistent
of uses per cartridge. number of cleans per cartridge is achievable in a single drive manufacturer
usage environment.
The HP universal cleaning cartridge has been subjected to the same rigorous
testing as the original HP cleaning cartridge. In addition the TPC technical
working group has conducted interchange testing to ensure the UCC is truly
interchangeable between all LTO drives. The aim is to launch UCC support across
all LTO drive manufacturers at the same time. Soon after the LTO media
manufacturers will launch their UCC according to volume availability.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 8

 Firmware Behavior
•= Inserting a cleaning cartridge into the drive causes the tape drive to
automatically load the cartridge, thread the tape and commence
cleaning operation.

•= During the cleaning cycle the amber ‘Use Cleaning Cartridge’ LED is
turned on and the green ‘Ready’ LED will flash.

Steady Ready LED denotes the

•= At the end of the cleaning cycle, the drive unthreads the tape and if
drive has successfully powered applicable unloads the cartridge*.
on. This LED flashes when drive
is in operation. •= When the cartridge is ejected, the drive extinguishes the Use Cleaning
Cartridge LED and if necessary resets Tape Alert flag 20.

Note: The drive's Tape Alert feature will send a message to your backup
application when the tape heads need cleaning or when an expired cleaning
cartridge has been detected.

Checking LTO-CM for Approved Cleaning Cartridge

1. As soon as the cartridge is loaded, the firmware reads the CM and uses
A flashing amber Use Cleaning the Cartridge Type field in the CM to detect that it is a cleaning cartridge.
Cartridge LED denotes the
drive requests cleaning. 2. The firmware then checks if the cleaning cartridge is supported by the
drive. It uses:
When the cleaning cartridge is
inserted, this LED becomes a
steady amber. •= Drive Manufacturer Support pages to look for HP unique ID, or
•= Cartridge Manufacturer field to look for approved media
manufacturer’s ID. (Note: This method is used to detect cleaning
cartridge that has been initialized by older revision of firmware).

Handling Non-Approved Cleaning Cartridge

If the cartridge is determined to be incompatible i.e. unsupported in the drive
then:

The amber Use Cleaning (i) The cartridge is unloaded (if applicable)*
Cartridge LED is extinguished (ii) The amber Tape Error LED is lit indicating that the Tape is
when cleaning has been defective. A check condition occurs with a Sense Key of 3
successfully completed. (Medium Error) and an ASC/ASQ of 3007 (Cleaning failure).
(iii) The Invalid Tape Alert Flag (23) is set.
(iv) If the Cleaning LED and Tape Alert flag 20 were previously
set prior to the cleaning cartridge being inserted, then they
will remain set.
(v) Cartridge CM remains unmodified.

* Certain automation/library usage

environment requires the drive not
to unload the cartridge unless it
specifically requested by the host.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 9

 Preventing Excessive Cleaning Operation
The firmware performs a check to prevent excessive cleaning being forced upon
the drive. Unnecessary cleaning shortens the useful life of a cleaning cartridge as
well as risks degrading drive performance.

The excessive cleaning criteria is met if the following is TRUE:

•= Cleaning LED is not turned on.

•= Tape Alert flag 20 is not set.
•= Cleaning operation has been performed in the last 336 hours (2
weeks) since the drive was powered on.

If the firmware detects the above condition is true after a cleaning cartridge has
been inserted, then
Subsequent consecutive
cleaning does not alter the a) The internal head cleaner is activated to brush the heads.
LED sequence. It activates b) Estimated Cleaning Usage in the cartridge CM remains the same. I.e.
the Internal Head Cleaner. not decremented
c) Cleaning tape is not threaded.
d) Cartridge is unloaded (if applicable)* after internal head cleaning has
completed its operation.

Handling Expired Cleaning Cartridge

The firmware uses the thread count and tape length in the CM to check if the
cleaning cartridge has been used more than 15 times (i.e. the maximum number
of cleaning operations per cartridge).

If it has, then the cleaning cartridge has expired and:

•= The cartridge is unloaded (if applicable)*.

•= The amber Tape Error LED is lit indicating that the Tape is defective.
A check condition occurs with a Sense Key of 3 (Medium Error)
and an ASC/ASQ of 3007 (Cleaning failure).
The amber Tape Error LED is
turned on after an expired
cleaning cartridge has been •= The Expired Cleaning Media Tape Alert Flag (22) is set and if the
detected and ejected by Use Cleaning Cartridge LED and Tape Alert flag 20 were set prior
the drive. to the cleaning cartridge being inserted, then they will remain set.

•= The cartridge CM is not updated.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 10

 Firmware Backwards Compatibility Matrix
There are 3 types of firmware code to consider:
1. Firmware that does not support the Manufacturers Drive Support page
2. Firmware that supports the Manufacturers Drive Support page
3. Firmware that supports the Universal cleaning cartridge

There are many types of cleaning cartridge to consider:

a) Universal cleaning cartridge

b) HP branded and supported cleaning cartridge (initialised by HP drive)
c) HP branded and supported cleaning cartridge (initialised by the other
manufacturer’s drive)
d) HP branded cleaning cartridge (no Manufacturers Drive Support page)
e) Non-HP supported cleaning cartridge
f) Non-HP branded cleaning cartridge (no Manufacturers Drive Support
page)
g) HP supported cleaning cartridge (initialised by HP, not HP branded)
h) HP supported cleaning cartridge (initialised by other manufacturer’s drive,
not HP branded)

Tape Firmware Type

Type 1 2 3
a H H >
b > > >
c > H H
d > > >
e H H H
f H H H
g H > >
h H H H

Key:
> - Use
H - Reject

Note:
 “Use” means the drive loads the cleaning cartridge, executes the
cleaning algorithm and ejects the cartridge at the end.
 “Reject” means the drive loads the cartridge and immediately ejects it.
The “Tape Error” LED is lit and the Tape Alert flag is set. No cleaning takes
place and the drive does not modify the cartridge memory nor initialises it.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 11

 Frequently Asked Questions

 Should I do regular cleaning like DDS?

The HP Ultrium drive is designed to require very minimal cleaning. The internal
head cleaner provides an effective preventative cleaning against head
contamination. Regular cleaning using cleaning cartridge is not necessary. Do
not use a cleaning cartridge unless the drive requests it and the ‘Use Cleaning
Cartridge’ LED is lit.

 Is the internal head cleaner effective in keeping debris away from the heads?
HP has designed the internal head cleaner with an optimal brush pattern, stiffness
and material properties, so that it would produce an effective and efficient
cleaning operation. Test data has shown that the brushing action consistently
removes media debris from the slots of the head and prevents media debris from
building up on the head/media interface.

 How long will the internal head cleaner last?

The internal head cleaner has been designed to last the life of the drive. HP has
done extensive life testing and the result projects a useful life of 20 years.

 How can I tell a cleaning cartridge has expired?

The HP Ultrium drive reads the cartridge memory in a cleaning cartridge and
determines if the cartridge has expired or not. Typically a cleaning cartridge is
expired when it has been used for about 15 times in a HP Ultrium drive.
Subsequent use will cause the drive to eject the cleaning cartridge immediately
and lit the Tape Error LED. The drive will proceed to clean the heads by activating
the internal head cleaner. Library with CM reader can identify an expired
cleaning cartridge (without having to load the cartridge) using the MAM attribute
0002h and 0003h commands.

 Why should HP prevents user from doing excessive cleaning?

Excessive cleaning operation wastes the useful life of a cleaning cartridge and
does not improve the performance of the tape drive. This is to protect user’s
valuable investment in the HP Ultrium drive.

 Can I use another vendor’s cleaning cartridge ?

HP recommends the use of HP Ultrium cleaning cartridge in HP Ultrium drive for
optimum cleaning result. Other vendor’s cleaning cartridge may not have HP
unique ID in the LTO-CM and may not produce effective cleaning result. In order
to comply with the LTO format specification document, the HP Ultrium drive must
reject such cleaning cartridge without altering the content of the cartridge
memory. The only exception is the universal cleaning cartridge, which is designed
to work in all LTO drives. All LTO cleaning cartridge must be approved and in
compliance with the LTO format specification.

 Why does HP drive reject my cleaning cartridge but another vendor drive
accepts it?
The HP Ultrium drive will reject a cleaning cartridge if the cartridge is not a
universal cleaning cartridge and its LTO-CM does not contain HP unique ID or the
cleaning cartridge is expired.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 12

 Frequently Asked Questions (continue….)
Another vendor’s drive may accept the cartridge because the cartridge memory
has that vendor’s unique ID and/or the drive is not in compliance with the format
specification, and/or the vendor’s drive detects that the cartridge has not
expired yet.

 Why does HP cleaning cartridge expire after 15 uses when another vendor‘s
cleaning cartridge lasts many times more than 15 uses?
The HP cleaning algorithm is designed to produce an effective cleaning result
against head contamination that is not removable by means of the internal head
cleaner whist maintaining optimal drive performance. This requires the use of a
predetermined length of fresh media that only allows 15 uses. Because the HP
Ultrium drive is designed for no preventative cleaning using cleaning cartridge,
the use of cleaning cartridge is very infrequent and is only reserved for extreme
cases. Another vendor’s cleaning algorithm may use less media and may
produce less effective cleaning result that leads to the drive requiring more
frequent cleaning. Less frequent usage of cleaning cartridge is better for the drive
and ultimately benefits the user.

 Will I get the same number of uses from a universal cleaning cartridge across
different LTO drives?
It depends. HP cleaning algorithm ensures the same total number of use if the
universal cleaning cartridge is used in HP LTO drive only. Each LTO drive
manufacturer uses a unique cleaning algorithm the total number of cleans per
tape will not be the same. Using the universal cleaning cartridge in a mixed LTO
drive manufacturers user environment (e.g. Library usage) may give a variable
total number of use.

 How does a Universal cleaning cartridge ensure interchange-ability?

The universal cleaning cartridge will have common physical media
characteristics, common update of the LTO-CM pages, a universal drive
manufacturer ID, a common designator of usage, a common length, a common
expiry criteria and a common mark on the cartridge shell. An initialized Universal
cleaning cartridge will be accepted by all LTO drives and maintained in the same
way to provide a consistent usage protocol.

 When will Universal cleaning cartridge be available?

The LTO Technology Provider Companies (TPC) have agreed on a common
introduction date that will allow sufficient time to verify the universal cleaning
cartridge performance in all LTO drives.

 Do I need new firmware in my HP LTO drive for a Universal cleaning cartridge?

Yes. New firmware is required in all LTO drives in order to support the universal
cleaning cartridge. The specification is defined in the Ultrium Universal Cleaning
Cartridge Document. The HP UCC firmware will comply with this specification and
will also support the existing cleaning cartridge for backward compatibility.

HP ensures LTO has an effective cleaning strategy Page 13