Cleaning Tape Drives

Applies To: System Center Data Protection Manager 2007

To clean a stand-alone tape drive, load a cleaning tape and follow the hardware manufacturer's instructions. To clean a drive in a tape library using DPM, specify which tape to use for cleaning and then start the cleaning job. If the bar code on a tape starts with "CLN" (for example, bar code CLN0000812), DPM identifies the tape as a cleaning tape after a fast inventory; you do not need to designate the tape as a cleaning tape.

However, if the cleaning tape does not have a bar code or the bar code does not start with "CLN", you must mark the tape as a cleaning tape and then run a fast inventory.

If a cleaning tape that does not have a bar code or the bar code does not start with "CLN" is added to the library and you run a detailed inventory before you mark the tape as a cleaning tape and run a fast inventory, a cleaning job starts when DPM mounts this tape during the detailed inventory.

Follow the guidelines from the manufacturer of your tape device for cleaning frequency.

To specify the cleaning tape

  1. In DPM Administrator Console, click Management on the navigation bar.

  2. Click the Libraries tab.

  3. In the Display pane, select the tape to be used for cleaning, and then in the Actions pane, click Mark as cleaning tape.

To clean a tape drive

  1. In DPM Administrator Console, click Management on the navigation bar.

  2. Click the Libraries tab.

  3. In the Display pane, select the drive to be cleaned, and then in the Actions pane, click Clean drive.

Note

If a cleaning tape is online and marked as a cleaning tape, you only need to run the cleaning job.