Any Exabyte DLT robot experts out there?

I am having a problem with our Exabyte 230D. It does not push the tape
all the way into the drives. The way that it is supposed to work is
that it places the tape about 3/4 of the way into the drive, then the
grippers release, it backs off a couple of cm, closes the grippers and
then pushes forwards until the tape is in the drive. But in that last
step, it's not pushing forward far enough for the tape to click in.
It pushes forwards just fine when there is no tape in the drive during
POST and also, if you turn the pulley by hand - so it's not a physical
obstruction on the track or inside the drives AFAICT.

Any ideas?

This robot has been nothing but trouble since we purchased it and I am
almost at the point of giving up on it. We stopped paying for support
after the 8th breakdown because we lost faith in the reseller.

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

"Phil Skuse" <phil.skuse@vicorp.com> wrote in message
news:36f2d614.0408110727.7e82eb56@posting.google.com...
> Any Exabyte DLT robot experts out there?
>
> I am having a problem with our Exabyte 230D. It does not push the tape
> all the way into the drives. The way that it is supposed to work is
> that it places the tape about 3/4 of the way into the drive, then the
> grippers release, it backs off a couple of cm, closes the grippers and
> then pushes forwards until the tape is in the drive. But in that last
> step, it's not pushing forward far enough for the tape to click in.
> It pushes forwards just fine when there is no tape in the drive during
> POST and also, if you turn the pulley by hand - so it's not a physical
> obstruction on the track or inside the drives AFAICT.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> This robot has been nothing but trouble since we purchased it and I am
> almost at the point of giving up on it. We stopped paying for support
> after the 8th breakdown because we lost faith in the reseller.

1. You should contact Exabyte direct.
2. If it is still under warranty then you should complain to Exabyte.
3. If it is not under warranty, then you should still complain to Exabyte.
4. Buy a decent tape system... NOT Exabyte...

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

"Phil Skuse" <phil.skuse@vicorp.com> wrote in message
news:36f2d614.0408110727.7e82eb56@posting.google.com...
> Any Exabyte DLT robot experts out there?
>
> I am having a problem with our Exabyte 230D. It does not push the tape
> all the way into the drives. The way that it is supposed to work is
> that it places the tape about 3/4 of the way into the drive, then the
> grippers release, it backs off a couple of cm, closes the grippers and
> then pushes forwards until the tape is in the drive. But in that last
> step, it's not pushing forward far enough for the tape to click in.
> It pushes forwards just fine when there is no tape in the drive during
> POST and also, if you turn the pulley by hand - so it's not a physical
> obstruction on the track or inside the drives AFAICT.
>
> Any ideas?
>
> This robot has been nothing but trouble since we purchased it and I am
> almost at the point of giving up on it. We stopped paying for support
> after the 8th breakdown because we lost faith in the reseller.

Check if the pulley doesn't slip and if tension on the belt is OK. I don't
have the manual in front of me, but you may need re-tension the belt.

Can you manually get the tape in without excessive force? No broken leader
in the drive?

Rob

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

"Rob Turk" <_wipe_me_r.turk@chello.nl> wrote in message
 news:411b1684$0$93514$e4fe514c@dreader19
.news.xs4all.nl...
> "Phil Skuse" <phil.skuse@vicorp.com> wrote in message
> news:36f2d614.0408110727.7e82eb56@posting.google.com... 
>
> Check if the pulley doesn't slip and if tension on the belt is OK. I don't
> have the manual in front of me, but you may need re-tension the belt.
>
> Can you manually get the tape in without excessive force? No broken leader
> in the drive?
>
> Rob
>

Further to this, you can download all manuals for the 230D from our site.
The parts catalog is at:
http://www.exabyte.com/support/prod...anual.cfm?id=31

Check out the section about the robotic parts, in particular the reach axis
belt. See if it's properly tensioned and if it's undamaged.

Another source of info is the maintenance manual at
http://www.exabyte.com/support/prod...anual.cfm?id=30
Rob

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

What are some recommended "decent" tape systems?

Dwayne.


"Mark" <bigfathhairybiker@MAILhot(swapemround).com> wrote in message
news:411a3f6c$0$20244$ed9e5944@reading.news.pipex.net...
> "Phil Skuse" <phil.skuse@vicorp.com> wrote in message
> news:36f2d614.0408110727.7e82eb56@posting.google.com... 
>
> 1. You should contact Exabyte direct.
> 2. If it is still under warranty then you should complain to Exabyte.
> 3. If it is not under warranty, then you should still complain to Exabyte.
> 4. Buy a decent tape system... NOT Exabyte...
>
>
>

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

"dwayne" <dwaynev@wn.com.au> wrote in message
news:411b63f7@quokka.wn.com.au...
> What are some recommended "decent" tape systems?
>
> Dwayne.

Anything but Exabyte....

They have real problems with quality on systems that for what they cost
should not break down as often as they do.

This all started around 15 years ago when they produced that front loading
8mm drive.
They packed up around once every two months. ( survey of around 25
installations )
and cost a fixed £250 to get repaired. Who knows what they did to them but
they worked initially and then packed up again.

The Mammoth I... and EXB220 Jukebox.. the jukebox was fairly reliable after
about the third/fourth release, but the problem of replacement drives and
reliable tape manufacture cause nightmares for maintence companies.

Then you have the Mammoth II ., oh my god... how many times did they change
tape manufacturer until they got the tapes correct? At least three times..
Then the drive firmware.. eek .. after around a years worth of updates they
started to run smoothly. Then the jukeboxes started failing.... mainly
underrated resistors failing.


Oh.. cleaning tapes... ha! Alway make sure you have a large stock of
these...even for the Mammoth II in which the media was suppose to be self
cleaning.

If we move on the cost...

£45+ for 60GB tapes and £35+ for 20GB and £35+ for a cleaning tape!!

Compared with...   LTO2 £35 for 200GB+ and £38 for a cleaning tape that
outlasts a box of 10 exabyte cleaning tapes.

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

"Mark" <bigfathhairybiker@MAILhot(swapemround).com> wrote in message
news:411b76f8$0$20243$ed9e5944@reading.news.pipex.net...
> "dwayne" <dwaynev@wn.com.au> wrote in message
> news:411b63f7@quokka.wn.com.au... 
>
> Anything but Exabyte....
>
> They have real problems with quality on systems that for what they cost
> should not break down as often as they do.
>

Mark,

You obviously have had some bad experience with Exabyte in the past. Sorry
to hear that. I'm not going to tell you that it's been smooth for everyone
but you, but there's hundreds of thousands of drives out there (even old
8200's, 8500C's, 8505's and Eliants) that do work well. M1 works well too
after a few initial hurdles. M2 wasn't fun, I have to agree with that, but
even that has improved dramatically, both by product enhancement and by
improved external factors. The main issue has always been that when M2 came
out there were very few mid-range servers (WinNT, Win2K) able to drive it
properly at 12MB/s and higher to keep it streaming. Today's systems are
plenty fast and M2 installations on those systems work just fine when
properly implemented.

The robotics are extremely reliable, always have been. I don't know where
you get your information but the libraries are built like tanks and will not
die. The EXB-220 and family members just keep on running.  The 110L/221L and
Magnum20 LTO libraries perform very well and so do the PacketLoader 1U and
430V.

Current product line consists of our VXA-1 and VXA-2 Packet drives and
automation which have great field-proven reliability and offer great value
for money, as well as LTO-based libraries that are great machines too.

Feel free to contact me if you would like more info, if you want to vent, or
whatever. Again, sorry to hear you got burned in the past but do keep an
open mind and stay informed on today's situation before dismissing Exabyte.

Rob (Exabyte techie...)
r t u r k at e x a b y t e dot c o m

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

"Rob Turk" <wipe_me_r.turk@chello.nl> wrote in message
news:411b8544$0$36860$e4fe514c@news.xs4all.nl...
>
> Feel free to contact me if you would like more info, if you want to vent,
or
> whatever. Again, sorry to hear you got burned in the past but do keep an
> open mind and stay informed on today's situation before dismissing
Exabyte.
>
> Rob (Exabyte techie...)
> r t u r k at e x a b y t e dot c o m
>
>
Hi Rob,  Yup , just venting a bit of steam...
I have a EXB220 with Mammoth II which is working ok now..
And your definately right about the streaming aspect.
Mammoth II was too fast initially and most servers just could not keep up.
Oh well, back to the grind stone..

Regards,

Mark
( Now running on low pressure mode ).

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

Hi Rob,

Thanks for your help.

The reach belt and pulleys seem to be in good condition and are not
slipping. I can't see any way of adjusting the tension. It is possible
to manually push the tape into the drive and the leaders are OK.

I'm downloading the maintenance manual now.

It seems like the robot is not pushing hard enough to get the tape
into the drives. A gentle finger push at the right moment will get the
tape into the drive. Is there a way of adjusting how hard the robot
will push on the tape before it assumes a jam and gives up?

Phil.

"Rob Turk" <wipe_me_r.turk@chello.nl> wrote in message news:<411b633c$0$48959$e4fe514c@news.
xs4all.nl>...
> "Rob Turk" <_wipe_me_r.turk@chello.nl> wrote in message
>  news:411b1684$0$93514$e4fe514c@dreader19
.news.xs4all.nl... 
>
> Further to this, you can download all manuals for the 230D from our site.
> The parts catalog is at:
> http://www.exabyte.com/support/prod...anual.cfm?id=31
>
> Check out the section about the robotic parts, in particular the reach axi
s
> belt. See if it's properly tensioned and if it's undamaged.
>
> Another source of info is the maintenance manual at
> http://www.exabyte.com/support/prod...anual.cfm?id=30
> Rob

[ Post a follow-up to this message ]

"Phil Skuse" <phil.skuse@vicorp.com> wrote in message
news:36f2d614.0408130744.3d0204cf@posting.google.com...
> Hi Rob,
>
> Thanks for your help.
>
> The reach belt and pulleys seem to be in good condition and are not
> slipping. I can't see any way of adjusting the tension. It is possible
> to manually push the tape into the drive and the leaders are OK.
>
> I'm downloading the maintenance manual now.
>
> It seems like the robot is not pushing hard enough to get the tape
> into the drives. A gentle finger push at the right moment will get the
> tape into the drive. Is there a way of adjusting how hard the robot
> will push on the tape before it assumes a jam and gives up?
>
> Phil.

If the robot thinks it's jammed, it would post an error message on the LCD.
If no error shows up, then it thinks it is all OK. Does the LCD show any
sign of error?

From what I can remember, the motors of the 230D all have optical feedback
encoders. If the one on the reach motor is bad it may think it has moved far
enough when in fact it has not.

Last far-fetched ideas are that the library runs in a demo mode or has lost
it's calibration values. I will have to ask around for more info, stay
tuned..

Rob

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