The IBM Tape Diagnostic Tool (ITDT)
If your tape library is IBM, this tool can be very helpful to diagnose and change library or tape drives settings such as compression.
Installing ITDT
There is a Standard and a Graphical Edition for this tool. This page always refers to the Standard Edition, but I'll leave the Graphical's manual below.
First, check if your drives and library are supported on the following list:
If so, then go to the IBM Fix Central and download the proper package for your operating system. This will require you to log in. It is recommended to read the list of changes before proceding with the download. Now that you have downloaded the package, transfer it to the tapeserver where your drive(s) are connected to. Finally, install the package:
chmod 700 install_itdt_se_Linuxx86_64_9.5.3.20220315
./install_itdt_se_Linuxx86_64_9.5.3.20220315This should create a directory called "ITDT". Inside this directory we have the tool called "itdt" ready to be executed.
./ITDT/itdtA few seconds later you should see this interface. That's it!
IBM Tape Diagnostic Tool Standard Edition - Version:9.5.3.20220315
Diagnostic and Maintenance Functions:
[S] Scan for tape drives and enter Diagnostic/Maintenance Mode
[H] Help
[Q] Quit program
Notes:
- During a test, user data on the cartridge will be erased!
- Make sure no other program is accessing the devices used by ITDT!
- A device scan may take several minutes in some cases!
Expert Functions for known devices:
[U] Tapeutil
[A] Add Device Manually
[P] Preferences Exploring your devices
Now we can start navigating through the tool.
You can check if it is detecting your devices by pressing [S]. This will perform a quick scan and list the devices along their serial numbers, firmware version and so on. It should look like this:
After the quick scan is done, you can select one of your devices by entering its corresponding number (left column). This should allow you to perform a health test, a system test, see cleaning stats among other options that appear by pressing [O]. You can also check all of these options on the IBM's manual for the Scan menu commands. Once you are done, you can return to the last menu with [R]. To return to the main menu, press [M].
Exploring the Tapeutils and changing drive parameters
On the main menu select the Tapeutil functions by pressing [U]. The following options will appear.
You can look up for every option's description on IBM's manual for the Tapeutil menu commands.
Suppose we want to check our drive's parameters and even change some of them. We first have to open the device we want to make these changes, so we will select option [1] and press enter.
First thing you'll be required to is writing your device name. That should be something as "/dev/sgX". Remember that you can find the correct number with the lsscsi -g command (last column):
In this case, the tape drive has /dev/sg0 as its device name.
After writing your drive's name, press enter and you'll be asked to specify the mode in order to open the device. Press enter again to keep the default mode (which is Read/Write mode). A few seconds later you should read a message confirming your device is opened:
Press enter for the last time and you will be back into the Tapeutil section. For instance, let's go and check the option number [33] to access the Query/Set Parameters.
Here you can check your current settings. In order to make any changes, press the number corresponding to the parameter you want to change. In this example, press [1] which corresponds with the compression of the drive. You will see the following message confirming your change and that now compression is disabled.
Once you're done tuning your drive, you can just return [R] and press [2] to close the device. Then, you can just close the tool with [Q].
Useful links
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