From owner-freebsd-isp  Thu Jan 22 05:17:50 1998
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From: Kevin Day <toasty@home.dragondata.com>
Message-Id: <199801221317.HAA03023@home.dragondata.com>
Subject: Re: SCSI backup tape drive recommendations (again)
In-Reply-To: <19980122140739.38942@lemis.com> from Greg Lehey at "Jan 22, 98 02:07:39 pm"
To: grog@lemis.com (Greg Lehey)
Date: Thu, 22 Jan 1998 07:17:10 -0600 (CST)
Cc: lamaster@george.arc.nasa.gov, freebsd-isp@FreeBSD.ORG
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>  Check out http://www.corpsys.com/cgi-bin/select?1130679869093&inventory&T
> for one supplier ($379 for a 4-tape changer).  If you buy one and have
> trouble, let me know: I have one and have had none, but some people have
> had problems with refurbs which suggest a defective unit.
> 
> Greg
> 

I've got several of those drives, and they work great. They need a *ton* of
airflow though, so if you mount them internally, put a fan behind them.

I submitted a PR a while back showing how to use the scsi command to
autoload with them. (ch0 doesn't work on this drive)

You also should put a cron job in 12 hours after your daily backup to just
move the cartridge up and down once.... (load tape 1, then eject it, load
tape 4, then eject it. or if you've got the 12 tape cartridge like I use, do
1, 6 and 12). This stops the goo they put on the rollers from hardening up.
It won't break the drive, just make it last longer.

Kevin