User's Manual

Chapter 1 Tape Drive Product Information
Modular Design
SDLT 600 Product Manual 6
extensive duty-cycle environments found in high-end and automation
environments.
This mechanism engages the tape leader upon data cartridge load and
disengages it upon data cartridge unload. It uses a solid metal pin
attached to the drive leader to link with molded clips permanently
attached to the tape leader inside the data cartridge. The Positive Leader
Link design makes the buckling of Super DLTtape media a totally reliable
mechanical process.
Modular Design 1
The SDLT 600 tape drive is designed as a total system. The system
includes a complex interaction of a number of important components
including such items as the tape path, tape heads, media, data cartridge,
and host interface.
As shown in figure 2
, the SDLT 600 tape drive consists of five distinct
modules:
• Data Control Module (DCM)
• Tape Control Module (TCM)
• Front Panel Module (FPM)
• Electronic Interface Module (EIM)
• Super DLTtape II Data Cartridge (Data Cartridge).
The modular concept makes the SDLT 600 tape drive system easy to
manufacture and configure. Each module is optimized to perform a
specific set of functions and designed to interface with the other modules
in a well defined and flexible manner.
The following subsections provide a brief overview of each module.