Technical data

U26140-J-Z146-3-76 55
4 mm Autoloader Autoloader modes of operation
8.2 Autoloader modes of operation
The autoloader allows you to select magnetic tape cartridges in either of two
ways:
Cartridge selection from the front panel (stacker mode)
A magnetic tape cartridge can be selected by pressing buttons on the
autoloader’s front panel and loaded from the magazine into the MTC (magnetic
tape cartridge) drive.
I In this mode, the changer mechanism is not controlled by the software
but treated as a stand-alone MTC drive.
When the operation is complete, the magnetic tape cartridge is automatically
(controlled by software) unloaded from the MTC drive and returned to the
magazine. Then the changer mechanism automatically selects the next tape
cartridge from the magazine and loads it into the MTC drive.
Cartridge selection from the host (random mode)
In this mode, the host which the autoloader is connected to views the autoloader
as two devices:
1. A tape drive to which sequential access commands can be sent and
2. A tape changer mechanism to which medium changer commands can be
sent.
The controlling host computer has full random access to any cartridge in the
autoloader.