IBM GoVault tape drive firmware V0110 - IBM System x

Download Description

• New IBM xSeries firmware and device driver file naming convention

Severity: Suggested

Version V0110

• New Feature - Implemented sleep mode to spin down hard disk in cartridge after 32 minutes of inactivity.
• New Functionality - Added support for higher capacity HDDs.
• Problem Fix - Firmware does not report saved values of Control Mode page 0x0A.
• Problem Fix - Make all emergency eject requests active when eject button held for 15 seconds.
• New Functionality - Added minimum Analog to Digital Converter temperature check.
• Problem Fix - Internal testing found that firmware would report wrong sense data when Write command of 2 blocks is issued immediately after a firmware upgrade.
• Problem Fix - Dock does not automatically eject cartridge after maximum temperature is reached for 5 minutes.
• Problem Fix - Performing an Emergency Eject did not update the Emergency Eject count.
• Problem Fix - Incorrectly updated Loaded bit in Medium Statistics log page 31h.
• Problem Fix - GoVault SATA under Linux and specific LSI SAS controller would fail a format command, e.g., "mkfs -t ext2".
• Problem Fix - Log Sense with PC = 0x40 and allocation length of 0xFFFF results in hang.
• Problem Fix - DSA (IBM Dynamic System Analysis) will hang when GoVault is attached.

Version V0095

• Carrier reports write protect intermittently when inserting write enabled cartridge. Host Bus Adapter dependent.
• When the Password Protection is removed, the properties page still shows the password protection as Enabled. The password protection will only show itself as Disabled if the user ejects and reinserts the cartridge.
• VERIFY (10) and WRITE AND VERIFY (10) commands should check CDB fields for validity.
• After the start stop unit command to eject the cartridge, the Motor Limit bit of Log Sense Page 30h is not set.
• Incorrect Standard Inquiry Data.
• Maximum Temperature as reported in Log Sense changes after power cycles.
• In some situations a Log Sense command may suppress the cartridge statistics from flushing.
• Inserted an incompatible cartridge (virgin cartridge with default password disabled) to the drive and the LED failed to blink. This cartridge can only be created as a test case.
• When an RDC with an unrecognized manufacturer is inserted, sense 02/30 only posts once.
• Testing found that if a voltage out of range condition or a temperature out of range condition occurred while data was being transferred to/from the drive that the LED blink pattern did not change.
• Testing found that a cartridge set to maximum security level could not be returned to High security level after unlocking and then reprogramming with a password (either master or user) and with the security bit cleared.
• After the start stop unit command to eject the RDC, the Motor Limit bit of Log Sense Page 30h is not set.
• Review of firmware found two flaws in security erase procedures:
  • Maximum security is preserved on an RDC through the security erase procedure.
  • Mode page 0x21h values are corrupted by the security erase procedure and should be restored to the values previously left in them following the security erase procedure.
• Issuing Start/Stop command to eject the cartridge, the drive ejected the cartridge with a Check Condition 02/30/00 instead of a Good Status. This is a special test with a specifically created incompatible cartridge.
• Load Count in Log Page 0x31h is being incremented after an ATA Device Reset command.
• The Adaptec 1205 adapter does not exhibit the same behavior in issuance of SCSI (ATAPI) commands during major system events such as shutdown, standby, hibernate, or restart as compared to the native Intel ICH5/6/7 bridge solutions (and their associated drivers). The start/stop (stop) (as currently implemented) places the drive into standby (0xE2 command). Issuing the cache flush ahead of that should prepare the drive for power down in an orderly manner.
• Changed the standby to an IDLE when the Prevent/Allow is received.
• Mode Select/Page 21h on empty drive generates 07/27 (Write Protect) instead of 02/3A (Media not Present) sense key.
• Incorrect Additional Sense code is returned with Mode Select CDB (15 01 00 00 10 00).
• Testing found cases where a Security Erase may fail causing the user to reboot their system.
• A specific test sequence caused the Load Count of Log Sense Page 31h to increase by 1.
• When an emergency eject was performed (hold Eject button for >15 seconds) the firmware did not reset the Prevent status in Log Sense Page 30h.
• Testing found that the firmware did not save the gigabytes written or read in Log Sense Page 31h after a Device Reset.
• Good Status reported on READ CAPACITY command with invalid bit.
• Mode Sense/Select commands do not report Unit Attention sense key.
• FW download causes RDC not to be recognized as PW (Password) protected after PC reboot
• Implemented changes to facilitate compatibility with Linux.
• Changes were made to IDENTIFY PACKET DEVICE Data per SATA 2.5 document.
• Flash the dock LED if a firmware download failure occurs. Use Pattern 7.
• Modified the firmware to reduce the motor speed when unloading a cartridge. This results in a much quieter cartridge eject.
• Modified firmware to consolidate routines that access the EEPROM, analog digital converter and environmental areas.
• Cut off Stepper Motor current when in idle mode. Added firmware to add extra checks to ensure the motor current is turned off appropriately. If the checks fail motor will be turned off directly.
• Motor Limit switch is active when the stepper moves the carrier (and if present, the cartridge) out and a metal tab blocks the phototransistor from receiving light from the LED. External vibration could cause motion that would result in phototransistor tripping incorrectly. Firmware modified to make the stepper go around one complete sequence (two windings).
• Reduce multiple requests for Log Sense Page 30h information. Current code monitors the environmental data every minute. The host applet also does this during idle time - when installed. It is possible to have two consecutive runs at this same task following the completion of any command (host, for example): the pending internal and the requested Log Sense request. Every issuance of the Log Sense request initiates the same task routines as the internal run. Added a flag that enables the internal task to be skipped for this minute if the host has issued a Log Sense command for the data.
• Modified the values that would cause voltage and temperature faults. Changed temperature settings to 56C degrees before reporting a temperature fault. Voltage adjustment to +/- 7%.
• Various improper behaviors observed when an eject command is issued to the RDC and the RDC is blocked from ejecting out of the dock. Incorrect sense key/media state causes the drive to not execute start stop unit code. Added firmware to return 03/53 sense data if the RDC is blocked from ejecting
• Modifications to Log Sense Page 30h and 31h. Modified firmware to removed SMART bit field from Page 30h. Modified firmware to scan cartridge for SMART setting when cartridge is inserted and validated.
• Tuned the read and write performance to improve operation at all block sizes and shorten the latency to process a TUR which is frequently sent by Windows during the read & write of files.
• Firmware review identified areas that could be optimized to improve the performance of the firmware. These areas include writing to the task file registers, handling certain state machines quicker and placing often used variables in memory that could be accessed faster.