Where can I find the LVD-HVD Demo Guide for the Q3? Where can I find the LVD-HVD Demo Guide for the Q3? How can I tell if I need HVD or LVD? Check the feature codes on the iSeries
HVD version works with feature codes: 2729, 2749, 6501 and 6534
LVD version works with feature codes: 5702, 5705, 5710, 5712, 5715, 571A and 5736
Also works with all SCSI based tape systems regardless of the host.
I cannot HyperTerminal into the Q3? Make certain you use the serial cable provided by BOSaNOVA.
I am getting the error on the Q3 Unit
Attention Skey. This is a normal message, not an error.
This indicates the host system has done a reset and then looked for information beyond just the inquiry and is normal at a start up. Unless the system issues another command that stays on the front panel.
Does the Q3 support active terminators? No - the Q3 will not see the tape drive if an active terminator is used. The active terminators can cause errors on the bus when running at the faster speeds and are therefore not supported and should be replaced with a standard LVD terminator.
Can I use the Q3 with the IBM
3570? Yes but when running on the iSeries you must ensure your customers do not select “use optimum block” to YES. This can cause problems if they do but selecting NO will work correctly and backups will run just as fast.
Can I use the Q3 on narrow SCSI (8 bit devices)? Yes. You must however ensure that the bus termination is correct. This can be done in a number of ways and we can supply a special Y cable to allow standard wide cables and terminators to be used. We do support 68 way to 50 way cables but the Y cable method is the preferred solution.
Does the Q3 come highly recommended? Yes. BOSaNOVA Data Encryption with Q# backup - Click here to see a short video.
Does the Q3 support SCSI 3590E drives and if so are there any special considerations? Yes but you need to be aware that the 3590 uses a special cable end as there is no place to terminate the bus without this special cable end. We can supply a 1 foot cable that fits on to the end of the standard cable supplied with the Q3 to allow this to be terminated correctly.
Does the Q3 support Single Ended SCSI devices? Yes, the standard LVD SCSI Q3 units will support single ended SCSI hosts and / or single ended SCSI tapes.
Does the Q3 support Differential SCSI devices? There is an HVD version of the Q3 which supports High Voltage differential units which are commonly known simply as differential. You must use this version as the LVD Q3 does not support these devices.
We presently have the older Differential Interfaced tapes but are soon
going to be moving to a new system which will have LVD interfaced tapes. Can I read tapes written on the HVD drives if we then
purchase an LVD Q3 for the new units? Yes. All Q3 units be they LVD, HVD or fibre channel are interchangeable as long as the two user keys and the customer unique hard key are the same.
How do I set the SCSI ID on the Q3? You do not set an ID on the Q3. When it is powered up it will scan the Tape side bus for a device and then set itself to appear as that device type and ID automatically.
We purchased an HVD Q3 last year but are looking to upgrade our
system soon and will go to LVD drives, is it possible to upgrade our existing Q3 to handle the LVD drives?
Yes this is something that is quite straightforward. Contact you sales rep to discuss the best method of making the changes to fit in with your needs.
The display shows “Off Line”, what is wrong? This is not indicating that the Q3 is off line, it simply indicates that the host has issued a command to the tape drive and this has responded as being “off line” usually because no tape is loaded. Often the system issues a Tape Unit Ready command after it issues a load and repeats this until it gets a positive response indicating the tape has now loaded.
I cannot change the status from secure to unsecure using the GUI. The tape drive must either be at BOT (Beginning of Tape) or unloaded in order to change the status. This is to ensure a tape cannot be part encrypted and part in plain text.
Does the Q3 support more than one tape drive? The standard units are configured to support only a single tape device but with special firmware can support up to four legacy tape drives where throughput is limited. It is normal to use them in a one to one configuration for better throughput and system resilience but if you feel you existing infrastructure is suitable for the multi drive firmware please discuss this with you sales rep.
Do we need to have special configuration to deal with different drive types?
We have a range of new and older drives where things like buffer size and usable tape beyond logical EOT differ greatly. The Q3 “recognizes” the attached tape drive types and will reconfigure buffers and EOT amounts automatically to ensure for flexibility and ease of integration and support.
DIf I lose my unit and the spare unique ID chip is my data gone forever? No. We can supply a new or replacement unit with your original ID chips to ensure whatever the disaster you can have the correct hardware to restore your data. All you must have is the users keys used to produce the tapes.
Is it possible for the user to upgrade the unit firmware themselves? Yes this is possible and a special GUI is available to make this as simple as possible. It should be noted however that the keys and passwords must be re-entered after the new firmware is loaded.
Does the Q3 only work with tape drives? The standard units are designed especially for tape drives but a special version that supports Ultra Density Optical discs is also available to special order. Please ask your sales rep to arrange BOSaNOVA to contact you directly to discuss.
Can I monitor the front panel remotely? The standard Qonfig3 GUI shows the front panel display and is refreshed automatically. If you have the optional LAN connection on the SCSI version or are using the fibre version this can be done across the network as well.
What SCSI connectors are on the LVD Q3 units? There are three 68 way MicroD sockets on the Q3, one goes to the tape, one to the host and the other is used either to terminate the SCSI bus or used to daisy units.
My System and tape drives use the small VHDCI connectors, how do I
use the Q3 with these units? BOSaNOVA can supply VDHCI to stand MicroD cables for these configurations. Please discuss this with your sales rep prior to placing the order to ensure the correct cable lengths are supplied.
What happens if we have a power failure? Is there anything
special we need to do? The Q3 units will retain their passwords, keys and configuration settings for five minutes after the power fails. After that period these will be deleted for security reasons and will have to be re-entered once power is restored.
We often suffer power supply outages, is there
a way to ensure the units don’t restart with then in non secure mode? It is possible to have the unit factory configured to require passwords to be entered before the units will come on line after a power outage. Please advise you sales rep of this requirement prior to placing your orders.
I keep seeing “Illegal Request” on the display, what is the
problem causing this? This is a response to the system issuing a command that the tape drive does not support and is quite normal, normally you would be unaware this is occurring. The usual reason is that the system issues an inquiry to a device and then looks for a r esponse from a nonexistent LUN on the device to see if it does exist.
What are the speed implications of installing the Q3? The Q3 in most cases has up to a ten percent impact on the speed and this can be either negative or positive but depends on the type of data, the tape drive and the system.
Can two different people (groups) hold separate keys for the Q3? Yes. The GUI allows for two keys to be entered separately and both are required to encrypt / decrypt tapes.
Will the Q3 work with my autoloader? Yes, the Q3 supports all autoloaders both with separate SCSI ID’s and those using a second LUN to control the autoloaders. No changes or special configuration is required.
Will the Q3 work with my library? Yes, the library control can go via the Q3 or by daisy chaining it at the host side of the Q3. Normally one Q3 is used for each drive in the library that requires encryption.
What encryption algorithms does the Q3 use? YWe used Extended DES or 3DES but have dual encryption engines to enhance the encryption beyond the standards.
If we change from a SCSI infrastructure to fibre channel is it possible to
upgrade the Q3 to work on Fibre Channel? Yes although this would not be a field upgrade and the unit would need to be returned to 10ZiG's Phoenix or UK offices.
Is it possible to connect to the Q3 through the LAN? There is a network option for the SCSI versions that allows you to monitor the unit across the LAN.
The LED on the Q3 displays SRAM Corruption The Q3 needs to be set back to factory defaults - directions below:
Q3.doc
I am using NetBurner to connect Ethernet
to Serial and it appears to connect except I cannot enter(set) a password. The default baud rate on the NetBurner is 38400 and it needs to be set to 115200 to work with the Q3.
!! EXCEPTION !! If connecting to the NetBurner via a browser, the baud rate must be 38400
Will the Q3 Qconfig software work in a
64 bit environment? No, the Qconfig software for the Q3 does not work in a 64 bit environment.
Are there any specific options that
need to be set on the SAV* commands on the iSeries? Yes, when using the Q3, the Use optimum block must be set to *NO. This optiom is found in the SAVOBJ or SAVLIB (all SAV* commands) command as seen in the images below:
