Hello everyone,

I'm using the following devices.

-IBM Server x235
-IBM Autoloader 3581-L28 ULTRIUM 2 LTO2 LVD
-Ultra3230 SCSI

-IBM TotalStorage LTO Ultrium 200GB Data Cartridge

OS:Windows2000 Server SP4
Backup application:Brightstor ARCserve Backup 11.1

The server is used as a file server and there is about 350GB data files to back up on it.I want to back up the data to one LTO cartridge... However, I can't do that.

Here is my question.

1.Can I back up 320GB data to one LTO cartridge ?
2.If it's possible, how should I change the configurations  of the tape device or ARCserve ?


I turned on "Compress Files before Backup" on ARCserve and backed up data. However,I got "W3032 Compressions is disabled due to hardware data compression" error in my backup log and I can't  back up whole data to one cartridge.
I also tried to find configuration regarding "data compression" on the 3581. But I couldn't find...

I've been trying to solve this issue for a long time. But I can't solve until now  and I'm quite at a loss...

Any comments or suggestions are much appreciated.

Thank you in advance for you great help.

An LTO2 tape will backup 200GB of data to a tape uncompressed and up to 400GB compressed.

Notice that I stated up to.. This all depends on the type and size of the file.  In fact some files while being compressed can actually balloon in size (reverse compression).

The LTO2 drive compression is on by default.  The only way to change this is by changing some pins located on the drive.

Hello comtec17,

Thank you so much for your comment.

Please let me ask furhter.

Will the LTO2 drive compression turn off if some pins are changed?

Also any information regarding changin the pins is much appricated.

Yes, you can turn compression off by moving the pins, but this is not recommended as you will not be utilizing the tape to the fullest extent.

The pin placement can be found in the LTO2 user manual

Thank you for the clarification and suggestion.