>We have an ibm h70 running aix 4.3.3 and TSM 3.7.3. It s hooked up to an ibm
>3494 with two magstar 3590 drives. A month ago we saw some tape drive needs
>cleaning messages in the aix error report. They repeated today..
>
>IDENTIFIER TIMESTAMP  T C RESOURCE_NAME  DESCRIPTION
>E507DCF9   1210101500 I H rmt1           TAPE DRIVE NEEDS CLEANING
>D1A1AE6F   1210101500 I H rmt1           TAPE SIM/MIM RECORD
>
>I m wondering if this is normal? To my knowledge the 3494 should be cleaning
>itself as it does have cleaning tapes and is all configured to do so
>automatically.

We all need cleaning every once in a while, which we perform by schedule and
by special need.  In the 3494 "Clean Schedule" you can define the interval for
cleaning; but in any case the drive will call for cleaning when it needs it.
Redbook "IBM Magstar Tape Products Family: A Practical Guide" (SG24-4632)
section 10.11.1 recommends forcing the 3494 schedule to ineffectuality so that
only drive-request cleaning prevails.

   Richard Sims, BU