VXA Autoloader Technology                                                                                                         August, 2004 Page 7 of 8                                                                                              supports two weeks of single-tape weekday backups.  Reducing human involvement to bi-weekly rather than weekly again reduces the probability of error by half. The simplicity of the carousel design facilitates optimal tape drive placement at the rear of the autoloader, behind the carousel.   The rear, fixed position enables easy field-replacement of the tape drive for maintenance or upgrades.  Upgrading the tape drive to future VXA formats doubles the drive’s capacity and throughput, extending the useable life of the autoloader. The carousel mechanism simplifies the implementation of a bar- code reader, establishing an automatic tape inventory as the tapes are loaded.  Bar-coded tapes facilitate on-screen tape load verification, and allow backup software to identify and select specific tapes for backup and restore.  With bar-coded tapes, an operator has the ability to instantly verify the carousel’s contents, an operation that otherwise requires ejecting and reloading of all tapes or cartridges. Where past autoloaders were relatively simplistic devices merely able to respond to commands from backup software with little interaction, the Exabyte VXA Autoloader is a complete stand- alone system incorporating an Ethernet interface, and Web and email hosts.  By incorporating a complete Web host, the Exabyte VXA Autoloader enables remote management and configuration via any Web browser across the Ethernet network.  Installation requires the simple input of device IP addresses via the front panel, or if a DHCP server is available, the autoloader will configure its own IP addresses.  From that point, all configuration and management is performed via a local or remote Web browser. The most commonly utilized feature of remote management is the carousel’s tape inventory display to confirm that the correct tapes are loaded.  Further, an advanced feature of remote management allows an IT administrator or  system integrator to remotely access diagnostics and event logs for reactive or proactive maintenance, without dispatching a technician on-site.   Should the tape drive begin to report excessive tape read retries, the customer can easily replace the drive on-site.  Even the software utilized to operate and manage the autoloader, called firmware, can be replaced remotely, which uploads new device operations features, supports new devices and accessories, or upgrades the Web based management software application. The integration of an email server enables the VXA-2 PacketLoader to automatically notify the appropriate personnel of unusual events and device failures.  For example, configuring the autoloader to email notifications of excessive tape or loading mechanism retries proactively addresses failing components before they reach the point of unrecoverable failure. With built-in intelligence, the VXA-2 PacketLoader is capable of dedicating slots to a spare tape and a cleaning tape.  In the event of an unrecoverable tape error, the spare tape is p1   p2   p3   p4   p5   p6   p7   p8