Customizing a range of acceptable tape dimensional stability write conditions

摘要

Described are embodiments of an invention for customizing the range of acceptable write conditions to a tape of a tape cartridge that contracts or expands laterally based on environmental conditions. The tape drive utilizes servo information to determine if the tape has expanded or contracted from the nominal dimension and to determine the magnitude of the expansion or contraction. In the case of expansion, the magnitude of the determined expansion and the stored maximum amount of contraction must be below a predetermined threshold value to allow a write. In the case of contraction, the magnitude of the determined contraction and the stored magnitude of expansion must be below the same predetermined threshold value to allow a write. If the determined magnitude of contraction or expansion is greater than the stored magnitude of contraction or expansion, respectively, then the new extreme is stored.

主权项

1. A computer program product for establishing a range of maximum expansion and maximum contraction for acceptable write conditions on tape of a tape cartridge, the computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith, the program code executable by a processor to:
determine if said tape has expanded or contracted in a lateral direction; if said tape has expanded in said lateral direction, then:
determine an amount of expansion;determine if a sum of said amount of expansion and a maximum acceptable amount of contraction is less than a predetermined threshold value;store said amount of expansion as said maximum acceptable amount of expansion if said sum of said amount of expansion and said maximum acceptable amount of contraction is less than said predetermined threshold value; and if said tape has contracted in said lateral direction, then:
determine an amount of contraction; determine if a sum of said amount of contraction and a maximum acceptable amount of expansion is less than said predetermined threshold value; and
store said amount of contraction as said maximum acceptable amount of contraction if said sum of said amount of contraction and a maximum acceptable amount of expansion is less than said predetermined threshold value.