Hardware Components
1-6 StorageTek SL8500 Library Guide
Figure 1–5 SL8500 Internal View (with rotational CAPs)
Figure Legend:
1. Rails, numbered 1 to 4 (top to bottom)
2. Rotational CAPs
Robotics
Robots move cartridges between CAPs, elevators, PTPs, storage slots, and tape drives.
Each library can have either four (standard) or eight robots (redundant robotics
option). The four rails of the library provide power and communication to the robots.
Elevators
An elevator moves cartridges vertically between rails. There are two 4-slot elevators in
the front of the library, between the front access doors and the service safety door of
the CIM.
Pass-thru Ports (PTPs)
A PTP moves up to two cartridges at a time horizontally between two libraries in a
library complex. A separate frame, installed between two adjacent libraries, houses
four PTP mechanisms — one PTP for each rail. The PTPs are located on the curved
sections of the RIM near the tape drives (see Figure 1–2). Installing or servicing a PTP
does not interrupt existing library operations. Each PTP slides out of the frame from
the rear of the library for servicing.
Plan ahead before adding a new library to a complex. Although the library complex
can expand in either direction, adding a new library to the left (when viewed from the
front) is less disruptive (see "Pass-thru Port Planning" on page 2-11).
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