Just so we are clear on this, here is my communication with Dell, (Silver Level Support):
I am giving you the entire conversation, recognizing that some of it is irrelevant to your problem:
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Always use veritas drivers, fyi.
Brian Kendrick MCP DCEE
Dell aes technical support
Hours 1pm - 12pm Sun thru Wed
1-866-410-3355 72-48314
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From: Bollyn, Jay
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2005 8:12 PM
To: Kendrick, Brian
Subject: RE: Dell Support Services: Incident # 914388
Brian,
The backups have been running fine. I have tested all the tapes. All the tapes for this server have been in use for less than 6 months, and we have not seen any problems with the tape media.
Regarding the cause of this particular problem:
1. I don't think the change in the SCSI BIOS sync rate from (160 -> 20) had any effect;
2. I am not sure if the driver change (Windows -> Veritas) was the solution, but I do think it is a good idea to use the Veritas driver for the tape drive;
3. I think the Symantec AV configuration change is a good idea.
I still do not understand what triggered this problem, but it appears to be caused by purely software. The tape drive swap was probably unnecessary, since Irwin and I saw exactly the same problem with the full backup job, with the swapped drive installed.
We are pleased with the Silver level of support.
I think you can close this ticket.
Thanks for your help.
- Jay
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From: Brian_Kendrick@Dell.com
Sent: Mon 5/30/2005 7:35 PM
To: jbollyn@neiu.edu
Subject: Dell Support Services: Incident # 914388
Jay
How are the backups running?
Brian Kendrick MCP DCEE
Dell aes technical support
Hours 1pm - 12pm Sun thru Wed
1-866-410-3355 72-48314