Handle tape media errors

When reading from or writing to tape, it is normal for some errors to occur. Three types of tape errors can occur during save and restore operations:

Recoverable errors: Some media devices support recovering from media errors. The server repositions the tape automatically and tries the operation again.
Unrecoverable errors–processing can continue: In some cases, the server cannot continue to use the current tape, but can continue processing on a new tape. The server requests you to load another tape. The tape with the irrecoverable error can be used for restore operations.
Unrecoverable errors–processing cannot continue: In some cases, an irrecoverable media error causes the server to stop the save process. How to recover from a media error during a SAVLIB operation describes what to do when this type of error occurs.

Tapes physically wear out after extended use. You can determine if a tape is wearing out by periodically printing the error log. Use the Print Error Log (PRTERRLOG) command and specify TYPE(*VOLSTAT). The printed output provides statistics about each tape volume. If you use unique names (volume identifiers) for your tapes, you can determine which tapes have excessive read or write errors. You should remove these bad tapes from your media library.

If you suspect that you have a bad tape, use the Display Tape (DSPTAP) or the Duplicate Tape (DUPTAP) command to check the integrity of the tape. These commands read the entire tape and detect objects on the tape that the server cannot read.