BreeceHill Technologies, Inc.
6287 Arapahoe Road
Boulder, CO 80303
(303) 449 - 2673
FAX (303) 449 - 1027
Q7/Q47
CODE REVISION 4.43 RELEASE NOTES
CODE REVISION DATE: October 21, 1998
This document describes the changes in the specified release of the Q7/Q47 Library Firmware.
The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as a
commitment by Breece Hill Technologies, Incorporated. Breece Hill Technologies, Incorporated assumes no
responsibility for any error that may appear in this document.
The software described in this document is furnished under a license and may be used or copied only in
accordance with the terms of such license.
Copyright c 1998 by Breece Hill Technologies.
All Rights Reserved.
1.0 Release 4.43 Enhancements
? Front Panel Drive Unloading Restriction have been Removed.
Previous releases of Q7/Q47 firmware would allow the unloading of DLT drives using the front panel MOVE command
only if the DLT drive was loaded using a front panel MOVE command. This version allows the user to go to the
DIAG OFFLINE mode and perform a MOVE that unloads the drive prior to moving the cartridge. This functionality
provides greater user control of the machine and brings the Q7/Q47 inline with the Q2 product's functionality in this area.
? Expanded Log Sense for Q47
Log Sense has been expanded on the Q47 to include the C and D DLT drives.
? Simplified Manufacturing Setup
This applies to BreeceHill Manufacturing ONLY.
A new Q7/Q47 that has not had it's EEPROM programmed will bootup and request that the machine's serial number be
entered. Previous firmware allowed only one chance to set the serial number and did not set any of the EEPROM default
values. 4.43 allows the operator to verify and/or change the serial number prior to writing the EEPROM. Default
values in the EEPROM are also written. This results in the EEPROM being setup more like it is in the Q2 product.
? Enhancements to DLT Drive Status Display
4.43 has been enhanced to support additional status information reported by the DLT drives. Most of this new functionality
can only be seen if the DLT drive has the proper version of firmware installed. The required versions are:
DLT7000 Version 72 or greater
DLT4000 Version 120 or greater
DLT2000XT Does not apply
DLT2000 Does not apply
Displayed state "EMPTY" - This state is displayed by all drives. The difference here for 4.43 is that this state
is now determined purely by the drive's statue reporting. Prior firmware version used
the drives inventory information to display this state. This change to 4.43 allows a
more accurate presentation of the drive's EMPTY state.
Displayed state "MEDIA" - This is displayed when a cartridge is in a drive, the drive is idle and the density of the
cartridge is not reported by the drive. This state occurs when the cartridge is inserted
into the drive prior to closing the door and when the drive is unloaded by the
initiator prior to opening the drive door. All drive types will display this state regardless
of the drive's firmware version.
Displayed state "BUSY" - This is displayed during the loading/unloading of a drive. This state persists until
the drive reports load completed during a load or until the drive reports OK to operate
handle after an unload. This display is only see for DLT4000/7000 drives with the
proper version of firmware installed.
DLT2000/2000XT and downlevel DLT4000/7000 drives will display "IDLE" during
this state.
Displayed state "IDLE" - All drives display this state when the drive has finished loading the tape and no
READ, WRITE, SEEK or ERASE operations are being performed.
Displayed density "CLEAN!" - The newer drive firmware supports Cleaning Requested in addition to the standard
Cleaning Required. To differentiate this two states, 4.43 now displays
CLEAN! for Cleaning Required and ClnReq for Cleaning Requested in the density
field.
? Turn motors off when not in use
At the end of initialize motion control during power up, the Z, Y and theta motors are turned off. Also, at the conclusion
of a place move, the motors are turned off.
? More Robust Detection of Cartridges without Barcode Labels.
Release 4.43 now detects cartridges without labels for all cartridge types. Previous firmware releases had severe problems detecting
the "no label" condition on lighter colored cartridges ( cleaning cartridges and the white 15GB cartrdges for DLT2000XT ).
2.0 Release 4.43 Bug Fixes
? Changes to Barcode Decoding Algorithm and Sample Timing
The sampling window as been expanded slightly and moved so sampling is more centered on the barcode data "window".
The decoding algorithm has also been improved to reduce timeouts on barcode decoding. This significantly improves
the ability of the Q7/Q47 to decode labels that are "skewed" to the left or right of the publish specification limits.
? Fix bar code scan to use NBL bit set in Init Element Status, Init Element Status With Range and Mode Select
Vendor Unique Page
The previous release forced the bar code scan routine to not allow retries if a bar code label was not decoded on the first
forward pass. Now, retries will be allowed unless the NBL bit in the vendor unique page has been set and saved or if
the NBL bit has been set in init elem status when using init elem status or if the NBL bit has been set in init elem status
with range when using init elem status with range. If retries are not allowed, the bar code scan will do a full forward
and reverse read. Resolves RFA 3523.
? Fix for the Source StorageElement Address field of the Read Element Status Command.
Two problems were discovered with the StorageElement Address field of the Read Element Status Command in release
version 4.41. These problems have been fixed for 4.43 and are described below:
? The content of StorageElement Address contains the internal inventory index number, not the SCSI
element address. This results in invalid data being presented to the host. 4.43 now supplies the correct SCSI
element address.
? The SVAL flags were not being reset properly. 4.43 now resets the SVAL flags for the entire inventory
on power-up and when the front door is opened.
? Fix for Inquiry CodePage 80h
The data returned to the host indicated that this codepage was 00h. This has been fixed for 4.43.
? Fix Custom ID String Display
4.43 will no longer attempt to use the Custom ID display string if any non-ASCII characters are present in the string.
Prior firmware would use the string if the first character was non-zero. This caused display problems on older machines
that had this field in the EEPROM set to the value FFh, resulting in a line of solid block characters. Fix for RFA xxxx.
? Fix for Display of Main Controller Target ID
A format statement produced very "odd" display results when the main controller was set to target ID zero using the
SETUP menu. 4.43 fixes this problem, displaying the correct ID for all legal values of 0 thru 7.
? Fix Timing Window Problem for DLT Drive Accessible Problem
Previous versions of Q7/Q47 firmware relied on the serial interface to each DLT drive to report when a drive was
accessible. A timing window of several seconds can exist between the time a cartridge is loaded into a drive until
the drive is marked as not accessible. 4.43 now marks the drive as not accessible as soon as the cartridge is
placed in the drive and the drive's door handle is closed. Previously, host computers could think that a drive was
accessible, even though it had just been loaded.
? Fix for Read Buffer Command used for Internal Trace Data
For testing purposes only, a Read Buffer Command is used to extract "trace" data from a machine and return it to the
host computer. This command had a "fence post" error where the CDB was rejected if the entire amount of trace data
was requested. 4.43 now correctly processes such a CDB where all trace data bytes are requested. This is used for
internal testing purposes ONLY.
? Fix Log Sense PC Field
Prior code would reject a Log Sense CDB if the PC field was not zero. This field must be 01h, since only cumulative
values are supported.
? Fix Problem with Not Locking the Import/Export Top Door
Releases 4.32 thru 4.41 had a bug with the magazine import/export functionality. The top door could be unlocked and
a magazine removed/changed, but then the machine would always report BUSY and never accept the Move Medium
Command required to lock the door. This condition could only be cleared thru the operator panel.
4.43 fixes the problem, reporting NOT READY to the host's TEST UNIT READY commands until the Move
Medium Command that "retracts" the port is received. Fixes RFA xxxx.
? Fix Problem with Not Saving SCSI Parity When Set From Front Panel
Prior code would save the SCSI Parity setting if set by Mode Select but would not save the setting if set from the front
panel. The SCSI Parity setting will now be saved regardless of where it is set. The default is parity on. The setting
will survive power cycles.
? Panel Display of DLT Type/Version Information fixed for Q7 Machines.
Q7 machines would fail to display the DLT type/version information when the machine was placed in Diagnostic Offline Mode
and was running the Remote Diagnostics Menu on the debug port. In this mode, the user can press any front panel button and
cause the display of the DLT information. This was never a problem for Q47 machines.
? Panel Display of DLT Drive EMPTY State for Q7 Machines.
Release 4.41 had an error where the DLT drive(s) could be reported as EMPTY on the display panel when a cartridge was
inside the drive. This has been fixed for release 4.43.
4.43 RELEASE NOTES
Confidential Page 3 10/21/98
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