- Veeam Support Knowledge Base
- Veeam Marks a Data Tape as a Cleaning Tape
Veeam Marks a Data Tape as a Cleaning Tape
| KB ID: | 2789 |
| Product: | Veeam Backup & Replication |
| Published: | 2018-11-01 |
| Last Modified: | 2025-03-28 |
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Challenge
Cause
Cause 1: CLN Barcodes
Per the LTO barcode standard, a barcode that begins with the prefix CLN is considered a cleaning tape. If for some reason, barcodes with the prefix CLN are attached to tapes intended for storing data, Veeam Backup & Replication will mark these tapes as cleaning tapes.
Resolution:
If non-cleaning cartridges have inadvertently had barcodes with the prefix CLN attached to them, the barcode stickers must be replaced with appropriate barcodes.
Cause 2: LTO Cartridge Memory (LTO-CM) Read Failure
LTO cartridges contain an RFID chip with information about the cartridge, and the tape drive reads this chip for information about the cartridge. The tape's memory chip may be faulty, or the tape drive is not correctly reading the memory chip.
Resolution:
Perform isolation testing to identify whether the issue is with an individual faulty tape or the tape drive is defective and fails to read the memory chip.
Solution
If the documented causes listed in this article do not apply, please do the following:
- Collect logs from Veeam Backup & Replication using the 'Export all logs for selected components', selecting the Veeam Backup Server and the relevant Tape Server.
- (Optional, but highly recommended)
Stop all jobs or wait until all jobs have stopped, then back up the Veeam Backup & Replication Configuration database. - Create a new Veeam Support case referencing KB2789.
Attach to the case the logs from Step 1 and the database from Step 2.
More Information
- If an actual cleaning tape is inserted into the Tape Libary and it does not appear within Veeam Backup & Replication, check if the Tape Library has been configured to have a dedicated cleaning tape slot. Most Tape Hardware vendors intend for these dedicated cleaning tape slots to be used when the Library itself will manage the cleaning routines. As such, these Cleaning Slots are not presented to backup applications. If Veeam Backup & Replication will be used to manage the tape drive cleaning routines, the cleaning tape should be inserted into a storage slot.
- Cleaning Tapes must have the appropriate barcode with the prefix CLN for Veeam Backup & Replication to recognize them as cleaning tapes.
If this KB article did not resolve your issue or you need further assistance with Veeam software, please create a Veeam Support Case.
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