IBM Spectrum Archive Single Drive Edition for Windows Version 2.4.5

This file is part of the IBM Spectrum Archive Single Drive Edition
(formerly known as the IBM Linear Tape File System).

Files in this download contain Licensed Materials, property of IBM,
(C) Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2022.  All Rights Reserved.

US Government Users Restricted Rights - Use, duplication or
disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with
IBM Corp.

See the License Agreement displayed while installing IBM Spectrum Archive.

                ----------------------------------

-------------------
 README for Windows
-------------------

This README file applies to IBM Spectrum Archive for Windows Version 2.4.5, and to all subsequent
releases, modifications, and service refreshes, until otherwise indicated in a
new README file.

This README file provides late-breaking information that may not have been incorporated
into the IBM Spectrum Archive Single Drive Edition Information Center.


Online user's guidance
======================
You can find information about IBM Spectrum Archive on IBM Documentation:
  https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/spectrum-archive-sde

Usage examples:
===============

1. Starting IBM Spectrum Archive:

  - Assign a drive letter to each tape drive by using the Configuration panel,
    and then inserting a medium into the drive.
  - When a medium is recognized by IBM Spectrum Archive, it is automatically loaded into the drive.

2. Formatting media for IBM Spectrum Archive:

  - Open Windows Explorer, right-click the cartridge icon to display a drop-down menu,
    and then select Format.

3. Ejecting media:

  - Open Windows Explorer, right-click the cartridge icon to display a drop-down menu,
    and then select Eject.

    Note: The Eject button on a tape drive is not available when ejecting.

Major item change from V2.4.5.1:
================================================
  - Fixed the issue, where the tape position is detected incorrectly when a permanent write error occurs, also known as write perm handling tape error.

Major item change from V2.4.5.0:
================================================
  - For problem fixes that were reported in the previous versions:
    - See 3287850..3b26f03 on GitHub

Major item change from V2.4.4.0:
================================================
  - Support LTO9 drive
  - Fixed and improved MAM handling in cases where MAM might not update correctly during write errors,
    so that LTFS correctly searches for the latest index position of the tape for these cases.
  - For problem fixes that were reported in the previous versions:
     - See cdf782f..3287850 on GitHub

Major item change from V2.4.3.1:
================================================
******************
 IMPORTANT Notice
******************
For the users of IBM Spectrum Archive Single Drive Edition from version 2.4.0
or above, it is highly recommended to upgrade the software to version 2.4.3.1
immediately.
IBM is preparing the TechNote for more detail of issues.

  - Fixed the issue that IBM Spectrum Archive may truncate the previously written files on tape on
    the hardware failure during the SCSI LOCATE command, and the file may appear as 0-byte length on
    tape which could lead to undetected data corruption (fffa125 on GitHub)

Major item change from V2.4.2.0:
================================================
  - For problem fixes that were reported in the previous versions:
    - See 7eed987..aa181ad on GitHub

Major item change from V2.4.1.0:
================================================
 - Fixed the problem where filenames with certain special characters can
   cause recall failures or LTFS file system mount failures, resulting
   in an invalid LTFS tape.
   This condition is caused by any filename containing the percent
   character (0x25) and also contains the colon character (0x3A)
   or a C0 control characters (the character code ranging from 0x01 to
   0x1F except for 0x09, 0x0A, or 0x0D).
   Subsequently a LTFS check operation performed on the invalid LTFS tape
   will roll back to the prior LTFS index, removing all new files written
   to tape after that prior LTFS index. This problem occurs with
   IBM Spectrum Archive Library Edition from 2.4.0.1 to 2.4.1.0,
   and all prior LE versions are NOT affected. (#76516)
 - Problem fixes reported in the previous versions
   - See fd4bbe7..6adff9f on GitHub

Major item change from V2.4.0.2:
================================================
 - Support TS1160 tape drive.
 - Problem fixes reported in the previous versions
   - See 9bceaf8..fd4bbe7 on GitHub

Major item change from V2.4.0.1:
================================================
 - Handle read-only combination between tape and drive correctly
 - Fix wrong serial is displayed into the configuration panel
 - Fix the handling of no remaining capacity tape
 - Problem fixes reported in the previous versions
   - See fc26267..9bceaf8 on GitHub

Major item change from V2.4.0.0:
================================================
 - Supported initialized LTO 8 Type M cartridge
 - Move the source code base to GitHub (https://github.com/LinearTapeFileSystem/ltfs)
 - Problem fixes reported in the previous versions.
   - See 186511e..fc26267 on GitHub

Major item change from V2.2.0.0:
=========================================
 - Support LTFS format specifications 2.4.0.
 - Support TS1155 tape drive.
 - Support LTO8 tape drive.
 - Support Windows 10.
 - Problem fixes reported in the previous versions.

Major item change from V2.2.1.1:
=========================================
 - Upgraded bundled libxml2 version from 2.7.8 to 2.9.4.
 - Problem fixes reported in the previous versions.

Major item change from V2.2.0.1:
=========================================
  - Product name change from LTFS to IBM Spectrum Archive.
  - Support LTO7 tape drive.
  - Support TS1150 tape drive.

Major item change from V2.2.0.0:
=========================================
  - Support for Windows 8.1.
  - Change version number rule.
    - First 3 digits indicate supported version of the LTFS fomat specifications.
  - Problem fixes reported in the previous versions.
  - Improved sparse file handling.
    - Write sparse file data in order to improve read back performance.
  - Improved performance of writing index.
  - Improved performance of writing small files.

Major item change from V1.3.0.1:
=========================================
  - Support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.
  - Problem fixes reported in V1.3.0.1.
  - Supported LTFS format specifications 2.2.0.

Major item change from V1.3:
=========================================
  - Support for LTO6 and TS1140.
    LTFS can be used with LTO6 or TS1140.

  - Supported LTFS format specifications 2.1.0.
    - Added VEAs on ltfs.software category.
    - Supported vendor unique VEAs.

  - Support for accessing symbolic links.
    V1.3 supports only access. The user can access a symbolic link file that is created in
    other platform.

  - Performance improvement.
    Improved performance to copy/create a file into a directory that has a lot of files.

Major item change from V1.2.5:
=========================================
  - New installer.
    Combined installers to support both Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 with one installer.

Major items changed from V1.2.0 and V1.2.1:
=========================================
  - Support for Windows 2008 R2 (64-bit).
    V1.2.2 supports Windows 2008 R2 (64-bit) version only.
    Windows 7 users must use V1.2.0 for 32-bit and V1.2.1 for 64-bit.

  - Support for CIFS.
    Enabled CIFS related functions on Windows.
    The following client environments were tested:
        Windows 7 SP1 (64-bit)
        Windows XP SP3

  - The configuration panel does not appear automatically after installation and drive detection.
    The user must manually launch the configuration panel from the start menu.

  - New icon for "medium is not ready".
    The "medium is not ready" icon is displayed during loading, formatting, rolling back, and ejecting.
    You cannot access contents of the medium while this icon is displayed even if the medium is
    loaded in the drive. This icon is changed to "LTFS medium" icon or any other proper icon
    automatically when the current operation is complete.

  - Support for multiple sessions.
    LTFS can be used from multiple sessions.

  - User Account Control (UAC) and security shield icons.
    Removed UAC confirmation for format, check, rollback, and eject.


Major items changed from V1.1.0:
==============================
  - Changed the program name from Long Term File System to Linear Tape File System.

  - Changed the program folder name from LongTermFileSystemX86 to LTFS.

  - Improved the capability of LTFS to recover tapes that are
    in an inconsistent state due to an unexpected power outage.

  - Modified LTFS to conform to the new LTFS Format Specification 2.0.0.
    Added enhancements that allow retroactive compatibility with version 1.0
    formatted tapes and a built-in automatic migration mechanism to a
    version 2.0.0 format.

  - Changed the LTO drive icon.

  - Added a loading panel that displays during tape loading.

Note to users:
==============

  General Notice
  --------------
  - Refer to the documents distributed with the tape drive and IBM Spectrum Archive.
  - The IBM LTO and enterprise tape drives provide the hardware for data compression. The amount of
    written data on a tape can vary from the original data size.


  Timing of data commitment
  -------------------------
  - IBM Spectrum Archive commits data when it writes the file's index information.
    This operation is initiated by ejecting a medium or invoking the Windows application
    interface "FlushFileBuffers" for the volume.
  - When a write error occurs, any file index that has not been written cannot be recovered.
  - Do not restart the system or the drive while a medium is in the drive because data will
    be lost.
  - Be careful that automatic-restart operations, like Windows Update, do not shut down
    the system while LTFS is writing data to the medium because data will be lost and
    the medium will enter an inconsistent state.


  When you change tape drive firmware
  -------------------------------------
  - Before you change tape drive firmware, remove an assigned drive letter by
    using the Configuration panel.


  IBM Spectrum Archive Windows 2.2 does not support the following features
  ----------------------------------------------------------
  - Access Control List (ACL)
    IBM Spectrum Archive does not support the CACLS command.

  - Directory change notification
    A manual refresh of Windows Explorer (by pressing the F5 key or selecting View > Refresh
    from the menu) is required to view an update in the namespace.

  - Create/Delete symbolic links
    Even though the MKLINK command returns success, you cannot access a link file.

  - The following are not supported by LTFS in the Folder Properties window:
     - The functions "Folder pictures" and "Folder icons" under the Customize tab.



Known Issues:
=============

  Crash of Windows Explorer
  -------------------------
  - The windows explorer crashes when a file write error happens in the following conditions:
    - An I/O error happens while writing a file.
    - Make an attempt to write a file to a write-protected tape.

  Two drives connected to one PC
  ------------------------------
  - When one drive is already operating as an LTFS volume, IBM Spectrum Archive might not recognize
    another medium when it is inserted into another drive. If IBM Spectrum Archive does not recognize
    another medium when it is inserted into another drive, the standard LTO drive icon
    does not display as an LTFS-formatted medium icon. When this occurs, eject the medium
    by pressing the tape drive Eject button once, and then reinsert it.


  Japanese volume name in the English version of Windows
  ------------------------------------------------------
  - The Japanese volume name is not correctly set in the English version of Windows.
    You need to use the English (single-byte characters) volume name.


  Windows Media Player
  --------------------
  - Windows Media Player files located in the root directory of an LTFS volume cannot be played.
    To play Windows Media Player files on LTFS, the files must be copied to a sub-directory.


  Size on disk display
  --------------------
  - The File Properties window incorrectly displays the "Size on disk" value of a file as
    a multiple of 512 bytes. Unlike a disk-based file system, LTFS can store a file
    of any length on a tape without padding.


  Volume name length
  ------------------
  - IBM Spectrum Archive supports volume names with a maximum length of 255 bytes.
    When the volume name length is 255 bytes, however, the volume name and drive letter are
    not displayed properly in Windows Explorer.
  - You can confirm the volume name length in the Volume Properties window or by using the DIR
    command on a command line.


  Drive is in reserved status
  ---------------------------
  - If you turned off the drive power while the drive was performing read and write operations,
    the Configuration panel could show that the drive has been reserved by the system.
    Change the drive letter if you want to use the medium without restarting the system,
    or restart the system to clear the reserved status.


  CIFS with SMB2
  --------------
  - You can encounter the following problems when accessing IBM Spectrum Archive through network sharing:
    - Files with names that have characters mapped to a different code point when they
      are normalized with NFC rules, according to the LTFS format specification, are not
      found from the client side. (For example: Angstrom)
    - Files that have just been created on the client side are not found.

    This problem is caused by SMB2 protocol behavior. Disable SMB2 in order to resolve these problems.

    For more information about NFC rules, refer to the LTFS format specification on the web:
      https://www-304.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=ssg1S7003166

    For more information about disabling SMB2, refer to the online
    IBM Spectrum Archive Single Drive Edition documentation
      https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/spectrum-archive-sde


  CIFS with Mac OS X Client
  -------------------------
  The following issues were encountered when using the Mac OS X client

  - mv command
    It is possible that you will not be able to move files with the mv command.

  - Change time
    The change time of a file or directory is not displayed correctly when you use
    IBM Spectrum Archive from a Mac OS X Client through CIFS. (For example: ls -lc command)
    It could look the same as the modify time, but the change time is correctly set in
    the LTFS cartridge. On a local machine, the correct change time is displayed.

  - Finder
    It is possible to experience performance degradation when a user accesses an LTFS
    volume from a Mac OS X client with Finder. This is because Finder could implement
    read access to a volume without intending to. It is recommended that users don't
    use Finder for accessing an LTFS volume through network sharing from a Mac OS X client.
    It is also possible to experience performance degradation if a user opens a Finder
    window before using IBM Spectrum Archive, even if no volume was accessed at that time.

  - Extended Attribute
    - You cannot set or copy extended attributes from a Mac OS X client with the xattr
      command because the Mac OS X client uses a different mechanism to store these
      attributes. If you try to set an extended attribute by using the xattr -w command
      from a  Mac OS X client, it is not stored as an extended attribute, but instead
      is stored in another file. No extended attribute information can be retrieved from
      this file on a Windows system.
    - You can set Windows invalid character to an extended attribute name from Mac OS X.
      You cannot access this extended attribute from a Windows system.


  CIFS with RedHat Client
  -----------------------
  The following issue was encountered when using the Red Hat 5 client.

  - Data zero is written intermittently when you write data from a Red Hat 5 client,
    especially when using CIFS in a system overloaded condition. This problem is not
    noticeable during writing because there is no error message from the system.




END OF DOCUMENT
