Tape drive device, tape library device, and data storing method

A tape library device comprising:

• a plurality of tape drive devices;
• an unmount instruction determination unit that determines whether or not an instruction to unmount a tape cartridge mounted on one of the plurality of the tape drive devices has been received from a transmitter of data stored on the tape cartridge, the tape cartridge including a magnetic tape and non-volatile semiconductor memory;
• a determination unit that determines whether or not a copy time used to copy data written to the non-volatile semiconductor memory of the tape cartridge related to the instruction from the non-volatile semiconductor memory to the magnetic tape of the tape cartridge is shorter than a specified time threshold when the unmount instruction determination unit determines that the unmount instruction has been received;
• a tape cartridge mount unit that unmounts the tape cartridge from the one of the plurality of the tape drive devices and that mounts the tape cartridge on another tape drive device of the plurality of the tape drive devices when the determination unit determines that the copy time is shorter than the specified time threshold;
• and
• a tape drive device control unit that issues a specified instruction to the another tape drive device to allow the another tape drive device to copy the data written to the non-volatile semiconductor memory of the tape cartridge from the non-volatile semiconductor memory to the magnetic tape of the tape cartridge.

A data storing method of storing data in a tape cartridge in which the tape cartridge has a magnetic tape and non-volatile semiconductor memory, the data storing method comprising:

• detecting a transfer speed of data transmitted from a host machine;
• comparing the detected transfer speed with a speed threshold;
• and
• writing the data to the magnetic tape provided for the tape cartridge when the detected transfer speed is higher than the speed threshold, and writing subsequent data after data written to the magnetic tape to the non-volatile semiconductor memory provided for the tape cartridge when the detected transfer speed is lower than the speed threshold.