Patent ID: 7472300

Claim:
A method for controlling power to a tape drive in an automated tape drive library, said method comprising: determining if a request to perform an operation to one of restore data stored in said tape drive library, and to backup data to said tape drive library has been made, wherein said operation to backup data further includes retrieving a backup schedule and determining from said schedule when said requested backup is to be performed; determining a required number of tape drives for said requested operation; determining an available number of powered tape drives in said tape drive library; selecting specific tape drives from said tape drive library based on determining if said required number of tape drives is greater than said available number of powered tape drives in said tape drive library; commanding a power control module to power said selected specific tape drives from said tape drive library; updating a power state value and resetting a cumulative operating time value for each of said selected specific tape drives; performing said requested operation and repeating until completed if said requested operation is incompletely performed; determining said cumulative operating time value and a cumulative idle time value of each tape drive in said tape drive library; determining tape drives in said tape drive library that include said cumulative idle time value greater than a predetermined idle time threshold; commanding to power off said determined tape drives in said tape drive library that include said cumulative idle time value less than said predetermined idle time threshold; and updating said power state value, and resetting said cumulative operating time value and said cumulative idle time value for each of said determined tape drives in said tape drive library.