The C7998A is a DLT1/DLTVS cleaning tape cartridge. This C7998A cleaning tape by HP is only compatible with DLT1 and DLT VS compatible tape drives and auto-loaders. Therefore it should be understood that the HP C7998A is not compatible with DLT III, DLT IV or SDLT drives. Although it is not clearly stated on the HP site, we can assume that the HP C7998A can last for a minimum of at least 20 cleaning cycles. While DLT tapes are very impressive in terms of capacity, transfer rates and performance in general, this level of performance cannot be maintained without the use of cleaning tapes such as the C7998A. This is because tape drives’ read/write heads collect grime and get covered with dust over time and their performance levels start to fall. To avoid this, a cleaning cartridge such as the HP C7998A should be used so that the read/write heads remain clean and keep performing at their peak levels.