tape(C) 19 June 1992 tape(C) Name tape, mcart - magnetic tape maintenance program Syntax tape [ -csf8i ] [ -a arg ] command [ device ] mcart command [ device ] Description The tape command sends commands to, and receives status from, the tape subsystem. tape can communicate with QIC-02 cartridge tape drives, SCSI tape drives, and QIC-40, QIC-80 and Irwin mini-cartridge tape drives. (The mcart program is automatically invoked by tape when options specific to the Irwin driver are used.) The tape command reads /etc/default/tape to find the default device name for sending commands and receiving status. For example, the following line in /etc/default/tape will cause tape to communicate with the QIC-02 cartridge tape device: device = /dev/xct0 If a device name is specified on the command line, it overrides the default device. tape queries the device to determine its device type. If the device does not respond to the query, tape will print a warning message and assume the device is a QIC-02 cartridge tape. The Irwin driver has a special default file /etc/default/mcconfig that contains special driver options (see mcconfig(F) for details). In addi- tion, the Irwin driver uses a daemon startup program, /etc/mcdaemon, to provide background ECC encode/decode. Options You can explicitly specify the type of the device by using the device type flags, as follows: -c QIC-02 cartridge tape -s SCSI tape -f QIC-40 mini-cartridge tape -8 QIC-80 mini-cartridge tape -i Irwin mini-cartridge tape The -a flag allows you to pass an argument to commands that can use them. The command to format a DAT tape into two partitions requires the size to be passed as an argument. The -a option can also be used with the format command (used only with QIC-40, QIC-80, and Irwin tape drives) and the setblk command (only valid with SCSI drives). The following commands can be used with the various tape drivers sup- ported under UNIX. The letters following each description indicate which drivers support each command: A All drivers C QIC-02 cartridge tape driver S SCSI tape driver F QIC-40 and QIC-80 mini-cartridge tape drivers I Irwin mini-cartridge tape driver amount Report amount of data in current or last transfer. (C,S,F) erase Erase and retension the tape cartridge. (C,S,F) load Load the tape cartridge. (S) reset Reset tape controller and tape drive. Clears error conditions and returns tape subsystem to power-up state. (C,S,F) reten Retension tape cartridge. Should be used periodically to remedy slack tape problems. Tape slack can cause an unusu- ally large number of tape errors. (A) rewind Rewind to beginning of tape (BOT). (For HP DAT tapes: if the tape is partitioned, the logical partition is rewound to the logical BOT. (See dat(HW) for details.) (A) status The status output looks like this: status: status message soft errors: n underruns: m Status is a report of the current status of the drive; ``no cartridge'', ``write protected'', or ``beginning of tape'' are typical status messages. Soft errors is the number of recoverable errors that occurred during the last tape operation. A recoverable error is one which is correctable by the drive or controller. An example of a non-recoverable ``hard'' error is an attempt to write to a write-protected cartridge. Note that if the number of soft errors greatly exceeds the manufacturer's specifications, the drive may require service or replacement, or you may be using a defective tape. Underruns is the number of times the tape drive had to stop and restart due to tape buffer underflows. Underruns are not an error indication; they mean that the data transfer did not occur at the drive's maximum data transfer rate. The number of underruns can be affected by system load. (C,S,F) partition Partition an HP DAT tape into logical partitions 1 and 2. The size (in megabytes) of partition 2 is specified on the command line. (The size of partition 1 is the remainder of the tape.) For example: tape -a 200 partition creates a 200 megabyte partition (in partition 2) while partition 1 comprises the rest of the tape. (For a 1300 megabyte unfor- matted DAT tape, partition 1 contains approximately 1100 megabytes of data.) (HP DAT only. See dat(HW) for addi- tional information.) unload Unloads the tape cartridge. (S) format Format the tape cartridge. Floppy controller-based tapes must be formatted before they can be used. This command takes approximately one minute per megabyte of tape capacity. If an argument is provided with the -a flag, the number of tracks specified by the argument will be formatted. Only even numbers less than or equal to the number of tracks on the tape are allowed. (See tape(HW) for more information.) If no argument is given, the entire tape will be formatted. (F,I) Reformatted tapes are available and highly recommended. Pre-formatted tapes are more reliable than user-formatted tapes. Before reformatting a used tape, you must erase it with a bulk eraser. Proper use of a bulk eraser is not trivial; refer to the documentation for your bulk eraser. getbb Prints a list of bad tape blocks detected during the last tape operation. This listing can be saved in a file for use by the putbb command. (F) map Prints out a map of the bad blocks on the tape. The format is a series of lines of the format: track n: -------------X------... Each ``-'' represents a good block on the track; an ``X'' represents a block marked as bad. (F) putbb Reads a list of bad tape blocks from the standard input and adds them to the bad block table on the tape. The format expected by putbb is the same as generated by the getbb com- mand. (F) rfm Wind tape forward to the next file mark. (C,S) rsm Position tape forward to the next setmark. (HP DAT only. See the dat(HW) manual page for more information.) wfm Write a file mark at the current tape position. (C,S) wsm Write a setmark at the current tape position. (HP DAT only. See the dat(HW) manual page for more information.) eod Position the tape to the EOD (the end of written data) (HP DAT only. See the dat(HW) manual page for more information.) setblk Set the tape block size to a specified byte size (S). For example, the following command sets the tape block size to 512 Bytes: tape -a 512 setblk Irwin-specific commands The following commands are all specific to Irwin drives. drive displays information about the Irwin driver and the tape drive. An example display is: Special file: /dev/rctmini Driver version: 1.0.6a Drive type: 285XL Drive firmware: A0 Controller type: SYSFDC Unit select (0-3): 3 Special file is the name of the special file used to access the driver. Driver version is the version of the driver linked with the kernel. Drive type is an ``equivalent'' tape drive model number as determined by the MC driver. Since the exact model number of the tape drive depends on the drive's form factor and whether the drive is mounted in its own cabinet, the equivalent model number may not be the exact model of the installed tape drive. The following is a list of equivalent drives: 110: 110, 310, 410 120[XL]: 120, 220, 320, 420, 720, 2020 125: 125, 225, 325, 425, 725 145[XL]: 145, 245, 345, 445, 745, 2040 165: 165, 265, 465, 765 285XL: 285, 485, 785, 2080 287XL: 287, 487, 787, 2120 The brackets in the 120[XL] and 145[XL] mean the letters ``XL'' may or may not be present. When the letters ``XL'' appear, the drive is capable of servo writing extra long (that is, 307.5 foot DC2120) tapes. Note: When this field displays ``125/145,'' either a 125 drive or an early model 145 drive with a DC1000 is present: the driver can't distinguish between the two. A 125 drive will only accept a DC1000 cartridge (a DC2000 or DC2120 will not fit). A 145 drive will accommodate DC1000, DC2000, or DC2120 cartridges. Drive firmware is the firmware part number and revision level. This line is present only for drives which report this information. Controller type is a mnemonic for the floppy controller to which the tape drive is attached: ________________________________________________________ Mnemonic Description ________________________________________________________ SYSFDC System floppy controller ALTFDC Alternate floppy controller 4100MC Irwin 4100MC Micro Channel controller 4100MCB Second 4100MC Micro Channel controller 4100 Irwin 4100 PC Bus controller 4100B Second 4100 PC Bus controller Unit select (0-3) gives the controller's unit select, in the range 0 through 3. The unit select selects the drive. info displays Irwin cartridge information. For example: Cartridge state: Formatted Cartridge format: 145 Write protect slider position: RECORD Cartridge state is the current state of the cartridge's for- mat. Cartridge format indicates the format on the cartridge's tape. The format is given in a code which is the same as the drive model on which the cartridge was originally formatted (see drive and tape(HW) for details). When the cartridge is blank, the code has the format which would be applied by the format command. Write protect slider position is RECORD or PROTECT. capacity cartridge capacity in 512-byte blocks. kapacity cartridge capacity in 1024-byte blocks. These two commands give the total usable data storage capa- city of a formatted tape cartridge. Variations in cartridge capacity are due to differing numbers of bad blocks. Files Devices: /dev/rStp0 /dev/rct0 /dev/erct0 /dev/rmc1 /dev/nrStp0 /dev/nrct0 /dev/xct0 /dev/mcdaemon /dev/xStp0 /dev/rct2 /dev/rctmini /dev/rft0 /dev/nrct2 /dev/xctmini /dev/xft0 /dev/xct0 /dev/rmc0 /etc/default/tape /etc/default/mcconfig /etc/mcdaemon For DAT tapes: /dev/urStp0.0 /dev/urStp0.1 /dev/nurStp0.0 /dev/nurStp0.1 /dev/nrStp0.0 /dev/nrStp0.1 /dev/xStp0.0 /dev/xStp0.1 The DAT partition 1 is linked to the default SCSI tape device locations: /dev/rStp0 linked to /dev/nurStp0.0 /dev/rStp0.0 linked to /dev/nurStp0.0 /dev/nrStp0 linked to /dev/nrStp0.0 /dev/xStp0 linked to /dev/xStp0.0 /dev/urStp0 linked to /dev/urStp0.0 /dev/rStp0.1 linked to /dev/nurStp0.1 Note that if you have not installed a cartridge tape on your system, SCSI tapes device are linked to /dev/rct0. Include files: /usr/include/sys/tape.h /usr/include/sys/ct.h /usr/include/sys/ft.h /usr/include/sys/ir.h See also backup(ADM), cpio(C), dd(C), mcconfig(F), mcdaemon(F), restore(ADM), tape(HW), tar(C), xbackup(ADM), xrestore(ADM) Notes See tape(HW) and the Release Notes for a list of supported tape drives. The amount and reset commands can be used while the tape is busy with other operations. All other commands wait until the currently executing command has been completed before proceeding. If you use the status command while the tape drive is busy, no message is displayed until the drive is free. When you are using the non-rewinding tape device or the tape commands rfm and wfm, the tape drive light remains on after the command has been com- pleted, indicating that more operations may be performed on the tape. The tape rewind command may be used to clear this condition. For more information on device files, (listed above), see the tape(HW) manual page. Value added tape and mcart are extensions of AT&T System V provided by The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.