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29 .\" @(#)mt.1 8.1 (Berkeley) 6/6/93
37 .Nd magnetic tape manipulating program
50 utility is used to command a magnetic tape drive for operations
51 other than reading or writing data.
59 environment variable described below.
61 The available commands are listed below.
63 characters as are required to uniquely identify a command
66 The following commands optionally take a
69 .Bl -tag -width ".Cm erase"
73 end-of-file (EOF) marks at the current position.
74 This returns when the file mark has been written to the media.
78 end-of-file (EOF) marks at the current position.
79 This returns as soon as the command has been validated by the tape drive.
83 setmarks at the current position (DDS drives only).
95 setmarks (DDS drives only).
107 setmarks (DDS drives only).
109 Erase the tape using a long (often very long) method.
112 of 0, it will erase the tape using a quick method.
113 Operation is not guaranteed if the tape is not at its beginning.
114 The tape will be at its beginning upon completion.
117 The following commands ignore
119 .Bl -tag -width ".Cm geteotmodel"
121 Read the hardware block position.
123 number reported is specific for that hardware only.
124 With drive data compression especially,
125 this position may have more to do with the amount of data
126 sent to the drive than the amount of data written to tape.
127 Some drives do not support this.
129 Read the SCSI logical block position.
130 This typically is greater than the hardware position
131 by the number of end-of-file marks.
132 Some drives do not support this.
135 .It Cm offline , rewoffl
136 Rewind the tape and place the drive off line.
137 Some drives are never off line.
139 Load the tape into the drive.
142 This winds the tape from the current position to the end
143 and then to the beginning.
144 This sometimes improves subsequent reading and writing,
145 particularly for streaming drives.
146 Some drives do not support this.
148 Output status information about the drive.
149 For SCSI magnetic tape devices,
150 the current operating modes of density, blocksize, and whether compression
151 is enabled is reported.
152 The current state of the driver (what it thinks that
153 it is doing with the device) is reported.
154 If the driver knows the relative
155 position from BOT (in terms of filemarks and records), it outputs that.
157 that this information is not definitive (only BOT, End of Recorded Media, and
158 hardware or SCSI logical block position (if the drive supports such) are
159 considered definitive tape positions).
161 Also note that this is the old status command, and will be eliminated in
162 favor of the new status command (see below) in a future release.
164 Output (and clear) error status information about this device.
166 operation (e.g., a read or a write) and every control operation (e.g,, a
167 rewind), the driver stores up the last command executed and it is associated
168 status and any residual counts (if any).
169 This command retrieves and outputs this
171 If possible, this also clears any latched error information.
173 Output the current EOT filemark model.
175 many filemarks will be written at close if a tape was being written.
177 Wind the tape to the end of the recorded data,
178 typically after an EOF mark where another file may be written.
180 Report the block limits of the tape drive, including the minimum and
181 maximum block size, and the block granularity if any.
184 The following commands may require an
186 .Bl -tag -width ".Cm seteotmodel"
188 Set the hardware block position.
191 is a hardware block number to which to position the tape.
192 Some drives do not support this.
194 Set the SCSI logical block position.
197 is a SCSI logical block number to which to position the tape.
198 Some drives do not support this.
200 Set the block size for the drive.
203 is the number of bytes per block,
204 except 0 commands the drive to use variable-length blocks.
206 Set the EOT filemark model to
208 and output the old and new models.
209 Typically this will be 2
210 filemarks, but some devices (typically QIC cartridge drives) can
211 only write 1 filemark.
212 You may only choose a value of
217 Output status information about the drive.
218 For SCSI magnetic tape devices,
219 the current operating modes of density, blocksize, and whether compression
220 is enabled is reported.
221 The current state of the driver (what it thinks that
222 it is doing with the device) is reported.
224 If the driver knows the relative
225 position from BOT (in terms of filemarks and records), it outputs that.
226 If the tape drive supports the long form report of the
228 READ POSITION command, the Reported File Number and Reported Record Number
229 will be numbers other than -1, and there may be Flags reported as well.
231 The BOP flag means that the logical position of the drive is at the
232 beginning of the partition.
234 The EOP flag means that the logical position of the drive is between Early
235 Warning and End of Partition.
237 The BPEW flag means that the logical position of the drive is in a
238 Programmable Early Warning Zone or on the EOP side of Early Warning.
240 Note that the Reported Record Number is the tape block or object number
241 relative to the beginning of the partition.
242 The Calculated Record Number is the tape block or object number relative
243 to the previous file mark.
246 that the Calculated File and Record Numbers are not definitive.
247 The Reported File and Record Numbers are definitive, if they are numbers
251 Print additional status information, such as the maximum supported I/O
254 Print all available status data to stdout in XML format.
257 Report density support information for the tape drive and any media that is
259 Most drives will report at least basic density information similar to that
263 Newer tape drives that conform to the T-10 SSC and newer tape
264 specifications may report more detailed information about the types of
265 tapes they support and the tape currently in the drive.
268 Print all available density data to stdout in XML format.
269 Because density information is currently included in the general status XML
272 status command, this will be the same XML output via
280 Display or set parameters.
286 must be specified to indicate which operation to perform.
289 List parameters, values and descriptions.
290 By default all parameters will be displayed.
291 To display a specific parameter, specify the parameter with
294 Specify the parameter name to list (with
299 Enable quiet mode for parameter listing.
300 This will suppress printing of parameter descriptions.
302 Specify the parameter value to set.
303 The general type of this argument (integer, unsigned integer, string) is
304 determined by the type of the variable indicated by the
307 More detailed argument checking is done by the
311 Print out all parameter information in XML format.
314 Display or set drive protection parameters.
315 This is used to control checking and reporting a per-block checksum for
316 tape drives that support it.
317 Some drives may only support some parameters.
320 Set the Recover Buffered Data Protected bit.
321 If set, this indicates that checksums are transferred with the logical
322 blocks transferred by the RECOVERED BUFFERED DATA
326 Disable all protection information settings.
328 Enable all protection information settings.
329 The default protection method used is Reed-Solomon CRC (protection method
330 1), as specified in ECMA-319.
331 The default protection information length used with Reed-Solomon CRC is
333 To enable all settings except one more more settings, specify the
335 argument and then explicitly disable settings that you do not wish to
337 For example, specifying
340 will enable all settings except for LBP_W.
342 List available protection parmeters and their current settings.
344 Set the length of the protection information in bytes.
345 For Reed-Solomon CRC, the protection information length should be 4 bytes.
347 Specify the numeric value for the protection method.
348 The numeric value for Reed-Solomon CRC is 1.
350 Set the LBP_R parameter.
351 When set, this indicates that each block read from the tape drive will
352 have a checksum at the end.
354 Enable verbose mode for parameter listing.
355 This will include descriptions of each parameter.
357 Set the LBP_W parameter.
358 When set, this indicates that each block written to the tape drive will have
359 a checksum at the end.
360 The drive will verify the checksum before writing the block to tape.
363 Set the tape drive's logical position.
370 must be specified to indicate the type of position.
371 If the partition number is specified, the drive will first relocate to the
372 given partition (if it exists) and then to the position indicated within
374 If the partition number is not specified, the drive will relocate to the
375 given position within the current partition.
377 .It Fl b Ar block_addr
378 Relocate to the given tape block or logical object identifier.
379 Note that the block number is the Reported Record Number that is relative
380 to the beginning of the partition (or beginning of tape).
382 Relocate to the end of data.
384 Relocate to the given file number.
385 .It Fl p Ar partition
386 Specify the partition to change to.
388 Relocate to the given set mark.
391 Set the drive's compression mode.
392 The non-numeric values of
396 .Bl -tag -width 9n -compact
398 Turn compression off.
408 IBM Improved Data Recording Capability compression (0x10).
410 DCLZ compression algorithm (0x20).
413 In addition to the above recognized compression keywords, the user can
414 supply a numeric compression algorithm for the drive to use.
416 cases, simply turning the compression
418 will have the desired effect of enabling the default compression algorithm
419 supported by the drive.
420 If this is not the case (see the
422 display to see which compression algorithm is currently in use), the user
423 can manually specify one of the supported compression keywords (above), or
424 supply a numeric compression value from the drive's specifications.
426 Note that for some older tape drives (for example the Exabyte 8200 and 8500
427 series drives) it is necessary to switch to a different density to tell the
428 drive to record data in its compressed format.
429 If the user attempts to turn compression on while the uncompressed density
430 is selected, the drive will return an error.
431 This is generally not an issue for modern tape drives.
433 Set the density for the drive.
434 For the density codes, see below.
435 The density value could be given either numerically, or as a string,
439 If the string is abbreviated, it will be resolved in the order
440 shown in the table, and the first matching entry will be used.
442 given string and the resulting canonical density name do not match
443 exactly, an informational message is output about what the given
444 string has been taken for.
447 The initial version of the density table below was taken from the
448 .Sq Historical sequential access density codes
449 table (A-1) in Revision 11 of the SCSI-3 Stream Device Commands (SSC)
450 working draft, dated November 11, 1997.
451 Subsequent additions have come from a number of sources.
453 The density codes are:
454 .Bd -literal -offset 2n
455 0x0 default for device
456 0xE reserved for ECMA
458 Value Width Tracks Density Code Type Reference Note
460 0x01 12.7 (0.5) 9 32 (800) NRZI R X3.22-1983 2
461 0x02 12.7 (0.5) 9 63 (1,600) PE R X3.39-1986 2
462 0x03 12.7 (0.5) 9 246 (6,250) GCR R X3.54-1986 2
463 0x05 6.3 (0.25) 4/9 315 (8,000) GCR C X3.136-1986 1
464 0x06 12.7 (0.5) 9 126 (3,200) PE R X3.157-1987 2
465 0x07 6.3 (0.25) 4 252 (6,400) IMFM C X3.116-1986 1
466 0x08 3.81 (0.15) 4 315 (8,000) GCR CS X3.158-1987 1
467 0x09 12.7 (0.5) 18 1,491 (37,871) GCR C X3.180 2
468 0x0A 12.7 (0.5) 22 262 (6,667) MFM C X3B5/86-199 1
469 0x0B 6.3 (0.25) 4 63 (1,600) PE C X3.56-1986 1
470 0x0C 12.7 (0.5) 24 500 (12,690) GCR C HI-TC1 1,6
471 0x0D 12.7 (0.5) 24 999 (25,380) GCR C HI-TC2 1,6
472 0x0F 6.3 (0.25) 15 394 (10,000) GCR C QIC-120 1,6
473 0x10 6.3 (0.25) 18 394 (10,000) GCR C QIC-150 1,6
474 0x11 6.3 (0.25) 26 630 (16,000) GCR C QIC-320 1,6
475 0x12 6.3 (0.25) 30 2,034 (51,667) RLL C QIC-1350 1,6
476 0x13 3.81 (0.15) 1 2,400 (61,000) DDS CS X3B5/88-185A 5
477 0x14 8.0 (0.315) 1 1,703 (43,245) RLL CS X3.202-1991 5,11
478 0x15 8.0 (0.315) 1 1,789 (45,434) RLL CS ECMA TC17 5,12
479 0x16 12.7 (0.5) 48 394 (10,000) MFM C X3.193-1990 1
480 0x17 12.7 (0.5) 48 1,673 (42,500) MFM C X3B5/91-174 1
481 0x18 12.7 (0.5) 112 1,673 (42,500) MFM C X3B5/92-50 1
482 0x19 12.7 (0.5) 128 2,460 (62,500) RLL C DLTapeIII 6,7
483 0x1A 12.7 (0.5) 128 3,214 (81,633) RLL C DLTapeIV(20) 6,7
484 0x1B 12.7 (0.5) 208 3,383 (85,937) RLL C DLTapeIV(35) 6,7
485 0x1C 6.3 (0.25) 34 1,654 (42,000) MFM C QIC-385M 1,6
486 0x1D 6.3 (0.25) 32 1,512 (38,400) GCR C QIC-410M 1,6
487 0x1E 6.3 (0.25) 30 1,385 (36,000) GCR C QIC-1000C 1,6
488 0x1F 6.3 (0.25) 30 2,666 (67,733) RLL C QIC-2100C 1,6
489 0x20 6.3 (0.25) 144 2,666 (67,733) RLL C QIC-6GB(M) 1,6
490 0x21 6.3 (0.25) 144 2,666 (67,733) RLL C QIC-20GB(C) 1,6
491 0x22 6.3 (0.25) 42 1,600 (40,640) GCR C QIC-2GB(C) ?
492 0x23 6.3 (0.25) 38 2,666 (67,733) RLL C QIC-875M ?
493 0x24 3.81 (0.15) 1 2,400 (61,000) CS DDS-2 5
494 0x25 3.81 (0.15) 1 3,816 (97,000) CS DDS-3 5
495 0x26 3.81 (0.15) 1 3,816 (97,000) CS DDS-4 5
496 0x27 8.0 (0.315) 1 3,056 (77,611) RLL CS Mammoth 5
497 0x28 12.7 (0.5) 36 1,491 (37,871) GCR C X3.224 1
500 0x2B 12.7 (0.5) 3 ? ? ? C X3.267 5
501 0x40 12.7 (0.5) 384 4,800 (123,952) C LTO-1
502 0x41 12.7 (0.5) 208 3,868 (98,250) RLL C DLTapeIV(40) 6,7
503 0x42 12.7 (0.5) 512 7,398 (187,909) C LTO-2
504 0x44 12.7 (0.5) 704 9,638 (244,805) C LTO-3
505 0x46 12.7 (0.5) 896 12,725 (323,215) C LTO-4
506 0x47 3.81 (0.25) ? 6,417 (163,000) CS DAT-72
507 0x48 12.7 (0.5) 448 5,236 (133,000) PRML C SDLTapeI(110) 6,8,13
508 0x49 12.7 (0.5) 448 7,598 (193,000) PRML C SDLTapeI(160) 6,8
509 0x4A 12.7 (0.5) 768 ? C T10000A 10
510 0x4B 12.7 (0.5) 1152 ? C T10000B 10
511 0x4C 12.7 (0.5) 3584 ? C T10000C 10
512 0x4D 12.7 (0.5) 4608 ? C T10000D 10
513 0x51 12.7 (0.5) 512 11,800 (299,720) C 3592A1 (unencrypted)
514 0x52 12.7 (0.5) 896 11,800 (299,720) C 3592A2 (unencrypted)
515 0x53 12.7 (0.5) 1152 13,452 (341,681) C 3592A3 (unencrypted)
516 0x54 12.7 (0.5) 2560 19,686 (500,024) C 3592A4 (unencrypted)
517 0x55 12.7 (0.5) 5120 20,670 (525,018) C 3592A5 (unencrypted)
518 0x58 12.7 (0.5) 1280 15,142 (384,607) C LTO-5
519 0x5A 12.7 (0.5) 2176 15,142 (384,607) C LTO-6
520 0x71 12.7 (0.5) 512 11,800 (299,720) C 3592A1 (encrypted)
521 0x72 12.7 (0.5) 896 11,800 (299,720) C 3592A2 (encrypted)
522 0x73 12.7 (0.5) 1152 13,452 (341,681) C 3592A3 (encrypted)
523 0x74 12.7 (0.5) 2560 19,686 (500,024) C 3592A4 (encrypted)
524 0x75 12.7 (0.5) 5120 20,670 (525,018) C 3592A5 (encrypted)
525 0x8c 8.0 (0.315) 1 1,789 (45,434) RLL CS EXB-8500c 5,9
526 0x90 8.0 (0.315) 1 1,703 (43,245) RLL CS EXB-8200c 5,9
528 .Bd -literal -offset 2n
529 Code Description Type Description
530 ---- -------------------------------------- ---- -----------
531 NRZI Non return to zero, change on ones R Reel-to-reel
532 GCR Group code recording C Cartridge
533 PE Phase encoded CS Cassette
534 IMFM Inverted modified frequency modulation
535 MFM Modified frequency modulation
537 RLL Run length limited
538 PRML Partial Response Maximum Likelihood
540 .Bd -literal -offset 2n
543 2. Parallel recorded.
544 3. Old format known as QIC-11.
546 6. This is not an American National Standard. The reference is based
547 on an industry standard definition of the media format.
548 7. DLT recording: serially recorded track pairs (DLTapeIII and
549 DLTapeIV(20)), or track quads (DLTapeIV(35) and DLTapeIV(40)).
550 8. Super DLT (SDLT) recording: 56 serially recorded logical tracks
551 with 8 physical tracks each.
552 9. Vendor-specific Exabyte density code for compressed format.
553 10. bpi/bpmm values for the Oracle/StorageTek T10000 tape drives are
554 not listed in the manual. Someone with access to a drive can
555 supply the necessary values by running 'mt getdensity'.
556 11. This is Exabyte 8200 uncompressed format. The compressed format
557 density code is 0x90.
558 12. This is Exabyte 8500 uncompressed format. The compressed format
559 density code is 0x8c.
560 13. This density code (0x48) was also used for DAT-160.
563 .Bl -tag -width ".Ev TAPE"
565 This is the pathname of the tape drive.
566 The default (if the variable is unset, but not if it is null) is
568 It may be overridden with the
573 .Bl -tag -width ".Pa /dev/*sa[0-9]*" -compact
574 .It Pa /dev/*sa[0-9]*
575 SCSI magnetic tape interface
578 The exit status will be 0 when the drive operations were successful,
579 2 when the drive operations were unsuccessful, and 1 for other
580 problems like an unrecognized command or a missing drive device.
582 Some undocumented commands support old software.
595 Extensions regarding the
601 command, and have been merged into the
608 command that used to be a synonym for
610 has been abandoned in
612 since it was often confused with
614 which is fairly dangerous.
616 The utility cannot be interrupted or killed during a long erase
617 (which can be longer than an hour), and it is easy to forget
618 that the default erase is long.
620 Hardware block numbers do not always correspond to blocks on the tape
621 when the drive uses internal compression.
623 Erasure is not guaranteed if the tape is not at its beginning.
625 Tape-related documentation is poor, here and elsewhere.