Selecting Device Drivers for a Tape Device and Interface

The following sections will help you identify the device drivers needed to configure a tape drive. Choose the drivers based on the interface to which the tape drive is being connected.

SCSI Tape Drive Configuration Guidelines

Each single-ended SCSI interface card has a maximum of eight SCSI addresses, ranging in order of decreasing priority from 7 to 0, with SCSI address 7 reserved for the host adapter card. Use 0, the lowest priority address available, for low-performance tape-drive configuration. High-performance tape drives will need a higher priority.

When using an STK 3480 tape drive, connect the device to its own external SCSI host adapter in the SPU to prevent the possibility of data corruption if the bus glitches when the tape drive is powered down. Follow manufacturer's recommendations in hardware manuals.

3480 devices are supported as "reference" devices on HP-UX; that is, they are supported to a limited degree. A third-party application is needed to read/write IBM-compatible tapes on HP-UX systems. (See mt(7)) in the HP-UX Reference for additional limitations.)

Where possible, connect the 7980S/SX and C2463F/R tape devices to their own external SCSI bus, to prevent possible data corruption from controller glitches.




	NOTE: By default, `insf` creates device special files that write tapes with data compression enabled if the tape drive doing the writing supports data compression. If you have to write a tape on a tape drive that supports data compression, but you need to read it on a tape drive that does not support data compression, you must create the tape using a device special file with data compression disabled, using `mksf`. See “Creating Customized Device Special Files for Tape Devices”, later in this chapter, for an example.

Table 6-1 “SCSI Tape Drive Configuration Requirements” shows the configuration requirements for the single-ended SCSI tape drives.

Table 6-1 SCSI Tape Drive Configuration Requirements

Architecture	Interface Card	Interface and Device Drivers	Default Device Special Files
Series 700 Core I/O ^[1]	(internal)	`stape`^[2]	`/dev/rmt/c#t#d#BEST[b\|n\|nb]`^[3] `/dev/rmt/c#t#d#[f#\|i#][b\|n\|nb]`^[4] `/dev/rmt/#m[b\|n\|nb]`^[5]
Series 700 EISA^[1]	25525A/B	`stape`^[2]	(same as above)
Series 800 CIO^[1]	27147A	`scsi2`^[6] `tape2`^[7]	(same as above)
Series 800 HP-PB ^[8]	28655A	`scsi1`^[9] `tape2`^[7]	(same as above)
^[1]The following tape drives are supported for HP-UX on a single-ended SCSI interface: (7980S/SX), A2311A, A2656A, A2944A, A2944A, A3024A, (C1502A), C1503A/B/C, C1504A/B/C, (C1512A), C1520A/B, C1521B, C1530B, C1533A, C1534A, C1535A, C1553A, C2292A, C2297T/U, C2298A, (C2463F/R), C2464F/R, C2465R, C2466F/R, C2467F/R, C2477F/R/S/U, C2478U, C2954A. (Obsolete models are shown in parenthesis for reference only.) ^[2]Specifying `stape` causes `sctl`, `c700`, `wsio`, and `core` drivers to be included automatically in the kernel. ^[3]Naming convention for systems installed with long file names. `c#t#d#` derives from `ioscan` output: `c#` is the card instance number for the `ext_bus` class of interface card to which the tape drive is attached, `t#` is the SCSI address, `d#` is the device number. `BEST` represents the operational capabilities likely to be required, including the highest density/format and data compression, if supported by the device. `[b\|n\|nb]` designates tape positioning: `b` is Berkeley-style; that is, after file close, the tape is not repositioned in any way. If `b` is not designated, AT&T-style tape closing occurs; that is the tape might be positioned after the end-of-file (EOF) point. `n` designates no rewind. ^[4]Naming convention for systems installed with short file names. For `c#t#d#`, see footnote 100. `f#` represents the highest density/format and data compression, if the device supports it. Or, `i#` represents a pointer into a tape-device property table. For `[b\|n\|nb]`, see footnote 100. ^[5]Syntax available for backward compatibility. `#` designates tape drive at `#` card instance. The `#m`, `#mb`, `#mn`, and `#mnb` device special files are linked to `c#t#d#BEST`, `c#t#d#BESTb`, `c#t#d#BESTn`, and `c#t#d#BESTnb`, respectively. ^[6]Specifying `scsi2` causes `cio_ca0`, `sio`, `pfail`, and `pa` drivers to be included automatically in the kernel. ^[7]Specifying `tape2` causes `tape2_included` to be included automatically in the kernel. ^[8]Tape drives listed in footnote 1 are supported on Series 800 HP-PB architecture, as are A2311A and A2312A. StorageTek models 4220 and 4280 tape drives will also configure successfully using the HP-PB single-ended SCSI device driver; however, these tape drives must be the only peripheral device on their SCSI bus. ^[9]Specifying `scsi1` causes `sio`, `pfail`, and `pa` drivers to be included automatically in the kernel.

Selecting Device Drivers for a Tape Device and Interface

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SCSI Tape Drive Configuration Guidelines