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UNIX Configuration Guide:
IBM AIX 3.2.5+

Configuration Switch Settings

Autoloader Switch Settings

Device Filenames under AIX 3.2.5+

Glossary

Configuration Switch Settings

The configuration switches for an HP SureStore DAT drive installed with an IBM RS/6000 system should be set as follows, depending on the system configuration desired.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 System Configuration
On On Off On On Off Off On
On On On Off On On Off Off
  • Immediate mode and infinite flush enabled.
  • No disconnects during data phase enabled.
  • Data compression allowed via device files.
  • Media Recognition System disabled.
On On Off Off On On Off Off

For AIX 3.2.5 or later, these switch settings will allow HP DDS drives to be supported using the smit function's "Other SCSI Device" option. The default block size in this configuration is 512 bytes, and this will only allow interchange with other devices using a 512-byte block size.

Note: Do not choose the smit option of "4mm2gb" as the Tape Device Type. If you use it with HP drives, the error "Device to be configured does not match the physical device at the specified connection location" will be generated.

To change to variable block mode, use the following procedure:

  1. If you are using a graphics terminal running X-Windows, use the following command:
    % smit tape

    If you are using a non-graphics terminal, use the following command:
    % smit -C tape
  2. If no device has been configured at this address before, select "add a tape drive" to set up the address. From the pop-up window, select "ost" or "SCSI tape drive" as the tape drive you wish to change, and choose the appropriate connection address.
  3. Select from the window:
    "change/show characteristics of a tape drive"
  4. From the pop-up window, select "ost" or "Other SCSI tape drive" as the tape drive you wish to change and choose the connection address.
    Do not choose "4mm2gb".
  5. Change the block size field to 0 for variable block size, and click on the "DO" button or press [Enter] to apply the change.

HP SureStore DAT drives will work with tar, cpio, restore, backup and dd. The drive is also boot-capable, provided a boot tape is generated using mkszfile and mksysb.

HP SureStore DAT24x6 Autoloader Option Switch Settings

The HP SureStore DAT24x6e autoloader has an additional selector switch on the rear panel. This switch sets different configurations for the autoloader mechanism and are read by the firmware at power-on. For an AIX system, this switch should be set to 7 (the default value), which sets the internal switches as follows:

Option
Switch
Value 		Internal
Switch
Settings

1

2

3

4

7

On 

On 

On 

Off 

Note: Set the value with the autoloader switched off.

For a more detailed explanation, please see Autoloader Option Switch.

Device Filenames under AIX 3.2.5+

Use device filenames as listed below for the combination of Rewind on Close, Retension on Open, and Compression Setting you want:

Filename Rewind on Close Retension on Open Compression Setting

/dev/rmtY

Yes

No

Enabled

/dev/rmtY.1

No

No

Enabled

/dev/rmtY.2

Yes

Yes

Enabled

/dev/rmtY.3

No

Yes

Enabled

/dev/rmtY.4

Yes

No

Disabled

/dev/rmtY.5

No

No

Disabled

/dev/rmtY.6

Yes

Yes

Disabled

/dev/rmtY.7

No

Yes

Disabled

Where the options have the following meanings:

Y

 Instance number assigned to the drive by operating system, where 0 is the first device, 1 is the second and so on.

Rewind on Close

Normally, the drive repositions the tape to BOT (beginning of tape) when the device file is closed. Using the no rewind option is useful when creating and reading multiple-file tapes.

Retension on Open

Retensioning consists of winding to the end of the tape (EOT) and then rewinding to the beginning of tape (BOT) to reduce errors. If this option is selected, the tape is positioned at the beginning of tape as part of the open process. DDS tape drives do not require retensioning, thus the device files which send retension commands should not be used.

Compression Setting

Compression can be set for 0 (compression disabled) or 3 (compression enabled). These options work only if the drive's configuration switch settings allow host control of compression. See Configuration Switch Settings above.
#1 Compression Enabled
#2 Compression Disabled

 

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