Quantum DAT 160 Service manual

Document 6464215-01 Rev. B, January 2006 1
Installing a DLT, SDLT, VS,
LTO, or DAT Tape Drive Into a
Linux Operating System
Purpose 5
Scope 5
Conventions Used in This Guide 5
Reference Documents 6
Setting Up Communication with the Tape Drives 7
Before Installing the Tape Drive..............................................................................7
Installing the Tape Drive..........................................................................................8
Verifying the st Module is Loaded .........................................................................8
Verifying Communication with the Tape Drives 9
Displaying the Kernel Initialization Information .................................................9
Reviewing the Kernel Initialization Information..................................................9
Identifying the Tape Devices .................................................................................10
What To Do if Device Information is Missing.....................................................10
Obtaining Device Information Using /proc/scsi/scsi 10
What is the /proc File System?..............................................................................10
Viewing /proc Files.................................................................................................10

Installing a DLT, SDLT, VS, LTO, or DAT Tape Drive Into a Linux Operating System
Document 6464215-01 Rev. B
January 2006
Contents 2
Accessing Devices Using /dev/st* Device Nodes 11
Generating a List of Device Files ...........................................................................11
Reviewing the List of Device Files ........................................................................11
What To Do if a Device Node is Missing .............................................................12
Interpreting the Device Node File Listing............................................................13
Identifying Device Nodes.......................................................................................14
Identifying Device Modes ......................................................................................15
Creating Device Nodes ...........................................................................................15
Creating Auto-Rewind Device Nodes..................................................................16
Creating No-Rewind Device Nodes......................................................................16
mt-st Linux RPM Package 17
Verifying mt-st is Installed .....................................................................................17
Installing mt-st .........................................................................................................17
mt Tape Device Tool 17
stinit and stinit.def 18
Tape Device and Parameter Definitions...............................................................18
Identifying Tape Devices and Parameters ...........................................................19
Common Tape Device Keywords .........................................................................19
Common Parameter Keywords .............................................................................19
mtx Tape Library Tool 20
Verifying mtx is Installed .......................................................................................20
Installing mtx............................................................................................................21
Appendix A – Tape Drive and Cartridge Compatibility 22
Tape Drive and Cartridge Compatibility – DLT.................................................22
Tape Drive and Cartridge Compatibility – SDLT...............................................23
Tape Drive and Cartridge Compatibility – VS....................................................23
Tape Drive and Cartridge Compatibility – LTO.................................................24
Tape Drive and Cartridge Compatibility – DDS/DAT......................................24

Installing a DLT, SDLT, VS, LTO, or DAT Tape Drive Into a Linux Operating System
Document 6464215-01 Rev. B
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Contents 3
Appendix B – Linux Reference Documentation 25
Appendix C – Sample stinit.def Definitions File 26
Recommendations ...................................................................................................26
Sample File................................................................................................................26
Appendix D – Troubleshooting 31

Installing a DLT, SDLT, VS, LTO, or DAT Tape Drive Into a Linux Operating System
Document 6464215-01 Rev. B
January 2006
Contents 4
Made in the USA.
Quantum Corporation provides this publication “as is” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not
limited to the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Quantum Corporation may revise this publication
from time to time without notice.
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
© Copyright 2006 by Quantum Corporation. All rights reserved.
Your right to copy this document is limited by copyright law. Making copies or adaptations without prior written authorization of
Quantum Corporation is prohibited by law and constitutes a punishable violation of the law.
TRADEMARK STATEMENT
Quantum, DLT, DLTtape, the Quantum logo, and the DLTtape logo are all registered trademarks of Quantum Corporation. SDLT and
Super DLTtape are trademarks of Quantum Corporation.
Other trademarks may be mentioned herein which belong to other companies.

Installing a DLT, SDLT, VS, LTO, or DAT Tape Drive Into a Linux Operating System
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Purpose 5
Purpose 0
This document provides instructions for integrating a Quantum® DLTtape®
drive, a Super DLTtape™ drive, a DLT VS tape drive, an LTO tape drive, or a
DAT tape drive into Red Hat® Linux, Novell® SuSE® Linux, or other Linux
operating system.
Scope 0
This document is intended for users who have a general understanding of
Linux operating systems.
The instructions and examples provided in this document refer specifically to
Red Hat and Novell SuSE Linux systems. The instructions may differ slightly
if you are running a Linux system other than Red Hat or Novell SuSE. If these
instructions are not adequate, refer to the Linux user guide for your system.
This document pertains to the following products:
•Tape drives: DLT 2000, DLT 2000XT, DLT 4000, DLT 7000, DLT 8000,
SDLT 220, SDLT 320, SDLT 600, DLT1, VS80, VS160, DLT-V4, LTO-1,
LTO-2, LTO-3, and DAT 72.
•Mini-libraries: DLT 2500, DLT 2500XT, DLT 2700, DLT 2700XT,
DLT 4500, and DLT 4700.
Conventions Used in This Guide 0
This document uses the following conventions when providing examples of
st commands and codes:
Note: The Super DLT1 tape drive is currently known as the SDLT 220
tape drive.
Item Example Meaning
“n” in parentheses
in the st file name
(n)st0* The example applies either to auto-
rewind or to no-rewind devices.
“n” absent from the
st file name
st0* The device is auto-rewind.
“n” present in the st
file name
nst0* The device is no-rewind.

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Reference Documents 6
Reference Documents 0
As you install and work with your Linux system, you should have the manual
for your tape drive available to refer to. Following is a list of all the product
manuals for Quantum tape drives.
“0” in an st file
name
st0 Represents the device number.
In actual practice, this numeric
character may be any number from
0 to 31 depending on the node. See
Identifying Device Nodes on
page 14 for more information.
* (asterisk) mt-st* The asterisk is a placeholder
representing the rest of the file
name.
Product Manual Title
Document
Number
DLT 2000/DLT 2500/DLT 2700 Cartridge Tape Subsystem
Product Manual
81-109132-03
DLT 2000XT/DLT 2500XT/DLT 2700XT Product Manual 81-109253-03
DLT 4000 Product Manual 81-60043-04
DLT 7000 Product Manual 81-60000-06
DLT 8000 Product Manual 81-60118-04
SDLT 220 and SDLT 320 Product Manual 81-85002-01
SDLT 600 Product Manual 81-81184-01
DLT1 Tape Drive Installation and Operations Guide 000826-01
VS80 Tape Drive Installation and Operations Guide 001596-01
VS160 Tape Drive Installation and Operations Guide 81-81191-01
DLT-V4 Product Manual 81-81422-02
LTO-1/LTO-2 Tape Drive User’s Guide 50001007
LTO-3 Tape Drive User’s Guide 50002764
DDS-4/DAT 72 User’s Guide 50000711
Item Example Meaning

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Setting Up Communication with the Tape Drives 7
If you do not have the correct product manual, you can view and download it
from the Quantum Web site at:
http://www.quantum.com/ServiceandSupport/
SoftwareandDocumentationDownloads/Index.aspx
Setting Up Communication with the Tape Drives 0
This section describes how to install the tape drive and how to configure the
Red Hat Linux and Novell SuSE Linux operating systems to recognize and
communicate with the tape drive. The Red Hat or Novell SuSE operating
system includes a driver to communicate efficiently with SCSI devices, such
as a DLT or SDLT tape drive.
Before Installing the
Tape Drive 0
Before you install the tape drive, follow these steps:
1If you have a DLT 2000, DLT 2500, or DLT 2700 product, make sure it
uses version V10 (or higher) controller firmware. If it does not, go to
http://www.quantum.com/am/service_support/downloads/
default.htm to download V10.
(The suggested method to determine what version of firmware you are
running is to view the SCSI HBA Bios at boot-up.)
2Make sure that you have the appropriate SCSI interface and cable for
your tape drive:
3Obtain the appropriate manual for your tape drive. The product manual
provides detailed hardware installation instructions, including switch
and jumper settings and information about SCSI bus termination. See
Reference Documents on page 6.
Note: The DLT 2000XT, DLT 2500XT, DLT 2700XT, DLT 4000,
DLT 7000, DLT 8000, SDLT 220, SDLT 320, SDLT 600, DLT1,
VS80, VS160, DLT-V4, LTO-1, LTO-2, LTO-3, and DAT 72 tape
drives do not have a firmware revision restriction.
If you have this type of tape
drive SCSI connection...
You need this type of SCSI
interface...
Single-ended (SE) SE or LVD
Low-voltage differential (LVD) LVD
High-voltage differential (HVD) HVD

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Setting Up Communication with the Tape Drives 8
Installing the Tape
Drive 0
To install the tape drive, follow these steps:
1Shut down your workstation or server and remove AC power from the
system.
2Follow the instructions in your tape drive’s product manual to install the
tape drive and set the SCSI ID.
Verifying the st Module
is Loaded 0
st is the tape device driver for Linux. Typically, st is loaded into the kernel as
a module to support SCSI tape devices. You must verify that st is loaded to
assure that the kernel supports SCSI tape devices.
To verify the st module is loaded, follow these steps:
1Execute the following command as superuser:
# modinfo st
If st is loaded, the output will look similar to one of the following:
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 (RHEL3):
filename: /lib/modules/2.4.21-4.ELsmp/kernel/drivers/scsi/st.odescription:
"SCSI Tape Driver"
author: "Kai Makisara"
license: "GPL"
parm: buffer_kbs int, description "Default driver buffer size (KB; 32)"
parm: max_buffers int, description "Maximum number of buffer allocated
at initialisation (4)"
parm: max_sg_segs int, description "Maximum number of scatter/gather
segments to use (32)"
parm: blocking_open int, description "Block in open if not ready an no
O_NONBLOCK (0)"
• Novell SuSE Linux 9 (SuSE9):
parm: try_wdio:Try direct write i/o when possible
parm: try_rdio:Try direct read i/o when possible
parm: try_direct_io:Try direct I/O between user buffer and tape drive (1)
parm: max_sg_segs:Maximum number of scatter/gather segments to
use (256)
parm: buffer_kbs:Default driver buffer size for fixed block mode (KB; 32)
license: GPL
description: SCSI Tape Driver
author: Kai Makisara
depends: scsi_mod
supported: yes
vermagic: 2.6.5-7.79-smp SMP 586 REGPARM gcc-3.3
If the st module is not loaded, modinfo will report that the module name is
not found. You need to load the st module by using the #insmod
command. Consult your Linux manuals for instructions.
2Reboot the server. This allows the st driver to attach tape device nodes
(/dev/st#).

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Verifying Communication with the Tape Drives 9
Verifying Communication with the Tape Drives 0
You must ensure the st driver sees the all the tape devices. If you have added
a tape device, you must verify that the st driver sees the new device.
You do this by displaying and reviewing the kernel initialization information
which contains st driver initialization and attachment of SCSI tape devices.
Displaying the Kernel
Initialization
Information 0
You can display the kernel initialization information by using any of the
following three methods:
Reviewing the Kernel
Initialization
Information 0
All three of the methods show you the same information. The information
looks similar to one of the following:
• RHEL3 output looks similar to the following:
Attached scsi tape st0 at scsi2, channel 0, id 4, lun 0
st0: Block limits 4 - 16777212 bytes.
st: Version 20030406, bufsize 32768, max init. bufs 4, s/g segs 16
• SuSE9 output looks similar to the following:
Attached scsi tape st0 at scsi0, channel 0, id 3, lun 0
st0: try direct i/o: yes (alignment
512 B ), max page reachable by HBA 1048575
st: Version 20040318, fixed bufsize 32768, s/g segs 256
Method Instructions
View st information
during boot-up.
At boot-up, Linux displays kernel initialization
information, including the st driver initialization
and attachment of the SCSI tape devices. The
information scrolls by quickly; if you miss it, try
one of the other two methods.
Read the Kernel
Message Buffer Log.
The kernel message buffer log contains the most
recent kernel logs. Look in /var/log/dmesg.
Remember: The kernel message buffer is limited in
size; therefore, when the buffer becomes full, old
logs are discarded.
Execute the dmesg
command to view
the Kernel Message
Buffer Log.
Executing the dmesg command is another way to
open the kernel message buffer log. Execute the
following command:
# dmesg | less
See “Read the Kernel Message Buffer Log” above
for more information about the log.

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Obtaining Device Information Using /proc/scsi/scsi 10
Identifying the Tape
Devices 0
You can identify the tape device by looking at the values listed for “channel”
(PCI Bus), “id” (SCSI ID), and “lun” (lun is always “0” for standalone
configurations).
If you have more than one tape device, you should see similar lines of output
for each device.
What To Do if Device
Information is Missing 0
If you do not see the information for every attached tape device, then the st
driver is not communicating with the missing device(s). Try the following
solutions:
• Verify that the connector cable length does not exceed the specifications
listed in your product manual.
• Make sure the SCSI bus is terminated properly (see your product manual
for instructions).
• Ensure there are enough st tape device nodes for all your attached tape
devices. If not, you will need to create more. See Creating Device Nodes
on page 15 and Creating No-Rewind Device Nodes on page 16.
Obtaining Device Information Using /proc/scsi/scsi 0
To obtain information about a specific tape drive, view the /proc/scsi/scsi file.
What is the /proc File
System? 0
The /proc file system is a map to the running kernel process. It displays a list of
connected SCSI devices. It is not a disk-based file system and is dynamic to
reflect the current boot-up information.
Viewing /proc Files 0The recommended method to view /proc files is to use the cat command piped
( | ) with command more or less. Execute the following command:
# cat /proc/scsi/scsi | less
The output will look something like the following:
Attached devices:
Host: scsi0 Channel: 00 Id: 03 Lun: 00
Vendor: QUANTUM Model: SDLT320 Rev: 5252
Type: Sequential-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 02
Host: scsi1 Channel: 00 Id: 03 Lun: 00
Caution: Do NOT execute the cat command on the /proc/kcore file. This
unique file contains a running image of the kernel’s memory at
that particular moment. Executing the cat command on this
file will render your terminal unusable.

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Accessing Devices Using /dev/st* Device Nodes 11
Vendor: SEAGATE Model: ST336607LC Rev: DS04
Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 03
Host: scsi1 Channel: 00 Id: 06 Lun: 00
Vendor: DELL Model: 1x6 U2W SCSI BP Rev: 5.39
Type: Processor ANSI SCSI revision: 02
Host: scsi2 Channel: 00 Id: 04 Lun: 00
Vendor: NEC Model: CD-ROM DRIVE:466 Rev: 1.06
Type: CD-ROM ANSI SCSI revision: 02
Host: scsi3 Channel: 00 Id: 04 Lun: 00
Vendor: QUANTUM Model: SDLT600 Rev: 1A1A
Type: Sequential-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 04
Accessing Devices Using /dev/st* Device Nodes 0
You can access most devices by using a corresponding special device file
stored in the /dev directory.
Each tape device corresponds to eight device nodes (four auto-rewind nodes
and four no-rewind nodes).
Generating a List of
Device Files 0
You can generate a list of the /dev directory device file names by executing the
following commands:
Reviewing the List of
Device Files 0
The device files display in blocks of four listings (one for each mode). Each
listing contains the device node file name and file attributes.
For this type of device... Execute this command...
Auto-rewind #ls -ld /dev/st0*
No-rewind #ls -ld /dev/nst0*

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Accessing Devices Using /dev/st* Device Nodes 12
You should see a block of four listings for each device. The list will look
similar to the following:
If one or more device node listings are not present, see What To Do if a Device
Node is Missing on page 12.
For an explanation of what each part of the listing means, see Interpreting the
Device Node File Listing on page 13.
What To Do if a Device
Node is Missing 0
If any of the st device node listings are not present in the /dev directory, you
need to create them.
Use the mknod commands described in Creating Auto-Rewind Device Nodes
on page 16 and Creating No-Rewind Device Nodes on page 16.
Refer to the following documentation for detailed instructions:
• Your Linux documentation
•st(4) man page
• mknod(1) man page
For this type of
device... The list of /dev device files will look similar to...
Auto-rewind crw-rw---- 1 root disk 9, 0 Sep 15 2003 st0
crw-rw---- 1 root disk 9, 96 Sep 15 2003 st0a
crw-rw---- 1 root disk 9, 32 Sep 15 2003 st0l
crw-rw---- 1 root disk 9, 64 Sep 15 2003 st0m
No-rewind crw-rw---- 1 root disk 9, 128 Sep 15 2003 nst0
crw-rw---- 1 root disk 9, 224 Sep 15 2003 nst0a
crw-rw---- 1 root disk 9, 160 Sep 15 2003 nst0l
crw-rw---- 1 root disk 9, 192 Sep 15 2003 nst0m

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Accessing Devices Using /dev/st* Device Nodes 13
Interpreting the Device
Node File Listing 0
The following table explains each part of the displayed device node listing
shown in Reviewing the List of Device Files on page 11.
Column Text Format Description
First
column
crw-rw---- These ten characters describe access type and permissions.
The first character indicates type of access device as follows:
•“
c” signifies that (n)st0* is a character (sequential access) device.
•“
b” signifies that (n)st0* is a block (random access) device.
The next nine characters indicate permissions for:
• the owner (characters 1 - 3)
• the group (characters 4 - 6)
• global users (characters 7 - 9)
Permissions are defined as follows:
• The first character of each set identifies read permissions. An “r” indicates
read permission is granted; a hyphen indicates read permission is denied.
• The second character of each set identifies write permissions. A “w”
indicates write permission is granted; a hyphen indicates write permission
is denied.
• The third character of each set identifies execute permissions. An “x”
indicates execute permission is granted; a hyphen indicates execute
permission is denied.
In the example shown, the device is sequential access. The owner and group
both have read/write permission but do not have execute permission; global
users have no permissions.
Second
column
1Numeric character, not applicable.
Third
column
root Identifies the owner of the device nodes.
This is always root (root is the name of the superuser account).
Fourth
column
disk Identifies the group associated with these device nodes.
This is always disk.
Fifth
column
9, nIdentifies the major and minor numbers for that node.
Major Number: The first number is the major number. The major number
indexes a particular device driver in the kernel. To utilize the st module, the
major number is always 9.
Minor Number: The second number is the minor number. The minor
number serves as a device driver parameter defining various characteristics
such as compression, block size, and density.
For a complete definition of all the major and minor numbers, see device.txt at
/usr/src/linux-<kernel revision>/Documentation/device.txt.

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Identifying Device
Nodes 0
Linux supports up to 32 tape devices [(n)st0* through (n)st31*). Device nodes
are numbered consecutively beginning with 0.
Each operating system presets a certain number of device nodes as follows.
You may add more manually if needed (up to 32 total). The following table
shows two examples:
Sixth
column
Mmm DD
YYYY
Date. Not applicable.
Seventh
column,
section
heading
(n)stna
n represents
a numeric
character;
a represents
an alpha
character.
In the
example:
(n)st0*
Device Node Description. This is also the actual file name.
(n)st identifies the device node as either auto-rewind or no-rewind as
follows:
•st identifies the device node as auto-rewind. See Creating Auto-Rewind
Device Nodes on page 16 for more information.
•nst identifies the device node as no-rewind. See Creating No-Rewind
Device Nodes on page 16 for more information.
n (the numeric character) identifies the tape device. “0” identifies the first
device; “1” identifies the second device; “2” identifies the third device, and
so forth. See Identifying Device Nodes for more information.
a (the alpha character) identifies the mode. (No alpha character means
mode 1.) See Identifying Device Modes for a list of modes.
Operating System Preset Device Nodes
RHEL3 (n)st0* through (n)st31*
SuSE9 (n)st0* through (n)st7*
Column Text Format Description

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Identifying Device
Modes 0
Each node has four modes. Both the auto-rewind and no-rewind functions
use the same modes.
Creating Device Nodes0This section shows each stinit mode and its corresponding device node
identification parameters.
The next two sections — Creating Auto-Rewind Device Nodes and Creating
No-Rewind Device Nodes — show examples of the codes you use to create
device nodes.
The following table shows the numbering you use to identify the first tape
device in each mode. To identify a second tape device, increment the tape
device number and minor number by one, and so on for each successive tape
device. You can have up to 32 tape devices per mode.
Mode
Auto-Rewind
Node
(example)a
a. The “0” in this table is an example representing the device.
In actual practice, this numeric character may be any num-
ber from 0 to 31 depending on the node.
No-Rewind
Node
(example)
Alpha Character
Identification
1st0 nst0 no character
2st0l nst0l lowercase l
3st0m nst0m lowercase m
4st0a nst0a lowercase a
Mode
Tape Device Number for
first tape device
(increment by one for
each successive device)
Alpha Character
Mode Identifier
Minor Number of first
tape device (increment
by one for each
successive device)
Mode 1 (Auto-Rewind) 0none 0
Mode 2 (Auto-Rewind) 0lowercase l32
Mode 3 (Auto-Rewind) 0lowercase m64
Mode 4 (Auto-Rewind) 0lowercase a96
Mode 1 (No-Rewind) 0none 128
Mode 2 (No-Rewind) 0lowercase l160
Mode 3 (No-Rewind) 0lowercase m192
Mode 4 (No-Rewind) 0lowercase a224

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Accessing Devices Using /dev/st* Device Nodes 16
Creating Auto-Rewind
Device Nodes 0
Use the mknod commands as shown in the following table to create auto-
rewind device nodes. The table shows only the first two tape devices. You can
have up to 32 tape devices per mode. For instructions on numbering more
than two, see Creating Device Nodes.
Creating No-Rewind
Device Nodes 0
Use the mknod command as shown in the following table to create no-rewind
device nodes. The table shows only the first two tape devices. You can have
up to 32 tape devices per mode. For instructions on numbering more than
two, see Creating Device Nodes.
Mode
SCSI Tape
Device Command
1First # mknod -m 666 /dev/st0c 9 0
1 Second # mknod -m 666 /dev/st1c 9 1
2First # mknod -m 666 /dev/st0l c 9 32
2 Second # mknod -m 666 /dev/st1l c 9 33
3First # mknod -m 666 /dev/st0m c 9 64
3 Second # mknod -m 666 /dev/st1m c 9 65
4First # mknod -m 666 /dev/st0a c 9 96
4 Second # mknod -m 666 /dev/st1a c 9 97
Mode
SCSI Tape
Device Command
1First # mknod -m 666 /dev/nst0c 9 128
1 Second # mknod -m 666 /dev/nst1c 9 129
2First # mknod -m 666 /dev/nst0l c 9 160
2 Second # mknod -m 666 /dev/nst1l c 9 161
3First# mknod -m 666 /dev/nst0m c 9 192
3 Second # mknod -m 666 /dev/nst1m c 9 193
4First # mknod -m 666 /dev/nst0a c 9 224
4 Second # mknod -m 666 /dev/nst1a c 9 225

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mt-st Linux RPM Package 17
mt-st Linux RPM Package 0
The mt-st Linux Red Hat Package Manager (RPM) package consists of the
following tools:
•mt tape device manager (see mtx Tape Library Tool on page 20)
•stinit tape configuration utility (see mt Tape Device Tool)
In order to use the package, you must ensure that mt-st is installed. See the
following chapters:
•Verifying mt-st is Installed and
•Installing mt-st
Verifying mt-st is
Installed 0
To perform the actions described from this point forward in this guide, you
must ensure mt-st is installed.
To check whether mt-st is installed, execute the following command:
# rpm -qa | grep mt-st
This command returns the name of the package followed by a version
number (for example, RHEL3 returns mt-st-0.7-11).
If no information is returned, mt-st is not installed on your system. To install
mt-st, see Installing mt-st.
Installing mt-st 0mt-st is usually included on your Linux installation CD-ROM.
To install mt-st, execute the following command:
# rpm -ivh mt-st*
where the asterisk represents the remaining portion of the file name (in this
case, it is the version number).
mt Tape Device Tool 0
mt is a tape device management tool that enables you to set st driver flags,
position loaded media, and secure-erase media.
If mt-st is installed, then mt is available for use. See Verifying mt-st is Installed
for instructions on checking whether mt-st is installed.

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stinit and stinit.def 18
stinit and stinit.def 0
stinit automatically initializes SCSI tape drive modes at system startup or
reboot by sending ioctl commands to the drive. The commands are defined in
the stinit.def definitions text file. The text file is indexed using the inquiry data
returned by the drive (manufacturer, device, and revision). See Tape Device
and Parameter Definitions for more information about the stinit.def file.
After a new installation of the Linux operating system or a new installation of
mt-st, an stinit.def file may not exist. You can create an stinit.def file by using the
following sample file:
/usr/share/doc/mt-st-<version>/stinit.def.examples
If you modify stinit.def, you can re-initialize the SCSI tape drive modes by
rebooting the server or executing the following command:
# stinit or # stinit -f <pathname>/stinit.def
where pathname is the path where stinit.def file is stored.
By default, stinit searches your present working directory to find the stinit.def
file. If stinit cannot find stinit.def in the working directory, it searches /etc/
stinit.def.
For more information on stinit, see the stinit(8) man page.
Tape Device and
Parameter Definitions 0
The stinit.def file contains definitions of tape devices and their corresponding
initialization parameters.
Some of the parameter conventions are listed in the following table:
The following example shows a single entry of a tape device in the stinit.def
file:
# The XY dat
manufacturer=XY-COMPANY model = "UVW DRIVE" {
scsi2logical=1 # Common definitions for all modes
can-bsr can-partitions auto-lock
# Definition of modes
Item Definition
{ } Parameter definitions are delimited by { }.
name = value Definitions consist of pairs where name = value. The value
is either a numeric parameter, a string not containing
blanks, or a string enclosed within quotation marks.
If = value is omitted, a value of “1” is assigned.
#If the # character appears in an input line, stinit deletes
from the buffer everything following the # character up
to the next carriage return. This enables you to make
comments in the stinit.def file.

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stinit and stinit.def 19
mode1 blocksize=0 compression=1
mode2 blocksize=1024 compression=1
mode3 blocksize=0 compression 0
mode4 blocksize = 1024 compression 0 }
Identifying Tape
DevicesandParameters
0
You identify tape devices and parameters using keywords. The keywords
correspond to the data returned by the tape device in response to a SCSI
INQUIRY command. The matches are case-sensitive and performed up to the
length defined in the configuration file. Partial matches are permitted.
Common Tape Device
Keywords 0
The following table lists the most common tape device keywords.
Common Parameter
Keywords 0
Following are some common parameter keywords. For a more thorough
description of the keywords used for tape devices and parameters, see the
following references:
•stinit(8) man page
•st(4) man page
•/usr/src/linux-<kernel revision>/drivers/scsi/README.st.
•Appendix C – Sample stinit.def Definitions File on page 26
Note: You may abbreviate some keywords. Some keywords show a
portion of the word enclosed within square brackets [ ]. The
portion enclosed within the brackets is not required when entering
commands. For example, the keyword block[size] means you can
signify block size by entering either blocksize or block.
Keyword Description
manufacturer= Specifies the string that must match the vendor
identification returned by the tape device; for example,
QUANTUM.
model= Specifies the string that must match the product
identification returned by the tape device; for example,
SDLT600.
revision= Specifies the string that must match the product
revision level returned by the tape device; for example,
1E1E, which represents V30.

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mtx Tape Library Tool 20
All the matching initializations are collected in the order they are defined in
the stinit.def file. This means that you can define global parameters that apply
to all devices by placing them before all tape device definitions in stinit.def. For
an example, see # Global Keywords and Values in Appendix C – Sample
stinit.def Definitions File.
mtx Tape Library Tool 0
mtx is a tape library media management tool. This section shows you how to
determine if mtx is installed and how to install it.
The use of mtx is beyond the scope of this document.
VerifyingmtxisInstalled0
To verify mtx is installed, execute the following command:
# rpm -qa mtx
This command returns the name of the package followed by a version
number (for example, RHEL2.1 returns mtx-1.2.13-1).
If no information is returned, mtx is not installed on the system. To install
mtx, see Installing mtx.
Keyword Description
block[size]=value The tape block size can be set to value bytes. Quantum
recommends using the default block[size] = 0,
signifying variable block mode.
comp[ression]=
value
Compression of the data by the drive is enabled if value
does not equal zero. Note that the tape driver cannot
enable compression for all drives that can compress
data. Some drives define compression using density
codes. Quantum does not use density codes and
requires compression to be enabled.
The compression default setting is determined by
stinit.def. If stinit.def is not found, compression defaults
to ON.
Note: mtx rpm is not included in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0. If you
are running RHEL 3.0, you will not be able to use the mtx module.