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Tape device name format

Each tape device has an associated name that appears in a defined format. The format includes information about the type of device, rewind type, alias, and compression type.

The format of a tape device name is as follows:

[remote_host:]rewind_type st alias_number compression_type

remote_host is optional. You specify a remote host storage system if you want to use a tape drive attached to that host. You must follow the remote host name with a colon (:).

rewind_type is the rewind type.

The following list describes the various rewind type values:
r
Data ONTAP rewinds the tape after it finishes writing the tape file.
nr
Data ONTAP does not rewind the tape after it finishes writing the tape file. Use this rewind type when you want to write multiple tape files on the same tape.
ur
This is the unload/reload rewind type. When you use this rewind type, the tape library unloads the tape when it reaches the end of a tape file, and then loads the next tape, if there is one.
Use this rewind type only under the following circumstances:
  • The tape drive associated with this device is in a tape library or is in a medium changer that is in the library mode.
  • The tape drive associated with this device is attached to a storage system.
  • Sufficient tapes for the operation that you are performing are available in the library tape sequence defined for this tape drive.
Note: If you record a tape using a no-rewind device, you must rewind the tape before you read it.

st is the standard designation for a tape drive.

alias_number is the alias that Data ONTAP assigns to the tape drive. When Data ONTAP detects a new tape drive, it assigns an alias to it. You can modify an alias using the storage alias command (available through the nodeshell). An alias assigned by Data ONTAP or modified by the user persists through reboots.

compression_type is a drive-specific code for the density of data on the tape and the type of compression.

The following list describes the various values for compression_type:
a
Highest compression
h
High compression
m
Medium compression
l
Low compression

Examples

  • nrst0a specifies a no-rewind device on tape drive 0 using the highest compression.
  • remfiler:nrst0a specifies a no-rewind device on tape drive 0 on the remote host remfiler that uses the highest compression.
Attention: When using the urst device with the dump or restore command, ensure that you use tape libraries and that there are sufficient tapes in the library sequence. Otherwise, the tape drives involved terminate the command sequence or overwrite the same tape multiple times.

Example of a listing of tape devices

The following example shows the tape devices associated with HP Ultrium 2-SCSI:

Tape drive (fc202_6:2.126L1) HP Ultrium 2-SCSI rst0l - rewind device, format is: HP (200GB) nrst0l - no rewind device, format is: HP (200GB) urst0l - unload/reload device, format is: HP (200GB) rst0m - rewind device, format is: HP (200GB) nrst0m - no rewind device, format is: HP (200GB) urst0m - unload/reload device, format is: HP (200GB) rst0h - rewind device, format is: HP (200GB) nrst0h - no rewind device, format is: HP (200GB) urst0h - unload/reload device, format is: HP (200GB) rst0a - rewind device, format is: HP (400GB w/comp) nrst0a - no rewind device, format is: HP (400GB w/comp) urst0a - unload/reload device, format is: HP (400GB w/comp)
The following list describes the abbreviations in the preceding example:
  • GB—Gigabytes; this is the capacity of the tape.
  • w/comp—With compression; this shows the tape capacity with compression.