Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!mcvax!ukc!etive!hwcs!zen!frank From: frank@zen.co.uk (Frank Wales) Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions Subject: Re: Writing HP cartridge tapes on a Sun 3 Summary: HP's tape is backwards Keywords: HP SUN QIC Message-ID: <1378@zen.co.uk> Date: 8 Aug 88 19:05:13 GMT References: <614@ednor.UUCP> <63050@sun.uucp> <373@mmlai.UUCP> Reply-To: frank@zen.co.uk (Frank Wales) Organization: Zengrange Limited, Leeds, England Lines: 44 In article <373@mmlai.UUCP> burzio@mmlai.UUCP (Anthony Burzio) writes: >In article <63050@sun.uucp>, swilson%thetone@Sun.COM (Scott Wilson) writes: >>In article <614@ednor.UUCP> cgf@ednor.UUCP (Chris Faylor) writes: >>>Does anybody know if it is possible to produce a tar tape on a Sun >>>that is readable on an HP 300? It seems that the HP uses some kind >>>of strange format... >> >> I tried this for a while one day and finally gave up. I think >> HP uses some different kind of format. > >I was told by HP at a UNIX class that their file system for UNIX is >actually built up an an older file system. This was true on the now-obsolete series 500 machines, which used SDF (Structured Directory Format), but the current 300 and 800 series machines both use the Berkeley-McCusick Fast File System. >The UNIX volume is a file in this other system. Without this file system >on the tape, you are out of luck. Of course, HP didn't throw in a program >to FORMAT this older file system, therefore you have to buy their tapes... Hmm, not exactly. The cartridges HP use are pre-formatted from the manufacturer for HP's use (HP doesn't make them; if you look carefully through the clear plastic case, you can see who does) -- if you wipe the tape's formatting off, even HP can't fix it (allegedly); it has to go back to the maker. Hence no formatting program. The main problem with HP's cartridges is that HP runs them through the tape drive mechanism the other way from everyone else using this tape size, so stick a Sun tape (say) into an HP drive, and wheee! it runs off the end of the tape looking for the start-of-tape marker, because on HP's cartridge, it's in the other direction along the tape. If you have an HP tape and a non-HP tape, compare them and see which reel contains more tape when wound to the start. >> In short we gave up and tried to transfer data with ethernet, of course >> the HP was thin ethernet and the Sun thick so ... Did you try using uucp over RS232? Slow, but reliable. :-) -- Frank Wales, Development Engineer, [frank@zen.co.uk<->mcvax!ukc!zen!frank] Zengrange Ltd., Greenfield Rd., Leeds, ENGLAND, LS9 8DB. (+44) 532 489048 x220