SCSI Tape drives on Linux

[jabr at blu.org (John Abreau)]

On Wed, 9 Aug 2000, Oommen Thomas wrote:

> Do any of you have experience in using SCSI tape drives on Linux?
>....
> c) Are tar/taper the only software needed/available for backup/recovery
> with tapes on Linux ?
> d) How is the reliability vis-a-vis on Windows ?
> e) Any tips on compatibility (RHL hardware compatibility list just says
> "most scsi tape drives" supported)?

My experience with scsi disks and tape drives on linux is basically that
they just work, with no extra fuss.

The kernel must be compiled with scsi support, of course. I've always
included all scsi options, including "generic", when I build a kernel. The
"generic" code is needed for CD burners; I'm not sure if tape drives would
require that. Since "scsi tape" support is also an option, I'd guess that
"generic" is unnecessary.

I've used DAT drives, Exabyte drives, and DLT drives on linux with no
problems. All worked beautiful, and didn't need anything extra on top of
the st module and a supported scsi card.

There are actually a lot of options for backup/recovery. Dump/restore are
the traditional Unix backup tools, and these have been available on linux
at least as far back as 1994. I hear a lot of people say nice things about
Amanda, an open-source backup tool that runs on Linux, other Unixes, and
NT. Veritas is a popular backup system on Solaris and NT, and I'm told
they now have a Linux client as well. Then there's BLU, which I've seen
advertised in Linux Journal right from the first issue in 1994. I'm sure
I've barely scratched the surface here.

--
John Abreau / Executive Director, Boston Linux & Unix 
ICQ#28611923 / AIM abreauj / Email jabr at blu.org

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