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 Configuring HP-UX for Peripherals: HP 9000 > Chapter 6 Configuring Tape Drives

Selecting Device Drivers for a Tape Device and Interface
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The following sections will help you identify the device drivers needed to configure a tape drive. Choose the drivers based on the interface to which the tape drive is being connected.

Table 6-1 “HP-IB Tape Drive Configuration Requirements” and Table 6-2 “HP-IB Cartridge Tape Drive Configuration Requirements ” show default device special file names created for tape drives, depending on whether your HP-UX system is configured with long or short file names. Limited 9.x device-file notation is also shown for backward compatibility.

HP-IB Tape Drive Configuration Guidelines

HP-IB tape drives can be configured to a Series 800 CIO or HP-PB HP-IB interface card. Note, the EISA bus does not support HP-IB tape drivers; thus you cannot configure most tape drives to the EISA HP-IB card. (See Table 6-2 “HP-IB Cartridge Tape Drive Configuration Requirements ” for exceptions.)

Although the HP-IB bus can accommodate as many as 30 addresses, HP tape drives use a protocol called parallel polling that requires they be configured to addresses in the range of 0 to 7. Performance might decline if more than four tape devices are connected to an HP-IB interface.

Do not install HP-IB tape drives to the same interface as the root device (main disk drive), particularly on Series 800 CIO servers. Doing so can severely degrade your disk drive's performance.

Table 6-1 “HP-IB Tape Drive Configuration Requirements” lists the drivers required for configuring an HP-IB tape drive for each supported architecture. It also shows the device special files that insf creates when tape devices are configured.

Table 6-1 HP-IB Tape Drive Configuration Requirements

Architecture

Interface Card

Interface and Device Drivers

Default Device Special Files

Series 800 CIO [1]

27110B

hpib0[2] tape1

/dev/rmt/c#t#d#BEST[b|n|nb][3] /dev/rmt/c#t#d#[f#|i#][b|n|nb][4] /dev/rmt/#m[b|n|nb][5]

Series 800 HP-PB[1]

28650B

hpib1[6] tape1

(same as above)

[1] The following model tape drives are supported for HP-UX on the Series 800 CIO and HP-PB HP-IB interfaces: 7980A/XC, (C1511A). (Models shown in parenthesis are obsolete and are listed for reference only.)

[2] Specifying hpib0 causes cio_ca0, sio, pfail, and pa to be included automatically in the kernel.

[3] Naming convention for systems installed with long file names. c#t#d# derives from ioscan output: c# is the card instance for the ext_bus class of interface card to which the tape drive is attached, t# is the address of the tape device on the HP-IB bus, d# is the device number (typically d0). BEST represents the operational capabilities likely to be required, including the highest density/format and data compression, if the device supports it. [b|n|nb] designates style of tape positioning: b is Berkeley-style tape positioning; that is, after file close, the tape is not repositioned in any way. If b is not designated, AT&T-style tape closing occurs; that is the tape might be positioned after the next end-of-file (EOF) point. n designates no rewind.

[4] Naming convention for systems installed with short file names. For c#t#d#, see footnote 88. f# represents the highest density/format and data compression, if the device supports it. Or, i# represents a pointer into a tape-device property table. For [b|n|nb], see footnote 88.

[5] Syntax available for backward compatibility. # designates tape drive at # card instance. The #m, #mb, #mn, and #mnb device special files are linked to c#t#d#BEST, c#t#d#BESTb, c#t#d#BESTn, and c#t#d#BESTnb, respectively, or their equivalent short file names.

[6] Specifying hpib1 causes sio, pfail, and pa to be included automatically in the kernel.

 

Older-style command-set 80 (CS/80) HP-IB cartridge tape drives are supported for HP-UX on both the Series 700 and 800 HP-IB interface, using disk device drivers. They are shown in Table 6-2 “HP-IB Cartridge Tape Drive Configuration Requirements ”. Note, these devices have a much more limited range of capabilities than are available for tape drives configured through the stape, tape1, and tape2 drivers. See ct(7) in the HP-UX Reference.

Table 6-2 HP-IB Cartridge Tape Drive Configuration Requirements

Architecture

Interface Card

Interface and Device Drivers

Default Device Special Files

Series 700 EISA [1]

25560A

cs80[2]

/dev/[r]ct/c#t#d#[3]

Series 800 CIO[1]

27110B

hpib0[4] disc1[5]

(same as above)

Series 800 HP-PB[1]

28650B

hpib1[6] disc[5]

(same as above)

[1] The following models can be configured to EISA, CIO, and HP-PB HP-IB interfaces: (35401), (7914CT), 7946, (7974A), (7978B), 7979A, 7980A, (9144A), (9145A). (Models shown in parenthesis are obsolete and are listed for reference only.)

[2] Specifying cs80 causes hshpib, wsio, eisa, core, and eeprom to be included automatically into the kernel.

[3] c#t#d# derives from ioscan output: c# is the card instance for the ext_bus class of interface card to which the tape drive is attached, t# is the address of the tape device on the HP-IB bus, d# is the device number (d1 must be used to address cartridge tape-drive component of the disk/tape combination devices, such as 7946). For cartridge tape drives to communicate through HP-UX, minor number bit 25 of the device special file must be set. (See Appendix C for mapping of disc1 minor number bit assignments.)

[4] Specifying hpib0 causes cio_ca0, sio, pfail, and pa to be included automatically in the kernel.

[5] Specifying disc1 causes disc1_included to be configured automatically in the kernel.

[6] Specifying hpib1 causes sio, pfail, and pa to be included automatically in the kernel.

 

SCSI Tape Drive Configuration Guidelines

Each single-ended SCSI interface card has a maximum of eight SCSI addresses, ranging in order of decreasing priority from 7 to 0, with SCSI address 7 reserved for the host adapter card. Use 0, the lowest priority address available, for low-performance tape-drive configuration. High-performance tape drives will need a higher priority.

When using an STK 3480 tape drive, connect the device to its own external SCSI host adapter in the SPU to prevent the possibility of data corruption if the bus glitches when the tape drive is powered down. Follow manufacturer's recommendations in hardware manuals.

3480 devices are supported as "reference" devices on HP-UX; that is, they are supported to a limited degree. A third-party application is needed to read/write IBM-compatible tapes on HP-UX systems. (See mt(7) in the HP-UX Reference for additional limitations.)

Where possible, connect the 7980S/SX and C2463F/R tape devices to their own external SCSI bus, to prevent possible data corruption from controller glitches.

NOTE: By default, insf creates device special files that write tapes with data compression enabled if the tape drive doing the writing supports data compression. If you have to write a tape on a tape drive that supports data compression, but you need to read it on a tape drive that does not support data compression, you must create the tape using a device special file with data compression disabled, using mksf. See “Creating Customized Device Special Files for Tape Devices ”, later in this chapter, for an example.

Table 6-3 “SCSI Tape Drive Configuration Requirements” shows the configuration requirements for the single-ended SCSI tape drives.

Table 6-3 SCSI Tape Drive Configuration Requirements

Architecture

Interface Card

Interface and Device Drivers

Default Device Special Files

Series 700 Core I/O [1]

(internal)

stape[2]

/dev/rmt/c#t#d#BEST[b|n|nb][3]
/dev/rmt/c#t#d#[f#|i#][b|n|nb][4]
/dev/rmt/#m[b|n|nb][5]

Series 700 EISA[1]

25525A/B

stape[2]

(same as above)

Series 800 CIO[1]

27147A

scsi2[6]
tape2[7]

(same as above)

Series 800 HP-PB [8]

28655A

scsi1[9]
tape2[7]

(same as above)

[1] The following tape drives are supported for HP-UX on a single-ended SCSI interface: 7980S/SX, A2311A, A2656A, A2944A, A2944A, A3024A, (C1502A), C1503A/B/C, C1504A/B/C, (C1512A), C1520A/B, C1521B, C1530B, C1533A, C1534A, C1535A, C1553A, C2292A, C2297T/U, C2298A, (C2463F/R), C2464F/R, C2465R, C2466F/R, C2467F/R, C2477F/R/S/U, C2478U, C2954A. (Obsolete models are shown in parenthesis for reference only.)

[2] Specifying stape causes sctl, c700, wsio, and core drivers to be included automatically in the kernel.

[3] Naming convention for systems installed with long file names. c#t#d# derives from ioscan output: c# is the card instance number for the ext_bus class of interface card to which the tape drive is attached, t# is the SCSI address, d# is the device number. BEST represents the operational capabilities likely to be required, including the highest density/format and data compression, if supported by the device. [b|n|nb] designates tape positioning: b is Berkeley-style; that is, after file close, the tape is not repositioned in any way. If b is not designated, AT&T-style tape closing occurs; that is the tape might be positioned after the end-of-file (EOF) point. n designates no rewind.

[4] Naming convention for systems installed with short file names. For c#t#d#, see footnote 100. f# represents the highest density/format and data compression, if the device supports it. Or, i# represents a pointer into a tape-device property table. For [b|n|nb], see footnote 100.

[5] Syntax available for backward compatibility. # designates tape drive at # card instance. The #m, #mb, #mn, and #mnb device special files are linked to c#t#d#BEST, c#t#d#BESTb, c#t#d#BESTn, and c#t#d#BESTnb, respectively.

[6] Specifying scsi2 causes cio_ca0, sio, pfail, and pa drivers to be included automatically in the kernel.

[7] Specifying tape2 causes tape2_included to be included automatically in the kernel.

[8] Tape drives listed in footnote 1 are supported on Series 800 HP-PB architecture, as are A2311A and A2312A. StorageTek models 4220 and 4280 tape drives will also configure successfully using the HP-PB single-ended SCSI device driver; however, these tape drives must be the only peripheral device on their SCSI bus.

[9] Specifying scsi1 causes sio, pfail, and pa drivers to be included automatically in the kernel.

 



Chapter 6 Configuring Tape Drives
  		 


Configuring HP-UX for a Tape Drive  
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