1/2" tape cleaners?

From: Doc Shipley <doc_at_mdrconsult.com>
Date: Sun Oct 24 17:10:49 2004

Ethan Dicks wrote:

> On Sun, Oct 24, 2004 at 03:41:45PM -0500, Doc Shipley wrote:
>
>> It's amazing how much faster a DLT4000 runs when you set the
>>blocksize to 0 (variable - allows the tape drive to set it and the app
>>to override) instead of 512 bytes. :)
>
>
> Ooh! Nice! I may have to fiddle with that (I'm making personal backups
> on some DLT drive of that vintage)

   Any recent Linux _should_ be doing the right thing. The only time
I've actually had trouble with a DLT was the aforementioned DLT4000 on
an RS/6000. AIX doesn't really believe that devices not IBM-branded can
perform up to spec, and sets them to the lowest possible common spec.
In this case, a hard setting of 512-byte blocksize.

   A mksysb backup speeded up by a factor of 30 when Jonathan coaxed the
OS into using the drive's own settings.


        Doc
Received on Sun Oct 24 2004 - 17:10:49 BST