Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 20:12:24 +1030 From: Malcolm Kay <malcolm.kay@internode.on.net> To: "DG" <david@fielden.com.au>, <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: how to append multiple dumps to single tape Message-ID: <200312162012.24355.malcolm.kay@internode.on.net> In-Reply-To: <003601c3c37a$99ac05c0$5401a8c0@borg.fielden.com.au> References: <003601c3c37a$99ac05c0$5401a8c0@borg.fielden.com.au>
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On Tue, 16 Dec 2003 12:46, DG wrote: > On the subject of multiple dumps, how does one append several dumps to = the > same tape? The dump man page does not seem to indicate an 'append' opt= ion. > When you open a tape for writing (or reading) then writing (or reading) b= egins=20 at wherever the tape happens to be positioned. So one just has to ensure = that=20 the tape is not rwound after the first dump is written. This is achieved = by=20 writing the first dump to device /dev/nsa0 (or some other beginning with = 'n' which means no re-wind on close). If the tape has been rewound (perhaps to remove the cartridge for storage= ) then you can reposition the tape using 'mt fsf' followed by the number of= =20 dumps already written to the tape. If a tape has been used a number of times there is no way for the system = to=20 reliably distinguish the end of the valid information from futher junk th= at=20 may have been written in previous use -- thus for normal tape drives an 'append' command would be quite flakey. Malcolm Kay
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