Mind's Eye
17 messages in this thread
Re: Exabyte tape drive. Back in a previous message you said something
about putting an image file in the middle of the tape. Do you have your
tape unit set up as a "real slow hard disk", or are you saving the image
files via tape backup software? Thanx, LAM
This was a day dream, a few speculations about how an Exabyte (or any large
capacity) tape drive might co-exist and complement 3D Studio. RIght now, I
use mine for backups, using public domain drivers and Unix-like 'tar'
archivers.
I talked just today with Pete Means at NovaStor Corp. One of their
products "TPU" – it's used for reading and writing IBM and ANSI standard
labeled and unlabeled tapes. Handles 4mm DAT, 1/4", and 8mm Exabyte tapes.
Cost is $395 for DOS version. They also have a C-programmer's interface
kit. Not sure of cost on that.
Now I'll just have to keep an eye out for a cheap scsi tape drive. LAM
Not that I like to promote P.D. software over commercial software, but I've
been very happy with the public domain ASPI tape driver and 'tar' I got
from Compuserve… it works great with my Exabyte.
John:
PMJI, but what were the file names of the TAR and ASPI drivers for the
Exabyte, and where on CI$ did you find them? The UnixForum has a few that
answer to the basic description, and I wanted to download the ones you
recommended…
Greg
Yes, one is called ASPITAPE.EXE, the other is PCTAR.EXE. What kind of tape
drive are you using?
John:
We have an 2.3 gig 8mm Exabyte on our Sparc 2.
I've been wondering if it was possible to read a tape written by a PC onto
the Sun network?
Greg
Yes, just use this 'pctar' program, it will make a tape compatible with the
Unix 'tar'. I've moved a lot of files and backups that way, PC to PC, PC
to Amiga, PC to Iris, etc. If you like, I can tell you more detail in
terms of what to type… (You know, Unix magic words and all that.)
John:
Unix? You mean I have to learn UNIX? <g>
I downloaded the PCTAR last night. Appears to be quite like the Unix
version in use and syntax! A 'tar -tvf' even shows a semblance of PC
permissions!
I also just got off the Internet a 'PKUNZUP' clone for Unix! Since TAR
doesn't do any compression, I should be able to have a client 'zip up his
files (not that they won't fit on a 2.3 gig tape, but we're talking THEORY
here!), TAR the ZIP onto a tape and send it to us, extract it to the Sun,
and unzip it!
Talk about a series of cross-platform programs!
Thanks again,
Greg
There's little point in compressing the file if you've got a big tape
drive. That's the point. 🙂 Otherwise, let's say you were moving 300
megs uncompressed. How do they compress it? They've got to have an extra
150 meg free for the compressed archive! And then when you get the tape,
you need 450M free to decompress it, when 300M would do? OK, fine, if
you've got nothing better to do with your money and time than to have an
extra 450M hard disk space free to compress and decompress files, that's
your business. 🙂
Now, there are PC versions of 'compress' and 'uncompress', if you want
them. As for Zip exchanges with a Sun, beware, they have longer filenames
than "BIZ0115B.TXT" under Unix, and your PC might have a fit with longer
names… "Business-Jan15-93" and "Business-Jan16-93" collide into the same
file. (I have the same problem sharing files with an Amiga, which has
Unix-like names.)
To reiterate, just put the 'tar' on the tape.
John:
That's what the <g> was for! <g>
Actually, except for 3DS, most of our work is done on the Suns.
Greg
Sounds like an option. I need to track down the specs on scsi tape drive
software commands. Would love to set up a tape so that it looks like a
slow hard disk. Actually, I think they used to be called "streaming
floppies" way back when. On the other hand, that means I would have to
actually program in C. Oh well, I don't have enough time as it is… LAM
Larry:
If memory serves, (dangerous!) you used to be able just to mount a tape
drive in unix and cp on/off it. It's been a few years, I don't know if it
is still supported (it was never recommended!)…
Try it and let us know how it works – I'm afraid to!!! <big g!>
Greg
How much is your time worth? Aside from the programming time, what about
the access time? Big hard disks are cheaper by the minute. I just picked
up a 1.2 gig for $1425, 3.5 form factor, 3 year warranty. How much space do
you want?
On a clear disk, you can seek forever…
But what do you back up that 1.2 gig drive onto though? <grin> Basically I
just wanted a medium to transfer TGA files to a video house. I've already
set them up with SCSI hardware on a prior project with them. Seemed like
tape would be the cheapest medium for a really big datasets, but as you
say, disk drive prices are now looking to be cheaper than the tape drive
prices. Disk -would- be the easiest… LAM