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From: buck@siswat.UUCP (A. Lester Buck)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.i386
Subject: Re: backups on 386/ix - some pronblems using GNUtar; any hints?
Keywords: backups, 386ix, GNUtar, tape streamer
Message-ID: <483@siswat.UUCP>
Date: 7 Dec 89 22:43:51 GMT
References: <481@hades.OZ> <478@myab.se>
Organization: Photon Graphics,  Houston
Lines: 14

In article <478@myab.se>, herder@myab.se (Jan Herder) writes:
> If the tape is not streaming you don't get 120Mb. Everytime it has to 
> stop you loose a some bytes.

This is incorrect.  You do not lose any bytes from start/stop mode.  If the
tape is streaming but the next block is not quite ready, the drive can write
an extended inter-record gap and then the data when it arrives.  If the data
does not arrive within a certain time window, and the drive has to stop and
reposition, the extended gap is re-recorded as a normal inter-record gap.
The extended gaps can really chew up tape if your system is on the brink of
stopping streaming.

-- 
A. Lester Buck		...!texbell!moray!siswat!buck