Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!decwrl!labrea!agate!pasteur!ames!nrl-cmf!cmcl2!brl-adm!adm!AAD%GOLD.SCRIBE.COM@vb.cc.cmu.edu
From: AAD%GOLD.SCRIBE.COM@vb.cc.cmu.edu
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: 1/4\" cartridges
Message-ID: <12506@brl-adm.ARPA>
Date: 18 Mar 88 21:40:05 GMT
Sender: news@brl-adm.ARPA
Lines: 14


On a Sun, at least, /dev/rst0 is (number may be wrong) QIC 11 format,
while /dev/rst8 is (again) QIC 24 format.  I'm not sure if it's a density
issue, a 4 vs 9 track issue, or what, but I find /dev/rst8 to be faster
and you fit more on a tape.  /dev/rst0 is, of course, more "standard", like
1600bpi round tapes.  Apollo's, for example, can read a Sun tape *only* from
/dev/rst8 (rct8 on the apollo), with a blocking factor of 1.  One of my
coworkers reputes that the same is true with Perq's.  The IBM-RT (eek!) has
only /dev/rst0 (under our ACIS, at least), and can read only the first n
meg off of a sun tape.

anthony a datri
scribe systems
aad%gold.scribe.com@vb