Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!gatech!udel!burdvax!sdcrdcf!trwrb!scgvaxd!ashtate!unisol!haral
From: haral@unisol.UUCP (Haral Tsitsivas)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Sun TAR (and Masscomp)
Message-ID: <293@unisol.UUCP>
Date: 25 Mar 88 01:20:41 GMT
References: <25434@cca.CCA.COM> <342@jc3b21.UUCP> <2103@epiwrl.EPI.COM>
Reply-To: haral@unisol.UUCP (Haral Tsitsivas)
Organization: UniSolutions Associates, Culver City, CA
Lines: 20
Keywords: rst0, rst8, cartridge tapes
Summary: Can read rst8 generated tapes

In article <2103@epiwrl.EPI.COM> parker@epiwrl.EPI.COM (Alan Parker) writes:
>In the particular case of Masscomp<->Sun cartridge tapes:   we have
>found that we can read a tar cartridge tape on the Sun (3) made on the
>Masscomp if the blocking factor is 20 (I think).   This seems to be
>pretty reliable.   We have found that sometimes we can read tapes on the
>Masscomp, made on the Sun; but it often doesn't work.   I don't
>understand why it is unreliable in this direction.

The confusion seems to come from the fact that the tar default device on Sun
systems is /dev/rst0 (low density, can fit 40 MB/cartridge) instead of
/dev/rst8 (higher density, can fit 60 MB/cartridge).  /dev/rst8 is the format
that most other vendors (and cartridge recording formats) are compatible
with...

Try using /dev/rst8 on your Sun the next time...

--Haral Tsitsivas
  UniSolutions Associates
  (213) 641-6739
  ...!uunet!scgvaxd!ashtate!unisol!haral