"Floppy tape"

[DoN Nichols]

In article <72 at fbits.ttank.com> Mariusz at fbits.ttank.com (Mariusz Stanczak) writes:
>Having recently accuired a tape backup unit (thanks Vince),
>I have the following quiestions:
>

	[ ... ]

>	- has anyone created a standalone boot floppy with
>	  a configuration that would permit the use of the
>	  tape unit?  What would that entail if I were to
>	  create one?

	Yes, it has been done.  By Lenny Tropiano.  See
 pub/att7300/fpunix_tp.sh.Z on osu-cis.

>	- even with large blocking (256KB is the largest
>	  I could enter to `gtar') the unit does not seem
>	  to "stream" for long... it's runs more like a saw,
>	  forth and back.  Is that it's "beauty"?  This be-

	Don't you appreciate having a head polishing machine? :-)

	I wish that there would be some progress on getting a scsi interface
and driver so I could hang the adaptec/archive combo on the system (or even
better a (now what IS the name of that 2.3GB drive that I can't afford?).

>	  havior makes it VERY slow (though I appreciate 
>	  having the ability to "compress"-backup the whole
>	  44MB on one cart :-)).  Any work-arounds (`dbuf'
>	  does help some, but not enough)?
>

	What is happening is that it writes the block rather quickly, but
the next block is not yet ready.  The tape drive stops, backs up far enough,
and when the next block comes through, it gets a running start.  This
happens even without the compress mode turned on, but of course, is even
worse with compress mode.  I'm used to this kind of behavior from my old
Cipher f880 drive.  It is quite reasonable if you can feed it fast enough to
keep it streaming, but most backup archivers couldn't, at least on my old v7
system.

	Sorry that I don't have more encouraging news.
		DoN.
-- 
Donald Nichols (DoN.)		| Voice (Days):	(703) 664-1585
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