The ATLDS and the MTL support a multitude of IBM tape cartridge types, depending on the tape devices and media types supported in the library. Each tape volume is identified by a unique volume serial number with the following requirements being enforced:

• All physical volumes residing in an ATLDS must have a supported external barcode label readable by the automated tape library dataserver vision system unless the unlabeled tape facility at the library manager is being used.
• All volumes residing in a MTL should also have a supported machine readable external label to be compatible with the ATLDS.
• All private volumes must have either an internal IBM standard tape label or an International Organization for Standardization American National Standards Institute (ISO/ANSI) label, unless bypass label processing (BLP) or nonlabeled tape (NL) is specified.
• All private volumes must have identical internal and external volume serial numbers, unless BLP or NL is specified. The internal volume serial number is recorded in the tape volume label (VOL1 label).
• BLP or NL may be requested for input processing on specific volume serial references. It may also be requested for output processing on specific or nonspecific references.
• All volume serial numbers in the same SMS complex must be unique across tape, DASD, and optical environments.
• A scratch volume cannot be requested using a specific volume serial number.
• All volumes of a multivolume data set should reside in the same library, or all should reside outside a library; however, if they do not, the installation will be given the chance to enter the volumes through the volume not in library installation exit (CBRUXVNL).
• All volumes of a multivolume data set must belong to the same tape storage group.
• All volumes of a multivolume data set must be recorded using the same tape recording technology.
• Volumes of a multivolume data set may be an intermix of media types supporting the same recording technology.
• Volumes of a multivolume data set must be recorded either on all rewritable media or on all WORM media and cannot be intermixed.