Nonchangeable parameters

The configuration parameters are used to set the operating mode of the tape drive and device driver when a device is opened. The nonchangeable parameters are detailed as follows.

Autoloading

This parameter enables the autoloading feature of the device driver. It is disabled by default and cannot be changed.

Capacity scaling

This parameter sets the capacity or logical length of the current tape. By reducing the capacity of the tape, the tape drive can access data faster at the expense of data capacity. Capacity scaling is not supported currently but might be supported in future releases of lin_tape.

Density code

This parameter is the density setting for the currently loaded tape. Some tape devices support multiple densities and report the current setting in this field. It cannot be changed by the application.

Emulate autoloader

This parameter currently is not supported and is ignored.

Hook word

This parameter is not supported in the lin_tape device driver.

Logical write protect

This parameter sets or resets the logical write protect of the current tape. This feature is not supported currently but might be supported in future releases of the lin_tape.

Maximum block size

This parameter is the maximum block size for the device.

Minimum block size

This parameter is the minimum block size for the device.

Medium type

This parameter is the media type of the current loaded tape. Some tape devices support multiple media types and different values are reported in this field.

Read SILI bit

SILI bit currently is not supported due to limitations associated with the Linux® environment. SILI bit support can be enabled in future releases of the lin_tape.

Record space mode

This parameter specifies how the device driver operates when a forward or backward space record operation encounters a filemark. Only the SCSI mode is supported by lin_tape. When a forward or backward space record operation is issued to the driver and a filemark is encountered, the device driver returns -1 and the errno variable is set to input/output error (EIO). On the forward space operation, the tape is left-positioned after the filemark (the end of tape side of the filemark). On the backward space operation, the tape is positioned before the filemark (the beginning of tape side of the filemark).

Volume ID for logging

This parameter is the volume ID of the currently loaded tape. The lin_tape device driver ignores this field.

Write protect

This parameter is set to TRUE if the currently mounted tape is logically or physically write protected.