The CHECKTAPEPOS option specifies whether the Tivoli® Storage Manager server validates the position of data blocks on tape.
The CHECKTAPEPOS option applies only to operations that use tape drives. It does not apply to non-tape, sequential-access device classes such as FILE. If the server information about position does not match the position that is detected by the drive, an error message is displayed, the transaction is rolled back, and the data is not committed to the database.
Using the CHECKTAPEPOS option, you can enable append-only mode for IBM LTO Generation 5 and later drives, and for any drives that support this feature. When it is enabled, the drive issues an error after it receives instructions to overwrite any data on the currently mounted volume. The Tivoli Storage Manager server repositions the tape to the correct block and continues writing data. Append-only mode provides added protection by preventing most data overwrite situations. If you are using a drive that supports this feature, you can validate data position on tape by using both Tivoli Storage Manager and the drive or you can enable one or the other.
Changes to the CHECKTAPEPOS option affect mounts only after the update to the drive is complete.
The default is YES.
>>-CHECKTAPEPOS--+-Yes-------+--------------------------------->< +-No--------+ +-TSMonly---+ '-DRIVEonly-'
Validate data position on tape and enable append-only mode for a supported drive:
checktapepos yes