I'm not sure I care about channel attached tape libraries from Linux. It would be nice, but not necessary, in this case. I'm more concerned that Suse can read/write to an IBM 3490 virtual tape.
Since I can't mount a particular VTS tape from Linux, I was thinking of having a CMS type process controlling everything. Something like a send a "job" to CMS (on the IFL) which contains a list of virtual volsers and how many files on each tape to copy. Right now, I'm thinking about also including the virtual header labels as a separate file so recreating the virtual tapes would be easier. Have CMS issue the mount request for a particular volser to the VTS. When the volser is mounted, issue a REXEC (or RSH) to the Linux guest to copy nfiles from the virtual tape to the real 3592 E05. When done, rewind the virtual volser. Don't rewind the 3592. Return back to CMS for the next virtual volser. Yesterday, we were told that the public keys can be handled by Linux (didn't say zLinux), Windows, z/OS and the IBM 3494 Library Manager. Also, I believe Netbackup, on the Open Systems side, can handle them. I might not be able to automatically generate new keys for each tape, but a set of keys per week or so, shouldn't be too hard to do. Sure there is tape copying involved. From what I've been able to gather, once you create a virtual tape in a VTS unit, the only way to get that data offsite, is to copy it to another media (such as a 3592 cart), or FTP it, or some sort of mirroring, etc. My plan would be to fire up this type of job, say 1AM Monday morning, and have the cart ready to send off by start of 1st shift. We have toyed with the idea (not seriously), just mail the tape or two, in some maner that would take 10 days for it to return to us. Less expensive than offsite storage<G>.. Tom Duerbusch THD Consulting >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 9/29/2006 12:42:58 PM >>> > I wonder how hard it would be to write a Linux application (my first > choice is in REXX), to take a tape file (perhaps FTPed from a VTS > controlled volume), and start stacking files on an FCP attached tape. To actually write the files for NL tapes, dd is included. If you want labeled tapes, grab a copy of ansitape from www.sinenomine.net. It understands (and creates) IBM and ANSI labeled tapes. > Wait a minute, I don't have to FTP the tape. Linux should have access > to FICON attached tape drives (since Linux has access to my bus and tag > and escon drives)....I won't have a tape manager, so I need to tell > Linux the volser and the number of files to be copied. I just need > something like Ditto for Linux (or TAPECOPY, or.....) Except that Linux has no support for channel-attached tape libraries. See another WAVV/SHARE requirement... > Now, if Linux (SUSE) can send a mount message to the VTS for a > particular VOLSER..... You can use the tape mount daemon we wrote to get CMS to do the mount and then hand it to you, but Linux has no access to a VTS or 3494 library controller. AFAIK, you also can't set or enable the encryption keys on the 3592s from Linux (or anything except z/OS AFAICT). Now do people understand why I was so up-in-arms about channel-attached tape support and tape emulation? 8-) -- db
