We have been unable to achieve tape interchage between various linux
servers, or between linux and unix servers.
On several different linux
machines, Compaq RedHat 7.3, Dell RedHat 7.3 and Dell RedHat 8.0, and one RS/6000 running AIX, we have
4mm 20/40gb tapes installed on scsi port 0 (/dev/st0). We can use tar or cpio to backup and
restore as much data as we like, as long as we read tapes on the same machine
that wrote them.
Tapes are interchangeable between the two Dell servers, but not between
the Dell and Compaq, or between the Dell servers and an RS/6000 system running
AIX. In each of these tests, we
receive the following message (when reading a Compaq or RS/6000 tape on a Dell
server),
cpio: read error: Input/output error
We have carefully checked block sizes and cpio syntax generally, but to
no avail. Is media compatibility
between dissimilar systems achievable?
Barry J. Alexander
