iraf.net

Back again. IGPP has a lot more IRAF users these days.
Somebody wants to read/write to the 8mm tape drive.
I added
mtc nrsmt0 rsmt0
to the devices file. That would allocate but got I/O errors, I suppose
since it requires 1024 blocksize.
So then I tried mtc nvrsmt0 vrmst0which is supposed to handle variable block size.
The response when trying to allocate wascannot fstat /dev/nvrsmt0We have a Delta Microsystems 8mm drive. And the problem may be with
it, as trying a tar with vrsmt0 seemed to hang up. I guess my
question is should the
mtc nvrsmt0 vrmst0
work and is that all that is necessary?
Thanks,
Deanne
proctor@sunlight.llnl.gov

Hello Deanne, The 8mm tapes are not supported on all Sun configurations; here's an
accumulating list of such devices on OS 4.1.1 Sun-4's running IRAF V2.9.1: machine tape rfits wfits
------- ---- ----- ----
sun4/65 exabyte works fails
sun4/280 exabyte fails works
sun4/370 exabyte works works
sun4/470 exabyte fails works
sun4/490 exabyte fails works
sun4/490 1/2" front-load scsi (HP) fails failsIt is differences (e.g., bugs) in the various drivers that make this
support so complex. Our experience with 8mm devices has been limited to
Exabytes but I/O errors are reported as you mention. The real solution to
the problem will be the configurable mtio interface available with IRAF V2.10.The error you report about "cannot fstat /dev/nvrmst0" usually means that
you don't have such an entry in your /dev partition. Until the V2.10
release, you can read/write FITS tapes by using dd to go between tape and
disk and then [RW]FITS to access the FITS files. Let me know if you'd
like more details on this workaround.Suzanne