135 lines
6.3 KiB
HTML
135 lines
6.3 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.9">
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<TITLE>Ftape-HOWTO: The preliminaries</TITLE>
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<LINK HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-4.html" REL=next>
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<LINK HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-2.html" REL=previous>
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<LINK HREF="Ftape-HOWTO.html#toc3" REL=contents>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-4.html">Next</A>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-2.html">Previous</A>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO.html#toc3">Contents</A>
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<HR>
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<H2><A NAME="s3">3. The preliminaries</A></H2>
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss3.1">3.1 Other sources of information</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P>
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<DL>
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<DT><B>ftape version 3</B><DD><P><CODE>ftape-3.x</CODE> came with a manual of its own, which is contained in
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the <CODE>ftape-3.04d</CODE> package available from the usual places. See
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-4.html#getting">Getting Ftape</A>.
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<P>
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<DT><B>ftape version 4</B><DD><P><CODE>ftape-4.x</CODE> also has a documentation package <CODE>ftape-doc</CODE> which
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is available from the usual places. This Ftape-HOWTO, however, also
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focusses on <CODE>ftape-4.x</CODE> and is meant as an entry point to the
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available documentation. See
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-4.html#getting">Getting Ftape</A>.
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<P>
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<DT><B>ftape-tools</B><DD><P>The <CODE>ftape-tools</CODE> package (including useful utilities for
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<CODE>ftape</CODE>) comes with its own manual. See
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-4.html#getting">Getting Ftape</A>.
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<P>
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<DT><B>Ftape-FAQ</B><DD><P>The <CODE>Ftape-FAQ</CODE> is included wordly in this manual, but more recent
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versions may be found at
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<A HREF="http://www.correct.nl/~ftape">http://www.correct.nl/~ftape</A>.
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<P>
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</DL>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss3.2">3.2 Contacts</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P>The maintainer of the source for <CODE>ftape</CODE> is Claus Heine
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<A HREF="mailto:heine@math1.rwth-aachen.de"><heine@math1.rwth-aachen.de></A>. He has a web page at
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<A HREF="http://www-math.math.rwth-aachen.de/~LBFM/claus/ftape/">http://www-math.math.rwth-aachen.de/~LBFM/claus/ftape/</A>.
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<P>If you have a problem or questions about ftape, try posting to the
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<CODE>Linux Tape</CODE> mailing list <CODE>linux-tape@vger.rutger.edu</CODE> (see
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-4.html#tape-channel">Following the ftape development</A> below). There
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also used to be a newsgroup that mirrored the mailing list traffic but
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it has vanished some time ago.
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<P>I use <CODE>ftape</CODE> (it is my sole means of backing up on my linux box :-).
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I hesitate to make recommendations on what hardware to buy. See the
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section
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-6.html#supp_drives">Supported drives</A> and
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-6.html#unsupp_drives">Unsupported drives</A> for a list of supported
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and unsupported drives.
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<P>You should try to post a summary of your problems and its solution(s),
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after you've got it working, even if you only got it partially
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working. Please also send a copy copy of your solution to the Linux Tape
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mailing list at
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<A HREF="mailto:linux-tape@vger.rutgers.edu"><linux-tape@vger.rutgers.edu></A> so that it can be added to
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the HOWTO and/or the FAQ.
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<P>If you receive this as part of a printed distribution or on a CD-ROM,
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please check out
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<A HREF="http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/">the Linux Documentation home page</A> or ftp to
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<A HREF="ftp://sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/doc/HOWTO">ftp://sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/doc/HOWTO</A> to see if there
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exists a more recent version. This could potentially save you a lot
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of trouble.
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<P>If you email me, please include the string <CODE>ftape</CODE> in the subject
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line. This will help ensure the mail doesn't inadvertently get
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buried. But preferrably you should email to the Linux Tape mailing list
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at
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<A HREF="mailto:linux-tape@vger.rutgers.edu"><linux-tape@vger.rutgers.edu></A> instead of contacting me
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directly.
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss3.3">3.3 What is <CODE>ftape</CODE></A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<P><CODE>ftape</CODE> is a driver program that controls various low-cost tape
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drives that connect to the floppy controller.
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<P><CODE>ftape</CODE> is not a backup program as such; it is a device driver,
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which allows you to use the tape drive (just like the SoundBlaster 16
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driver let you use your sound card) through the device files
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<CODE>/dev/[n]qft[0-3]</CODE>.
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<P><CODE>ftape</CODE> was originally written by Bas Laarhoven
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<CODE><bas@vimec.nl></CODE>, with ``a little help from his friends'' to
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sort out the ECC (Error Correcting Code) stuff. <CODE>ftape</CODE> is
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copyrighted by Bas under the GNU General Public License, which
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basically says: ``go ahead and share this with the world, just don't
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disallow other people from copying it further''.
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<P><CODE>ftape</CODE> has undergone several changes since then. While the
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Linux-2.0.x kernel series still contains <CODE>ftape-2.08</CODE> the v2.1.x
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and soon the v2.2.* kernel series come with <CODE>ftape-3.x</CODE> (hopefully
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even with <CODE>ftape-4.02</CODE>, but this wasn't clear at the time of this
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writing) which differs in some points from the <CODE>ftape-2.x</CODE> driver.
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Since version <CODE>3.00</CODE> the <CODE>ftape</CODE> driver has been maintained by
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me (Claus-Justus Heine); it has been changed and improved in several
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respects and support for new hardware has been added.
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<P><CODE>ftape</CODE> is quite stable, and has been that for some time now. It
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is reliable enough for critical backups (but it's always a good idea
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to check your backups, so you won't get a nasty surprise some day).
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<P><CODE>ftape</CODE> supports drives that conform to the QIC-117 and one of the
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QIC-80, QIC-40, QIC-3010, and QIC-3020 standards as well as the Iomega
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Ditto 2GB and Ditto Max drives which no longer strictly conform to the
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QIC standards in all respects.
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<P><CODE>ftape</CODE> can drive floppy tape drives that connect to the internal FDC
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as well as certain parallel port floppy tape drives.
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<P><CODE>ftape</CODE> supports neither QIC-02, IDE (ATAPI), nor SCSI tape
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drives. SCSI drives are accessed as <CODE>/dev/[n]st[0-7]</CODE> and are
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supported by the kernel through the SCSI drivers. If you look for
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help on SCSI tape drives, you should read the <CODE>SCSI-howto</CODE>.
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ATAPI tape drives are supported by the kernel since 1.3.46. See
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section
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-6.html#supp_drives">Supported drives</A> and
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-6.html#unsupp_drives">Unsupported drives</A> for a list of supported
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and unsupported drives.
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<P>
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<P>
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<P>
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<P>
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<HR>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-4.html">Next</A>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO-2.html">Previous</A>
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<A HREF="Ftape-HOWTO.html#toc3">Contents</A>
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</BODY>
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</HTML>
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