Travan-7 Install

The Linux kernel features a driver for IDE tape drives, but my drive didn't work with it. I have therefore used the ide-scsi SCSI emulation.

My drive is on /dev/hdb. I have added the following to /etc/lilo.conf:

append="hdb=ide-scsi"

Now the ide-scsi module as well as the st module needs to be loaded:

  modprobe ide-scsi
  modprobe st buffer_kbs=128

I now get the following in /var/log/messages:

hdb: attached ide-scsi driver.
scsi0 : SCSI host adapter emulation for IDE ATAPI devices
  Vendor: Seagate   Model: STT3401A          Rev: 310A
  Type:   Sequential-Access                  ANSI SCSI revision: 02
st: Version 20020805, bufsize 131072, wrt 129024, max init. bufs 4, s/g segs 16
Attached scsi tape st0 at scsi0, channel 0, id 0, lun 0

The drive is now accessible on /dev/st0 and /dev/nst0 (non-rewinding version).

Using tar with a blocking factor of 128, I get the backup speeds around varying between 1 MB/s and 1.5 MB/s. When benchmarking the drive, make sure you use the non-rewinding device (/dev/nst0) since otherwise your numbers will be quite low due to the rewind at the end of the backup.

Oliver Hitz, 20031020

Disclaimer: This information is provided "as is", with absolutely no warranty expressed or implied. Any use is at your own risk.