mmpc admin5 - Emag solutions

eMag Solutions, LLC
Media Merge/PC
MM/PC
Administration Guide

eMag Solutions, LLC
MM/PC Administration Guide
3495 Piedmont Road
Eleven Piedmont Center • Suite 500
Atlanta, GA 30305
Phone 404.995.6060 • Fax 404.872.8247

Table of Contents
Preface
Audience 3
Technical Support 3
Conventions 3
Chapter 1 Intro
Introduction 4
Why we need media conversion 4
Physical Tapes 4
Logical Tape Formats 4
How does one read a tape from anywhere? 5
System Requirements 5
SCSI Installation 6
Recommended SCSI Boards 6
Dongle 7
QIC80 and Travan Drives 7
Options Update and Version Policy 7
Read Formats 7
Write Formats 7
CD Writing 8
Tape Duplication 8
Tape to Tape Conversion 8
Automatic Running 8
Tape Library Support 8
Record Reformatter 8
Media Testing 8
16 Tape Initializing 8
Out of Sequence Volume Handling 8
Data Recovery 8
Forensic Log 8
Chapter 2 Getting Started
First Conversion 9
Interface Overview 10
Menu and Toolbar Items 11
File Menu 11
Tape Functions Menu 11
Options Menu 12
Diagnostics Menu 12
View Menu 12
Help Menu 12

Chapter 3 Configuration
Restore Options 13
Conversion Tools 15
Configure CDR 15
CD Copy Log Configuration 16
File Filter 17
Dedup Options 18
Tape Libraries 19
Library Systems 19
Configuration 19
Operation 19
General Preferences 20
Preferences 20
System Registration 21
Prompts 22
Scan Options 22
Directories 24
Bar Code Reader 24
CD-R Options 25
Remote Options 25
Log Options 26
AWS 27
Skip Filemarks 28
Chapter 4 Tape Functions
Restore Files from Tape 31
Write Files to Tape 33
Appendix A Troubleshooting
SCSI Setup Errors 36
NO ASPI or can not find WNASPI32.DLL 36
SCSI Configuration 36
Appendix B Hardware Compatibility
Recommendations 37
DC600 37
DAT 38
Exabyte/AIT 39
IBM3480/90 40
DLT/SDLT/TK 40
0.5” Tape 41
OnStream Tape 42
Optical Disk 42
SyQuest 42
IOMEGA (Zip and Jaz) 42
LTO 42
Glossary 43
2

Preface
Audience
The information in this installation guide is intended for system and backup administrators who manage or
perform the installation of software and/or maintain the servers and clients on a network. Operators who
monitor the daily backups may also find this manual useful.
Technical Support
For any/all technical assistance needed please use the links listed below on our website www.emaglink.com to
get the most up-to-date contact information.
Support Requests
http://www.emaglink.com/softwareSupport.htm
Phone and Address Information
http://www.emaglink.com/contactUs.htm
Conventions
Convention Indicates Example
boldface Names of command buttons Press the Next button to continue.
or the titles of windows When the process is finished the Installation
and dialog boxes Completed screen will appear.
italic New terms defined in the A vaulting policy may also define an
Glossary or immediately following the term expiration period.
Underline Stresses Emphasis The information shown if from all sites.
It is not site Specific
3

Chapter 1 Intro
Introduction
The software is a simple to use program, designed to read any type of tape or optical media from any system.
Why is this necessary? It is required because there are many types of tape drives, but more importantly, data,
files etc can be written on tapes in many different ways. To read a tape, a compatible tape drive is required, but
also compatible software to read the logical structure of the tape. This is the compatible software that contains
many routines to read most tape formats. It therefore does not matter if the tape was originally produced on a
mainframe, a UNIX system or a PC, the software can probably read it.
What about new tape formats being produced? Again, there is no problem as the software is being continuously
updated to support new formats, and as often happens, new variations of existing formats. New drives will also
be added to the system.
This guide will assist you in the administration phase of this product. For more information on installing this
product please check out the MM/PC Installation Guide.
Why we need Media Conversion.
All computers are compatible, aren't they? Well not entirely, and especially when it is important to move large
volumes of data from one system to another.
Many PCs are compatible with each other, and the 3.5" 1.44MB floppy is a very good interchange media.
However, this type of industry standard keeps changing. In the 80s, the standard interchange was an 8" single
sided, single density disk, but how many systems can now read 8" disks? 1600bpi 0.5" tape was also a good
interchange for large systems, but many systems have moved to DLT, 3480, Exabyte etc and do not have 0.5"
reel to reel support.
There are therefore two main problems with data interchange, the physical tape format, and maybe less obvious,
the way that the tape has been written.
But why don't we just use 1.44MB disks, and zip the files onto them? The main reason is that this will work for
up to say 20MB, but beyond this point it gets very difficult, and prone to errors. Don't think about trying to zip a
12GB file onto floppy disks. The other reason is that some systems (mainframes) cannot write 1.44 MB floppy
disks, and finally, many operators may not know how to zip files.
Many operators (but fortunately not all), only know how to backup their system, or copy files onto a backup
tape. Thus, if it is necessary to obtain files from somewhere, it is possible that the only method of receiving
them will be on a backup tape. At this point, to read the tape you will need both a compatible tape drive, and the
backup/restore program which is compatible with the program that wrote the tape.
To handle tapes from many sources, it is therefore necessary to have many tape drives, and either a very large
number of software packages, or a general purpose tape and format handler. This application is the simple
solution to the last problem.
Physical Tapes
The only way to read a tape is in a compatible drive. Fortunately there are not too many families of tape drive,
and there is a good degree of backup compatibility between recent drives and older drives. However, drive
standards there were produced in the 80s, are now slowly being dropped from the most recent developments of
the drive. Other tape drives may only support older standards as read only, rather than read/write.
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To be completely compatible with all possible tapes it may be necessary to have multiple versions of some drive
types. The best example of this is the DC600 range than has grown from a 60MB capacity to 26GB. Fortunately
many tape formats are still entirely backward compatible.
This program is designed to read from most available SCSI tape drives. New drives are added as manufacturers
release them, so the library of supported drives grows on a regular basis. For instance, Travan and DC2120
were added in 1999.
Logical Tape Formats
The number of physical tape formats is very limited when compared with the number of logical tape formats.
Although there are only 2 basic elements that may be written to a tape, i.e. a block, and a tape mark, the ways of
writing these elements is almost unlimited.
There are probably only a few 'standard' ways of writing tapes, several 'de facto' standards, and many
proprietary ways. However what is a good standard one year may not be relevant as volumes of data expand,
and tape technology changes. The best known and recognized standard is ANSI labeled tapes. This is also
known as IBM labeled tapes and is simply described as each file having a header, data, and trailer, separated by
tapemarks. It is simple, well documented with not too may variations. Many 0.5" reel to reel tapes and 3480/90
tapes still use this format when attached to a mainframe.
UNIX is probably the next best 'de facto' standard. There are 2 basic variations as in TAR and CPIO. For each
version there are about 5 pages of options that may be used when writing. This application hopefully recognizes
these options automatically when reading a tape.
The final tape format that is becoming a standard is NT backup.
It is the three 'standard' formats above that this application writes.
Why are there so many other formats? The main reasons are ‘backup’ companies want to produce their own
product, and tie customers in. By having proprietary formats this can be done. The other reason is that what was
good in 1980 is now probably inefficient and slow. Files have become much larger, and multi-gigabyte files are
now fairly common. Compression routines help with both tape capacity and speed. Many current formats now
allow for either software compression, or using the hardware compression in the tape drive. Another major
change over the past few years is the growth of long file names on PC operating systems. Older backup
packages could not handle the long file names. Overall we have the situation of proprietary software, and
general evolution of formats for performance and capacity.
How does one read a tape from anywhere?
The two answers to this question would be to have every tape drive, all backup packages, and also need several
versions of DOS, UNIX, Macintosh etc to handle the old backup packages, OR this application.
This software would be cheaper, and more flexible. It is also committed to continual addition of formats and
drives.
With this application, a tape may be read from any system, and the files or selected files loaded onto a PC for
further processing. Typical applications can include routine data interchange, data for processing, e.g. microfiche,
or investigative applications such as auditing and fraud detection.
System Requirements
The software will work on most Windows 2000, Windows 2003 and Windows XP operating systems. The
minimum recommended requirements are as below.
Pentium 1GHz processor or better
SVGA monitor (800x600)
256MB RAM or greater
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50MB free disk space (program occupies approx 10MB space)
ASPI32 software (see below)
Suitable SCSI adapter board - preferably Adaptec 2940, 2944 or 29160x
Adaptec 154x and other ISA adapters must not be used.
USB port for dongle
The software will work with most currently available tape drives. This list is being updated on a regular basis.
SCSI Installation
The software program works through a software interface known as ASPI (Advanced SCSI Programming
Interface). This interface was first developed by Adaptec, and has become a de facto standard. All Adaptec
products support this interface.
For Windows 2000, 2003 and XP, it is necessary to install EZ-SCSI software. This is supplied with all Adaptec
boards. The software is also shipped with ASPIINST that will install the relevant ASPI drivers. If ASPI is not
loaded, the program will display an error message on startup saying it can not find WNASPI32.DLL
If the software cannot find the ASPI software, it will display an error message. In this case, load/run
ASPIINST.EXE
Recommended SCSI Boards
All program development and testing is performed using Adaptec SCSI adapters. These are normally the
AHA2940 and 29160 range (PCI). The 29160 range supports a mixture of Single Ended (SE) and Low Voltage
Differential (LVD) interfaces.
The AHA1542 range (ISA) is no longer recommended if the computer has more than 16MB of RAM then the
ISA adapters can not be recommended as they only have a 24 bit bus, that limits their addressing range to
16MB. To use them double buffering has to be enabled which slows all tape processing down.
Operation on a portable with an Adaptec 1460 1480 is supported
A useful test program to ensure that the SCSI software is installed properly is to download ASPICHK.EXE this
file may be run from the program's diagnostic menu.
Testing with non Adaptec SCSI boards has been rather limited. Other boards should work, but may well be
limited to reads blocks with a maximum of 64K only. It is always essential that suitable ASPI software is
installed. For Windows 2000, 2003, and XP the correct device driver is required for ASPI. The board
manufacturer (or their web site) should be able to provide the relevant files.
In order to read tape blocks more than say 300K in length, it is necessary to use a PIO SCSI adapter, rather than
a Bus Master. PIO adapters include the Adaptec 1460, (for portables) and AHA152x range, for ISA systems. (It
is not known of a PCI exists). With this program it is not (currently) possible to have a mixture of both PIO and
Bus master cards on the same system.
The limit of approx 300K is system dependant, and can not be guaranteed. The theoretical maximum is 512K,
but this does depend on enough unfragmented memory being available. Normally the system will find 300-
400K so reading 256K blocks should be reliable. If is very rare to get more than 400K of memory.
No testing to date has been done with SCSI controllers embedded on the mother board.
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Dongle
The software requires a dongle to operate. One available USB port is required for all operating systems
including Windows 2000, 2003, and XP. The drivers for the dongles are included in the main MM/PC software.
Do not insert this dongle until MM/PC (V4.05 or later) has been loaded and started. MM/PC will then display
an error message asking for the dongle to be installed. At this point, insert the dongle and let the operating
system install the default drivers. When MM/PC is restarted, it should continue as normal. The MM/PC dongle
is customized to have a code relating to the user control file. For users with more than one control file, e.g.
multiple systems, the dongle must be used on the correct system. If an incorrect dongle is used, and error
message will be displayed giving expected and found security numbers.
QIC80 and Travan drives
The QIC40/QIC80 and Travan drives currently only operate under Windows NT4.0. When relevant device
drivers are produced for Windows 2000, the IDE and parallel port Travan drives will operate with Windows
2000. There appear to be no plans to support the floppy disk drive interface Travans under Windows 2000.
Options update and Version Policy
Because tape and disk formats are changing, being added to, enhanced etc on a very regular basis, the software
does not have formal releases of versions. Instead, a continuous upgrading exists, and typically a new version is
available most weeks!
New versions may include just a new format handler, ability to interface to a new drive, a bug fix (hopefully
rare) or new features. The new version, for customers on support may be downloaded from the web site address
given in the 'About' menu. The upgraded software may be downloaded as often as required provided a support
contract has been taken out. The support period is controlled by an 8 digit number provided by your software
dealer. Once support has expired, the system may be used as long as required, but new updated versions will not
work. It is therefore essential that if updates are required, that the support code is up to date. By displaying the
'About' dialog, the date of expiry is displayed.
If the system is 'accidentally' overwritten when support has expired, the only way to re-instigate the system is to
delete the software directory, and reload a previous version. The critical files are automatically stored in the
software directory, in a subdirectory called 'backup'. These files should be copied into the software directory.
The program is modular and is made up of many options. The options purchased are displayed at start up.
They may be purchased in almost any combination, and the system upgraded at any time. A brief description of
the options is listed below.
Read formats
Read formats come in four main stages. No read format means that tapes can not be read. Limited read formats
handles just 5 standard formats, i.e. Unlabeled tape, Labeled tape, UNIX (TAR and CPIO) and NT backup.
(Duplicate tape is included to assist with any problem tapes, but is an eMag only internal format). Three user
chosen formats may also be added to this list. Optical disks are also a separate option.
The most common read option is all available formats. This is currently about 160 different formats, and will
allow almost any tape to be read. New tape formats are being added all of the time, and we are happy to accept
requests for new formats, or variations of existing ones.
Write formats
There are three write options. For some applications, tape writing is not required. The normal option is to write
to the main standard formats, i.e. unlabeled tape, labeled tape, UNIX (TAR and CPIO) and NT backup.
7

There is an option to write to a few extra write formats.
CD Writing
The CD writing option will allow tapes to be written directly to CD. The option takes care of spreading files
over several disks, but will not actually split files.
Tape Duplication
Tape duplication allows tapes to be copied from one to another, keeping the logical structure identical.
Normally this is performed between two drives, but it is also possible to duplicate tapes on a single drive using
space on the hard disk as temporary storage.
Tape to tape conversion
The normal mode of operation with the program is to copy files from tape to hard disk or from hard disk to tape.
With the tape to tape option it is possible to copy files directly to an output tape without first writing to the hard
disk. This makes the conversion process faster. It should be noted that many formats require the file to be
buffered on the hard disk, so if for instance a 20GB file is to be copied, it may be necessary to have 20GB of
scratch space on the hard drive. The scratch space required will be that of the largest file.
Automatic Running
Automatic running allows the system to store parameters for many conversions. Thus for regular jobs very little
operator training is required, and also consistency is guaranteed.
Tape Library support
With this option, tape libraries will be supported. This will allow automatic picking of tapes, and full control of
a tape library. If this option is not purchased, drives within libraries may be used, but the tapes will need to be
loaded manually.
Record Reformatter
This is a powerful data manipulation tool. It is very useful for handling fixed length records often found in the
mainframe world.
Media Testing
These are routines to test media for defects that may affect their performance.
16 Tape Initializing
This option will add volume labels to tapes. This is typically for use in automated libraries, and so will allow
off line initialization.
Out of Sequence Volume Handling
Occasionally one receives tapes that are not a complete sequence. For instance the first tape of a multi-volume
set may be damaged or lost. This option works on several popular formats and will recover the files on non
sequential tapes. The list of formats handling is growing so please contact us to see if your particular
requirement is currently handled. If not, where possible, we will add it.
Data Recovery
This option allows for special actions to be taken when duplicating damaged tapes. This can include padding,
or skipping corrupt blocks. The second stage of data recovery is a growing number of routines that will handle
damaged tapes, and endeavor to extract files even when the saveset has been corrupted. As in the Out of
sequence handling above, this list is growing, and we will be happy to add support for formats as requested.
Forensic Log
The forensic log is a detailed log of all file reads and writes, and often contains details of file dates. Included
with the log is the ability to create hash values for each file, and also to de-duplicate files that have identical
hash values.
8

Chapter 2 Getting Started
First Conversion
With any new product one always wants to try it out and see it work. It is intended that with this software this
will be very simple.
Assuming that the hardware is installed correctly, your USB security dongle is installed (unless using an
evaluation copy), and that there is a valid drive connected, all that should need to be done are the few simple
actions described below. (If you are having hardware issues please check with your hardware manufacturer for
the steps to resolve them before continuing.)
Start the program by running the “Media Merge PC” icon on your desktop. During the opening of the
program for the two screens will appear. The first is the Media Merge PC Welcome screen.
This screen will inform you of all of the available options the program has both purchased and not purchased
options. Click the OK button to continue. This will cause the Media Merge PC Wizard to appear.
9

The features available in the wizard will be discussed in detail in a later chapter. To prevent the wizard from
showing during startup in the future uncheck the Show Next Time checkbox in the lower left corner of the
window. Click the Exit Wizard button to continue. This will bring up the main application window.
1) Ensure that the required drive is selected if there is more than one.
2) Select the left most yellow icon 'Restore Tape'. If it is a tape that can be selected, then the tape will be
read, and a directory displayed. Often the directory displayed will be a dummy directory
On some formats, e.g. IBM Labeled tape, at this stage the 'Catalog Icon' may be enabled. If this is selected, then
the whole tape(s) will be scanned and a true directory displayed. For long tapes, this may take a considerable
time, e.g. two hours for a full DAT. It may be cancelled at any time by pressing the Red cancel button. The
directory will be displayed as it is read.
3) Select a file, usually it is best to select the first file, or first few files, and then select the right hand green
button at the bottom of the screen to 'Copy'
Copy: restores highlighted files
Copyall: selects all files to restore
Stop: cancels restore process
4) A dialog box will be displayed with various options. The most important option is the output location of the
files. Enter the location you require (new subdirectories will be created automatically), and any other options.
The files will then be copied, and your first tape read will be complete.
5) Well done, it was easy.
6) if.... there were any problems then may be the Frequently Asked Questions FAQ section could help.
Interface Overview
Title Bar – Will display information on the currently selected tape drive and the format of the media (if known)
that is currently in the drive.
Menu Bar – Has all program functions and options, organized under 1of 6 Menu headers.
Toolbar – Displays commonly used functions in a graphical format for convenience. All Toolbar items are also
available under the menu section.
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10

Display Window – The Display Window will provide user information as the result scans, file lists for restores
and display log information.
Control Bar – The Control Bar will provide a subset of functions during a selected process. The Control Bar
will only appear when the secondary functions it provides are currently available to the user.
Status Bar – The Status Bar will provide information regarding the current state of the program and also give
detailed information on items when they are highlighted within the program.
Menu & Toolbar Items
File Menu
Select All Files & Deselect All Files – These functions will be available after media is scanned and a file
list is present within the Display Window. They will allow you to do as stated to select or deselect all of
the files in the listing.
Print – This function will send the current contents of your display window to your printer.
Print Preview – Will allow you to see what the output from the Print function will look like before
actually printing the item.
Print Setup – Will allow you to select which printer MM/PC should use for the print function.
File Viewer – This will open the File Viewer application. This application will allow you to view a file
in its raw hexadecimal format. For more information please refer to the File Viewer Help File.
Record Reformatter – This will open the Record Reformatter application. This application will allow
you work with record based files and convert them into different formats. For more information please
refer to the Record Reformatter Help File.
Exit – This function will close MM/PC. You may also use the button locate at the top right corner of
the application.
Tape Functions Menu
Automatic Running – Sets up the parameters for a re-occurring function so that it may perform
repeatedly with a simple click of the run command.
Restore Files from Tape – Starts the process of recovering data from the currently recognized media.
Forensic Tape Scan – Creates a list of the files on the tape without recovering any actual files and
provide detailed file information including last accessed date.
Header Scan – Creates forensic scan of just the header information.
Catalog Tape – Displays a list of all files and directory structure on the media.
Write Files to Tape – Allows you to write data directly to tape and choose the drive, media, format
and files to write.
Media Test – Detects and reports on media errors.
View Tape – Allows for files to be viewed in Hexadecimal and ASCII / EBCDIC
Scan Tape – Displays the filemarks, block sizes, and partitions of a tape. It gives a physical
impression of the tape instead of a logical impression.
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11

Duplicate/Verify Tapes - Makes an exact copy from one tape to another. It is also possible to go
from one media type to another as long as feature sets are compatible.
Archive & Stacking database – Puts multiple archive tapes onto one single tape.
Tape Operations – Gives you a set of functions to make physical changes to the media such as: erase,
rewind, eject, partition and retention.
Label Output Tape - Creates the volume label for the output tape.
Rescan SCSI Bus – Detects new SCSI devices added to the system after the program was started.
Options Menu
Restore Options – Allows you to set your default restore parameters
Tape Library Configuration – Use to map the relevant drives.
Preferences and Setup – Use this to configure application settings.
Skip Filemarks – Allows you to set the number of filemarks to skip during a restore.
Edit Character Conversions – converts characters on an individual basis. (For text files ONLY)
Edit ASCII/EBCDIC – Allows you to make changes to the ASCII/EBCDIC conversion tables.
Diagnostics Menu
View Menu
Help Menu
Tape Input Drive Diagnostics – Displays basic drive information and has the ability to run a variety of
tests on the drive.
Produce System Report – Generates a report that you can enter details to and includes specific version
and media info to assist in troubleshooting.
View System Reports – Opens a system report for you to analyze.
Run ASPICHK – Makes sure that you are using the proper ASPI drivers.
Verify Installation – Makes sure all necessary files have been installed.
System Logs – Allows you to view, print and export the system logs.
Duplicate Log – Allows you to view, print and export the media duplication logs.
Forensic Tape Log – Allows you to view, print, and export the forensic logs. You may also select
and restore files from this area.
CD Tracking Database – Displays the database of files written to CD.
MMPC Wizard – Launches a wizard which walks you through the processes of restores, writes and
creating duplicates.
Toolbar – Hides and unhides the MM/PC toolbar.
Status Bar – Hides and unhides the MM/PC Status bar.
Help Topics – Brings up the MM/PC help file.
About MMPC – Provides you support information and version/build info for the product.
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12

Chapter 3 Configuration
Restore Options
Located under the Options menu you must select the Restore Options sub-menu to bring up the Restore
Options window.
Directory to Restore to – This allows you to choose which drive and directory you wish to restore files to,
simply enter the desired path into the box at the top of the restore options window. If the new directory does not
exist, it will be created automatically. You may also use the Browse button to help make your directory
selection.
Write to Tape – Rather than writing to the hard disk, it is possible to write directly to another tape. When this
box is checked the output will go to a suitable Tape.
Write to CDR – Rather than writing to the hard disk, it is possible (on certain versions of this software) to write
directly to a CD-R. When this box is checked the output will go to a suitable CD-R. More details on CD writing
are described later in this chapter.
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Display on screen/Query before restoring each file – This allows files to be displayed on screen before
restoring, and then a choice given to Copy this file, Skip this file, Copy All files or Quit. These choices are
often very useful to help ensure that the correct tape is being read. It can also be used to selectively copy just a
few files. It is recommended that for most applications that this option is enabled.
Overwrite existing files – This will automatically overwrite any existing files with the same file name. This is
not a preferred option, it is better to rename duplicate files. There are formats, such as UNIX where the original
system has case sensitive file names, and this option could therefore delete such a file.
Rename duplicate files – This will automatically rename any new files that have the same name as an existing
file. The renaming is performed by adding a .000, .001, .002 etc to the file name.
Append files – This option will allow files of the same the name to be appended. When selected overwrite and
rename options will be disabled.
Retain directory structure – This will, where possible retain the original directory structure of the input tape.
Multiple Input Tapes – This will instruct the program to ask for another tape after completion of each tape.
Retain zero length files – By default, zero length files are not copied. With this option enabled, zero length files
will be created on the output drive.
Verify Only – When this option is checked, rather than writing files to the output device, they will be verified on
a byte by byte basis. The results are stored within the system log.
Multiple files to one file – When this option is enabled, all files will be copied to the first file read. It should be
noted that the system actually works by reading the file, and then appending it to the main file. Thus if very
large files are being copied to a single file, there may be a noticeable time delay at the end of a read, and also
the hard disk must have enough space to store both the original and total file.
File Filter – Click on the File Filter button t bring up the File Filter window. Details on this feature will be
discussed later in the chapter.
Dedup Options – Click on the Dedup Options button to bring up the De-duplicate Mode window. Details on
this feature will be discussed later in the chapter.
Rename – The rename option allows for files to be renamed in various modes. If the output prefix is filled in, it
will be added to the start of any name that is output. It only affects the name, and not the subdirectory. If just a
prefix is required, the output mask should be set to *.*
The other output renaming options are listed on the screen.
If it is necessary to produce files with incrementing numbers as part of the file name, the string "III" may be
included in the output mask. The number of “I”s will define the number of characters output, and for each new
file, the string will increment by one. The value of the number is retained by the system, and so will start based
on the previous value output.
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Conversion Tools
Some limited conversion tools are also available at this point for example: EBCDIC to ASCII; convert to ASA
or uncompress zipped files. These option boxes are enabled only for certain input formats. For instance it will
not be possible to do an EBCDIC conversion with a UNIX tape. The conversion tools are format dependant,
and so only certain formats have certain conversion functions.
Auto ASCII and Auto EBCDIC – These options are available when the EBCDIC / ASCII conversion box is
enabled. If Auto EBCDIC is checked, then the program will try and ensure that the output is in EBCDIC. If the
Auto ASCII box is checked, the program will try and ensure that the output is in ASCII. For some files it is not
possible to determine if the file is ASCII or EBCDIC, and so this option can not be guaranteed to be 100%, but
for files with a lot of text, and only a few numeric fields, the system should be reliable. For very short files, the
results can not be guaranteed.
The option can not be used if CR, or CRLF is being added to a record on the input tape.
In applications where the final result is essential, it is best to do an explicit setting of EBCDIC and ASCII
conversion.
Terminate record with CR – This allows files that have a record structure to have a CR added at the end of each
record. One advantage of just a CR is that it is the same code in ASCII and EBCDIC
Terminate record with CRLF – This allows files that have a record structure to have a CR LF added at the end
of each record. Where possible, if the file is in EBCDIC, the LF code added will be 025H
LF to CRLF – This is just for UNIX tapes that typically use only a LF in place of the DOS/Windows standard of
CRLF.
User terminator – This allows the user to enter a short string that can be used to terminate records. If it is
required to add a CR, LF or Tab, then these are described by '\r', '\n', and '\t' respectively. (do not include the
quotes).
Add record separator – This function is specifically for unlabelled tapes and will allow a separator to be added
in fixed locations. It will only work for fixed length records.
Show Next Time – The Restore Options window does not have to be seen each time you restore a tape; by
checking or un-checking the Show Next Time checkbox you can choose whether or not the box appears. This is
particularly useful if you use the software for one particular job regularly and do not wish to change the settings.
Character conversion – Character conversion will allow individual characters to be converted on a one to one
basis. The main application is to ensure enable different character sets to be used, such as ANSI, PC OEM etc.
It will also allow for different accented characters to be handled. The intention is to use it with text files only as
any file with a numeric (binary) value could be corrupted.
When the conversion is used in conjunction with the Record Reformatter, it should be noted that the record
reformatter routine is performed before the character conversion routine.
Tables for character conversions may be created and edited by the Options / Edit Character Conversions
menu option.
Record Reformatter – If the record reformatter option has been purchased, it is possible to run such routines
whilst reading a tape. The routine name is selected from the list in the box. When a file is copied, all data will
be converted with this routine. To remove the routine, select
For more details on the record reformatter, please see the RR32 help system
Configure CDR
Clicking the Configure CDR button will bring up the CD writing option window.
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This is a optional function of only certain versions of this application.
This function will allow tape to be written 'directly' to CDs in a single operation. It is enabled by selecting
'Write to CDR' in the restore options. Before using for the first time it is sensible to run 'Configure CDR' in the
restore options. The most important feature is the scratch drive and directory that will be used to buffer the
files. It must be noted that this directory will be cleared at the end of the CD writing, and so any existing files
will be deleted.
The CD Configure option allows for the CD to be labeled in a few different ways. For tapes that have a volume
label, this can be used to label the CD, or the current date may be used. The most common option is probably to
enter a string. This string may optionally be incremented, so that multiple outputs or each new tape to CD can
ensure that the CDs have unique volume labels.
Click on the Setup CD button to bring up the Edit Configuration dialog box.
Various options are available, including write speed, and write format, Joliet, or ISO9660. There is also an
option to automatically append to a previously written CD, or to give a warning prompt.
When more data than will fit on a CD is to be written to a CD, the system will automatically choose the
maximum number of files that will fit on the CD, write the CD and request the next CD. The system will not
split files, and hence can not handle files greater than 650MB
CD Copy Log Configuration
The CD logs are configured via the Logs button on the restore options menu.
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The log name is name that can be given to a particular conversion job. Thus it would be possible to keep the
logs for JOB-A, JOB-B etc separate. The browse will show the possible previous jobs that have been created.
Enable log will set the system to add new files to the log. By turning this option off, it is possible to do tests.
The period that logs are kept is determined by a selection combo-box. This can range from 5 days to forever. If
a period is selected, the logs will be deleted automatically after that period, and so save hard disk space.
The logs are stored in a subdirectory, 'CDLOG' based on the directory that the program has been loaded into.
File Filter
The file filter is an option that allows any number of files to be selected, or excluded when restoring a tape. It
can be used to select just a few types of files, or many types of files, or to eliminate files that are not required.
For instance for mail box restoration, one may want to restore just .EDB files, or just .PST, or any combination
of files.
There is also an option where files of a selected type can be directed to a specific subdirectory.
The file filter screen has 4 fields. New rules may be added using the Insert button, and existing rules edited by
double clicking on the relevant line.
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File name – This is the mask for the filename element of the file selection. The mask may contain? and *, or
specific codes (e.g. *.dat or LOG????.DBF)
If just this field is filled in, then files will be looked for in any directory, and be included or excluded based on
the include/exclude flag.
Path name – This field should be entered if only files within a certain subdirectory (or tree) are to be included
or excluded. If the value “c:\work\” is entered, then only files within the work subdirectory will be processed. If
the Include subdirectories checkbox is checked, then all files based on the selected directory path will be
processed.
If no drive letter is entered, e.g. “\work\” or just “work\” then all drives will be processed, but it is always
assumed that the directory is based on the root of the drive. Thus “c:\newdir\work” will not be processed.
It should be noted that some handlers store each saveset in a separate directory; so for instance, NT Backup
would save “C:\work\” as “\save0000\work”. It will be necessary to enter “\save0000\work\”, or
“\save*\work\” to process this directory.
If the preceding, or trailing \ or / or omitted, the path name will look for any match of the directories,
irrespective of where they are in the tree. Thus, a path of *dog* will look for any directory that has the three
letters 'dog' within the path. The following paths would be matched “c:\dog_and_cat\work”, “f:\sit_dog\now”,
“g:\let_the\dog\directory”
Optional Output Subdirectory – This field can be used to move all selected files to a new output subdirectory.
This can be a very useful tool in helping sort files into categories for processing later. For instance all .EDB
files could be stored in EDB directory, and .PST files in a PST directory. The new subdirectory name is placed
after the output directory that has been used to restore the job.
If the tape is to be restored in the directory “d:\tape_output” then if a output subdirectory of EDB was entered,
then the files will be restored in “d:\tape_output\EDB”.
This option should be used with care as it may be possible to exceed the maximum file name length if the new
output directory name is too long.
Dedup Options
File deduplication is an option that is included with the Forensic log, but not currently on MM/UNIX.
The feature is designed to remove files that have identical contents. The names and dates of the files could be
different, but the contents have to be exact. It works in conjunction with the hashing value calculated for each
file. If two files are found to have the same hash value, then the second file will not be saved, and it will be
marked with a DD in the forensic log.
There are several options to make the program more flexible. These are enabled by the Dedup options button on
the main Restore Options menu.
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Just this tape – When this mode is selected the deduplication will only work for the single tape, or multi volume
tape set.
New Job – This mode works as above, but will store all file values for later use. Thus unrelated tapes can be run
and de-duped as required. The name of the job is entered in the edit box.
Add to previous job – This allows file values for previous tapes to be loaded and deduplication to be enabled
over several tapes. An example could be a case where weekly backups are restored - but many of the files are
the same each week. The list of existing file databases is displayed.
Test only – When this option is enabled in conjunction with the Add to previous job above, the new tape will
be de-duped against itself, and previous tapes, the previous tape list will not be updated. An example of when
this may be used is to store a list of base (maybe operating system files) that are never required for
investigation.
It must be noted that deduplication does slow the restore process down, and the larger the number of files, the
slower the process can be.
A warning is given at the start of restoring when deduplication is enabled.
Import – This is a feature that allows “Hashkeeper” files to be imported into MMPC top allow standard files to
be skipped on restoration. The file to be imported can be downloaded from www.hashkeeper.org/files/ and
when unzipped, the “*.hsh” table can be imported.
Another good source of hash values is http://www.nsrl.nist.gov. The expected mode of operation will be to use
these files as Read only. Thus, if a Windows XP system set of hash values is downloaded and used, no standard
Windows XP files should be restored. This will make forensic investigation much simpler as it is known that
no user data will be in any standard file that matches the original hash value. Any system file that has been
modified (apart form the name) will be restored.
Tape Libraries
Library Systems
A tape library is an automated method of selecting tapes. They come in sizes from a few DATs up to hundreds
of 3490 type tapes. Rather than manually placing a tape in a drive, a tape is chosen from a location, and loaded
into the relevant drive. In mainframe applications they are used extensively for on line storage. For the desktop
application, they will be used typically to automate the process of reading or writing or duplicating many tapes.
The application can be configured for up to 8 libraries and 4 drives in each library.
Configuration
The application will automatically detect tape libraries. However, as the configuration of libraries can be varied,
it is essential to manually map the library to the relevant tape drive. Sometimes drives are on the same SCSI ID
as the library, and so mapping is easy (the software will try and do it automatically), but other libraries, eg some
Exabyte libraries, the tape drive is on it's own SCSI ID and so manual mapping is required.
Each library is selected by using the Next Library, or Previous library button. When the correct screen is
selected, the drives may be mapped to each drive slot in the library.
Due to the nature of library systems, it is not possible to verify that an actual drive is located within a specific
library. It is therefore possible to map a drive into a physically different library, after which undefined results
will occur.
Operation
The use of a library is very simple. When a function is selected from the library tape drive, rather than the
message 'Place tape in drive', an option of which tape to select will be given.
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The selection of tape or tapes can take a slight bit of care. For viewing a tape, or writing to a tape, then just
select the single tape slot that is required. For many other operations, it is important to select multiple tapes,
and sometimes all the tapes. Typically the system will process all the tapes that have been selected. For testing
purposes, it will often be best just to select a few tapes, but for production, it is often relevant to select all of the
tapes, and they will be processed in logical order.
General Preferences
Preferences
Scratch Path – The scratch drive is the drive used by a few formats for temporary files. Some formats actually
need to read the whole tape onto the hard disk before processing, and so the scratch drive should be the largest
free drive available. The program uses any user defined subdirectory, the default being named 'scratch'. Any
files left in this directory may be safely deleted when the software is not running. (Files should only be left if
the software was to crash in the middle of an operation). Due to the nature of the files, and the fact that often the
whole subdirectory can be deleted, the directory should only be used for these scratch files, and not other
information.
For duplicating a tape via the hard disk, the scratch drive must have enough space to store the complete tape
image on. (The tape image is approx 1% longer than the tape).
Keep log for days – This is the number of days that the system log is kept for, after the specified number of
days, the log for any days older than specified will automatically be deleted in order to save disk space.
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New log per tape – This option will create a copy of the system log in the output directory. The log will have
the name YYYYMMDDHHMM.LOG where YYYY is the year, MM the month, DD the day, HH the hour and
MM the minute. The log is a straight ASCII file.
Language – The language of the text prompts may be chosen. If it is changed, then the system must be restarted
before the changes are seen.
EBCDIC Conversion Table – To allow for country, or job differences, several EBCDIC conversion tables may
be stored on the system. This option will select the table to be used.
Stop on filemarks – This option lets the system stop reading a tape when a defined number of filemarks have
been detected. It is a type of standard that a double filemark means the end of the tape, and often in mainframe
applications, this is true. However, there are several formats where a double filemark is used (sometimes at the
start of the tape) and where this rule does not apply. There are also cases where a labeled tape could contain a
zero length file. For this read, please use the option with care - it is possible for all data on a tape to be missed.
The option only applies to Unlabeled read, the duplicate functions.
The default for this option is to stop reading on EOM, as given by the tape drive. However (and hence the
reason for this option) sometimes on 9-track tape, 3480 tapes, there old data is detected after a double tape
mark, and the system will try and read this until the end of the tape.
Automatically catalog tape where possible – Certain formats, e.g. UNIX, may be catalogued after a dummy
directory has been read. This can be slow, and so the option is generally left disabled, so that a catalog may be
selected manually if required.
Bleep at end of copy/scan/duplicate – At the end of a copy or scan or duplicate the system will make an audio
bleep for approx. 10 minutes to advise an operator that the task has completed.
Eject tape at end of copy – This option will automatically close the input handler, and eject the tape at the end
of a copy routine. This can be very useful when doing copies of many tapes.
View tape offsets in hex – Will allow you to see the resulting data in hexadecimal format.
Single Volume Only – For certain formats this will allow tapes which are part of a multi-volume set to be
processed as a single volume. This option only works if the Out of volume sequence handling option is
enabled.
It does only work on certain formats and often the first file on a volume which is not the first in a set, may be
lost. The number of formats it will work on will be added - please contact eMag to determine if it will operate
on a specific format.
Select next drive when full – This option will automatically pick the next drive when the current choice is out of
available space.
System Registration
Occasionally it may be necessary to update the system security number. This will typically be used to enable
future options on the system. The registration number will only need to be changed if options such as record
reformatter have been added.
The support number will need to be updated when a period of support has been purchased. This will enable
newer versions to be downloaded from the Internet at any time.
There are 4 types of numbers issued to make the software work. The main registration number is 16 digits, and
has an associated control related to it. This number will never need to be changed, though a new control file
may be required if extra options are purchased
The support code is an 8 digit code. This is required to be up to date if an update (from the web) is downloaded.
The system will continue to operate with an out of date code, but no technical support or updates will be
provided.
The click counts are 10 digits long. They are different for Copy, Init/test modes
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Prompts
The prompt options allow for drives (and formats) to be prompted before a tape operation is carried out. The
program typically remembers the input tape drive, so if the same drive is used for all, or most jobs, these
options are best disabled. If the system is used with many drives, then this prompt option may speed up the
operation by automatically prompting for tape drives, and formats.
Scan Options
Scan blocks greater than 64K – The scan routine (on certain drives and controller boards) can look for blocks.
On certain drives this can make the scan rather slow. It is also unusual to have tapes with blocks greater than
64K, so the default is off. It should be noted that 9 track tapes tend to operate very slow when the greater than
64K option is enabled. Generally on 9 track geophysical tapes have blocks more than 64K.
Display abbreviated scan details – By default, the scan log will display all headers, and each block of a
different size. For fixed block tapes this is fine, but for long tapes, with variable size blocks, this creates a very
long scan file, and hence has an impact on the system throughput. The abbreviated scan, will just display the
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headers (if any), and a summary of blocks between filemarks. This summary will be adequate for most
applications.
Enable Data Recovery – This is an option, that when purchased, will allow duplication errors to be processed in
a meaningful way. The data recovery option may be enabled or inhibited as required. When inhibited, when a
tape fails, the duplication will stop. When enabled, the options below will be displayed. It is also possible to
set a default operation - such as padding blocks, so that duplications can be run without user intervention.
When a tape error is detected on reading the input tape a menu will be displayed giving status and options.
The lower part of the display shows the status bytes that were received from the tape drive. Some have their
meaning expanded, but for less common ones it will be necessary to refer to the SCSI reference manual for the
drive.
The top part of the menu allows the user to select the action to be taken with the faulty block. The options are
as below.
Enable Reverse Reading – On some tape drives it may be possible to do an 'aggressive read' by reads
backwards.
Pad Block – This is the recommend action, and the block can be padded with a fixed value, and the
length of the block can also be set
Replace block with FM – This will insert a FM instead of the faulty block
Pad block with last good block – This option is recommended at times when the format of the block is
important, e.g. variable blocked tapes. On reading, obviously there will be duplicate tape blocks
Skip Block – This will omit the block entirely
Skip Filemark(s) – This will enable and set the number of filemarks to skip during the recovery
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Read partial block – This is only available on an M4 9 track tape drive. When a medium error has been
detected, it will allow the corrupt block to be read without any checking. The data recovered may
therefore be 90% correct, or completely wrong, depending on where in the block the medium error was.
How ever, it does give the option to recover some of the data from a block. It is not always possible to
determine the block size, so the previous block size may be used.
There are three actions that can be chosen when an error is detected.
Treat tape as failed – This will stop and further copying of the tape, and in effect say that the tape is
corrupt. When is a tape stacking mode, it will abort copying of the current tape.
Treat as end of tape – This will stop copying the tape, and respond as if it was the end of a tape. This
should not be used in stacking mode, as no EOFs are added.
Process errors – This will process the block as defined by the options (pad block etc) described above.
Keep in variable block mode - can be slow – This will prevent the switching to a fixed block mode. By keeping
the process in a variable block mode will more time consuming than using fixed block.
Directories
This preference allows you to set the path locations MM/PC will store particular reports, logs and other
generated information. The list of the paths you may set are displayed in the figure below.
Bar Code Reader
These preferences tell MM/PC how to communicate and what port your scanner is on.
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CD-R Options
Multiple tapes to a CD – This option will allow you to write more than 1 tape at time to a single CD.
Pause before writing – This will prevent writing from beginning automatically and cause it to wait for user
input to proceed.
Remote Options
When running in remote mode, there are several options that may be set to assist in hand shaking with a
controlling program. Click the Options menu and select Preferences and Setup then click the Remote
Options tab.
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All files are produced, and monitored in the 'Remote log' directory that is defined in Preferences/Directories.
The error/status file will have a unique name, dependant on time and job ID with the file extension '.rem'
Response files will be in the same directory, with the extension '.rsp'
Produce log file on error – When this option is checked, a log file is produced when ever an error, status or
information event occurs. The format of the log file is described below.
Produce log file on completion – When this option is checked, at the end of a job, successful or otherwise, a log
file in format described below is produced.
Action on job completion – If this text box is filled in with a command, it will be executed at the end of a job.
Action on error or warning – If this text box is filled in it will be executed when an error occurs.
On the above two actions, if the value %1 is included in the command line, the value will be replaced by the
name of a file with the error message, or status message in it. It is the responsibility of the calling, or
monitoring program to delete this file once processed. It will be stored in the remote log directory.
Wait for action to complete – When this option is checked, the program will wait for the above actions to
complete before continuing. If it is not checked, the action will be launched, and the program will continue
immediately.
Wait for response – When this option is checked, the program will wait for a response to an error message
before continuing. The expected response is a text file containing one of the possible response values from the
error status file. The file name will be the same as the error file, and in the same location, but will have a file
extension of .rsp.
Log Options
To help with a detailed log, and other tracking options it is useful to monitor operator information, and also tape
information that is not on the tape.
Prompt for volume ID if none – Certain tapes do not have recorded volume IDs. An obvious example would be
an unlabelled tape, and in these cases, the operator can enter a volume label by hand.
Always prompt for volume ID – In this mode, the operator is always prompted for an ID. If an ID has been
detected, it will be displayed, and can be accepted by just pressing OK. The maximum ID length is 30 chars.
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When operating in remote running mode, both these prompts are ignored, but a value my be entered with a
script value (VN)
Request User ID – If this control is set, when ever the program is started, the user will be prompted for an ID
(name, code etc) that will be stored within the detailed log. When using remote running commands, a value can
also be entered.
Export log on job completion – When this option is selected, the log will be exported as soon as the job has
been completed - or aborted.
Save copy of log in output directory – When this option is selected, as well as Export log on job completion, a
copy of the log is stored in the output directory
Add hash value to log – The program will optionally add a hash value for each file copied, or scanned. The hash
values calculated are SHA-1 (Secure Hash Algorithm) and MD5, and is in effect a digital signature for a file.
No two files can have the same signature unless identical. The signature is calculated at the point of reading the
logical file from the original media. and just before it is written to the hard disk, or output device.
The hash value is 40 characters long for SHA-1 and is 32 for MD5 and are displayed in the log, and in the
export file of the log.
Calculating the values does take processing time, and thus for applications that do not require this value, the
option can be turned off, however, typically, the speed difference should not be significant.
Retain Logs – This option will allow logs to be retained for a specified period. By default they are saved for
ever, but in order to save hard disk space, they can be automatically deleted after a period of time. The options
are for 1,2,3,6 or 12 months. Logs are stored on a monthly basis, so if 2 months is selected then data for
between 2 and 3 months will be retained. As an example, if two months is selected, then in the middle of May,
all logs after the 1st of March will be available. On 1st June, all logs from 1st April will be available.
AWS
Directory – Allows you to set the location where AWS volume information files are stored.
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Skip Filemarks
This option will allow filemarks to be skipped. It should be used with caution as a way to read tapes that have
not be written in a conventional way. An example may be to read a tape that does not normally have file
headers, but has been written with a file header. If this value is set to 1, then the headers will be skipped.
The option to skip filemarks after the first file is very useful for labeled tapes. The system will read the first set
of labels, including the volume label and then skip. For labeled tapes, the skip value should be a multiple of 3,
eg 3, 12, 180 etc. However, it should be noted that the first file read may have an incorrect file name, depending
on the logical format being used
Another application is allow for tapes that have been written in two different ways, i.e. an additional save set
has a different structure to the original. An example may be a VAX tape that is a mixture of VMS back,
Labeled Type D tape. In this case, by setting the skip value to 3, the first save set will be skipped.
Because this option should be used with great care, it is warned about each time a restore is done with the value
set to a non-zero value. When used, it is also added to the system and forensic logs.
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Edit Character Conversions
This is a simple editor that may be used to create or edit character conversion tables. The system has a one to
one table of “default.con”. To create new tables, the table should be saved with a different name using the Save
As function button. The tables are 256 bytes long, and saved in “codecon” directory within the main software
directory.
Edit ASCII/EBCDIC
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In the world of media conversion, there are very few standards. A particularly variable 'standard' is the
conversion between ASCII and EBCDIC. Although the numbers 0-9, and A-Z are always the same, accented
characters and special codes can vary a lot. Thus, the program has the option to allow the table to be edited.
The table is in two parts, one for converting ASCII code to EBCDIC, and the other is EBCDIC codes to ASCII.
(The data is actually stored in a file EBCDIC.BIN).
To change a code, select the value in the main display list box, and edit the code in the edit box at the bottom of
the dialog. If a valid hex code is entered, this will then be displayed in the list box. A valid code is any 2 digit
hex number, i.e. 00 to FF.
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Chapter 4 Tape Functions
Restore Files from Tape
This is the main feature of the software and as the title implies this feature allows files from a tape to be restored
to any chosen directory on your system. This feature can be accessed in three ways: firstly, by the "Tape
Functions" menu; secondly from the "Tape Format Selection" window and thirdly from the yellow shortcut
button on the far left of the screen (Shown above). Any of these three routes will give the same result but the
yellow button can be used to cut out the 'format selection ' stage as it will default to automatic selection. This is
especially useful for regular jobs as the software will remember the last format used.
Not many tapes have directories and so the only way that files may be determined is by reading the whole tape.
This can be a long process when, for example, an Exabyte with 5 Gb of data is being read, and so the tape
routines display a dummy directory, generally of the first 1000 files. When possible the file names are added
when the tape is read. This does ensure the fastest possible way to read a tape. If in doubt of which files to read,
the Preview File feature can be used.
Some tape formats have the first file name as “All”. If this is selected, then all files on the tape are copied in
sequence. If copying is 'cancelled' at any time, when reselected, an option will be given to determine if the next
file in the sequence should be copied, or the file copying should start from the beginning of the tape.
Occasionally unrecoverable errors will occur whilst copying, in which case the continue option could be very
useful.
Disk full – Occasionally the output disk will fill up, and there is an option to select a new output path - on a
different drive. If there is no other possible drive, just cancel the operation.
File name invalid – Sometimes the file name from an input tape will be invalid for the Windows system. Most
are detected by the program, and the name is 'corrupted' so that it becomes valid. For instance, on UNIX, a
valid file is 'CON'. This is illegal on a Windows system, and so will be renamed to 'CO_'. These changes are
kept in the system log.
When you begin the restore process, you first will be asked to select which drive you are going to use.
Depending on the options you have purchased you may also have some hard disk formats available to choose
from. Once you make your selection the Select Format window will come up.
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From this window you may select your format. You may also change your drive selection and drive number (if
applicable). In the lower right hand corner of the window is a field to provide a Job Number. The Print and
HTML File buttons will export your available formats to a printer or an HTML file format. Click the Restore
button to continue.
From this point you may select “ALL” to restore the complete set of recognized files or select individual files to
restore. After your selections use on of the control bar buttons (described below) to continue.
Click To
Copy: restores highlighted files
Copyall: selects all files to restore
Stop: cancels restore process
Once you select Copy or Copyall the restore options window will appear for you to make further adjustments to
your restore settings. These features are discussed in detail in Chapter 3.
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Write files to tape
In order to write to a tape several parameters have to be selected.
Tape drive
Tape Format
Options for writing, e.g. block size
When the Write to tape option is selected, if there is not a valid drive or format selected, then this will be
prompted for. If a drive and format has been selected, then this will be displayed, and the user given the chance
to cancel if it is not required.
At this stage the hard disk is scanned for all files, and a directory is displayed. On large hard disks this process
can take some time.
Files may then be selected in a few ways. If the right hand side of a drive or directory is clicked, the whole
drive or directory tree will be selected. A warning is given if a drive is selected, as this can take some time to
select. Individual files may be selected, or deselected by clicking on the file. To start copying, the green 'Copy'
button pressed. On most output devices an dialog box is then displayed so that options such as density, or block
size can be selected. If in doubt, the default options may be used, see later.
The status bar at the bottom of the screen will indicate progress.
Write tape options
There are several options that may be entered when writing to tapes. Some are dependant on the tape format
selected
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Overwrite, erase, retention – This gives the option to overwrite an existing tape, or erase it, or retention the tape
before the write starts. For some tape drives, the Quick erase is faster than a full erase.
Empty media, append, new job – If empty media is selected, the files are written at the start of the tape. For
append, the files are appended to the end of the tape. New job is just for labeled tapes, and in this case a new
volume is written after a double file mark.
Volume – The volume is the volume label on the tape. Where possible, the system will try and read any existing
volume label, and display it. If the field is left blank, a default label will be used. If a value is entered, any
existing volume label will be overwritten.
Owner – This is the owner field for labeled tapes
Directory Sort - When files are written from the hard disk to a tape, the order in which they are written is the
same as they are stored on the hard disk, ie determined by the system. This is normally not an issue. With this
option it is possible to set the order to be ASCII sorted, or EBCDIC sorted. The big difference in this case
between ASCII and EBCDIC is that in ASCII numbers are stored as lower values than letters, and numbers are
higher values than letters in EBCDIC.
This can seen in the example below
ASCII files EBCDIC Files
888ABC ABC123
ABC123 FGHAAA
FGH123 FGH123
FGHAAA 888ABC
Write Conversions and options
The following options are format dependant.
Convert ASCII to EBCDIC - This will convert the whole file to EBCDIC
Con CRLF to LF - This is for Unix tapes that often use LF as a line separator
ASCII Headers - This is for labelled tapes, that by default have EBCDIC headers
Strip CR - This is of writing out tapes, typically fixed length records that do not a require a CR
Strip CRLF - This is the same as Strip CR, but will remove both CR and LF
Pad last block - For some formats, eg labelled tapes, the final block is normally truncated to match the file size.
For instance, if the block was 10,000 bytes, and the file in total was 78,154 bytes, normally the final block
would be 8,154 bytes long. If this option is enabled, the final block would be 10,000 byes
Strip 01AH to file end - Some DOS files, and older CP/M files terminate a text file with a 01AH. This option
will strip all data after and including this code. Care must be take, as non text files may be truncated.
Remove Directory structure - The default mode of operation is to write tapes and retain the directory structure.
When this option is set, no directory information will be written to the output tape.
Click Mode
The click mode of operation is how all demo systems start. The system is fully functional, but has a limited
number of conversions. The number available, and used is in 'Options/ Preferences and Setup/System
registration'. To be extended, it is necessary to contact your software supplier. The software supplier will issue a
new 10 digit code.
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For full systems with this option, extra copy clicks may be purchased as required. The code for your system is
unique, so on installations with more than one system, please ensure you have your registration code (16 digit
number) available.
A copy click is a complete read, or write, or tape duplicate. Cancelled copies do not count. For initialization
and testing, a click is a complete test of a tape, or initialising a tape.
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Appendix A Troubleshooting
SCSI Setup Errors
No ASPI or can not find WNASPI32.DLL
This requires that the ASPI has to be loaded. This may be done by running ASPIINST (supplied with the
software) or by loading EZ-SCSI
SCSI Configuration
Very often SCSI installation is very straight forward, but occasionally problems do occur. The following list
should help determine possible causes
1) Ensure that all SCSI devices have different addresses.
2) Ensure that each SCSI chain is terminated at the end of the chain. Make sure there is no 'hidden' termination
on any of the drives.
3) Problems have been encountered where the SCSI transfer rate is too high for the drive/cable combination.
We always recommend that the transfer rate is set to 8MHz for each LUN that tape drives may use.
4) A mixture of SCSI cables can give very curious problems. If for instance, any two drives work, but 3 do not,
try different types of cable, or configure the drives in a different order.
With NT systems it is possible to set up drives with compression, using NTFS. This means that a 4GB drive can
store 2-3 times that capacity depending on the type of data. Some text files compress to 10% of their original
size. Problems have been seen when files are very long, but this is being worked on. See FAQ for more details.
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Appendix B Hardware Compatibility
Recommendations
The software is designed to operate with most commonly available tape drives. The list is always growing as
new drives are released. The currently supported drives are as below, with a few notes as to their individual
capabilities.
If a user wishes to purchase a new type of drive, your software distributor will always be happy to recommend a
suitable drive. Any such recommendation does not infer that drives from other manufacturers are less suitable,
but simply a case of the drives that the software developers use on a daily basis and have been found to be
satisfactory.
The list below is by drive type.
DC600
A major compatibility problem with certain DC600 drives is whether they can handle variable block size tapes.
Certain older dives could only read tapes as fixed 512 byte blocks. For many DOS formats this is not a problem,
but for IBM Labeled tapes this becomes a major problem, and writing becomes impossible. For full flexibility,
these drives can not be recommended for this application. DC600 drives also come in many densities which are
also dictated by the type of tape used. No one drive can currently read all possible tape densities.
It is always recommended that the highest spec drive than can read the required density is purchased. This will
give the longest life span as higher density tapes become more common.
Tandberg has changed the product numbering from TDC, SLR and MLR, to just SLRxx. The list below gives
old and new numbers. It is believed that not all Tandberg documentation is consistent so the chart below should
be used for guidance rather than absolute truth! (For more details please look at www.tandberg.com)
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
Tandberg TDC3600 QIC24 QIC120 TDC 3600
SLR1 QIC120 QIC150
QIC150
Tandberg TDC3800 QIC24 QIC120 TDC 3800
SLR2 QIC120 QIC150 TANDBERG SLR2
QIC150 QIC525
QIC525
Tandberg SLR3 QIC24 QIC120 TDC 4100
QIC120 QIC150 TANDBERG SLR3
QIC150 QIC525
QIC525 QIC1G
QIC1G
Tandberg TDC4200 QIC24 QIC120 TDC 4200
SLR4 QIC120 QIC150 TANDBERG SLR4
QIC150 QIC525
QIC525 QIC1G
QIC1G QIC2G
QIC2G
Tandberg TDC4222 QIC24 QIC120 TDC 4222
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SLR4DC QIC120 QIC150 TANDBERG SLR4DC
QIC150 QIC525
QIC525 QIC1G
QIC1G QIC2G-C
QIC2G-C
Tandberg SLR5 QIC525 QIC525 TANDBERG-SLR5
QIC1G QIC1G
QIC2G QIC2G
QIC4G QIC4G
Tandberg SLR6 QIC2G QIC12G TANDBERGSLR6
SLR24 QIC4G QIC12G
Tandberg MLR1 QIC2G QIC2G TANDBERG-MLR1
SLR32 QIC4G QIC4G TANDBERG-SLR32
Not all versions QIC12G QIC16G
support 5010DC QIC16G QIC-5010DC
single channel SLR-6 24GB
Tandberg MLR3 QIC2G QIC16G TANDBERG-MLR3
SLR50 QIC4G QIC32G TANDBERG-SLR50
QIC12G
QIC16G
QIC25G
Tandberg MLR5 QIC16G QIC25G TANDBERG-MLR5
QIC25G QIC50G
QIC50G
Archive Viper QIC24 QIC120 ARCHIVE V
QIC120 QIC150
QIC150 QIC525
QIC525
Wangtek 5150 QIC24 QIC120 5150
QIC120 QIC150
QIC150
Wangtek 5525E QIC24 QIC120 5525E
QIC120 QIC150
QIC150
Sankyo CP525 QIC24 QIC120 SANKYO CP525
QIC120 QIC150
QIC150 QIC525
QIC525
DAT
The DAT standard has slowly increased over the years, from DDS1 to DDS4. Early DDS1 and DDS2 drives did
not always support compression. DDS3 and DDS4 all support compression
Manufacturer Models Read Write ID String
Hewlett Packard HP35470 DDS1 DDS1 HP35470
Hewlett Packard HP35480 DDS1 DDS1 HP35480
DDS1-C DDS1-C
Hewlett Packard C1533A DDS1 DDS1 C1533A
C1534 DDS1-C DDS1-C C1534
C1536 DDS2 DDS2 C1536
DDS2-C DDS2-C
Hewlett Packard C1537 DDS1 DDS1 C1537A
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DDS1-C DDS1-C
DDS2 DDS2
DDS2-C DDS2-C
DDS3 DDS3
Hewlett-Packard C1539 DDS1 DDS1 C1539A
DDS1-C DDS1-C
DDS2 DDS2
DDS2-C DDS2-C
DDS3 DDS3
DDS4 DDS4
Wangdat WANGDAT DDS1 DDS1 WANGDAT
DDS1-C DDS1-C
DDS2 DDS2
DDS2-C DDS2-C
Wangtek 6130 DDS1 DDS1 WANGTEK 6130
DDS1-C DDS1-C
DDS2 DDS2
DDS2-C DDS2-C
Sony 5000 DDS1 DDS1 SDT-5000
DDS1-C DDS1-C
DDS2 DDS2
DDS2-C DDS2-C
Sony 5200 DDS1 DDS1 SDT-5200
DDS2 DDS2
Sony 9000 DDS1 DDS1 SDT-9000
DDS1-C DDS1-C
DDS2 DDS2
DDS2-C DDS2-C
DDS3 DDS3
Exabyte/AIT
The Exabyte standards are generally based on 2 basic recording levels, 8200 and 8500, with and without
compression, and extra length tapes
Mammoth tape drives will read older Exabyte tapes, but afterwards require the use of a cleaning tape
AIT drives, although physically the same size cartridges are not compatible in any way with Exabyte drives
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
Exabyte 8200 8200 8200 EXB-82
Exabyte 8500 8200 8200 EXB-8500
8500 8500
Exabyte 8205 8200 8200 EXB-82
8200C 8200C
Exabyte 8505 8200 8200 EXB8500C
8200C 8200C
8500 8500
8500C 8500C
Exabyte 8505XL 8200 8200 EXB-8500H
8200C 8200C
8500 8500
8500C 8500C
8500XL 8500XL
Exabyte Eliant 8200 8500 EXB-8500H
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8500 8500C EXB-8505H
8500C 8500XL
8500XL
Sony AIT AIT AIT SONY SDX-3
IBM3480/90
The IBM3480/90 range of drives are basically 18 or 36 track, with optional compression. The standards are
therefore
3480 18 track, no compression
3490 18 track, with compression
3490E 36 track with compression
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
Cipher T480 3480 3480 CIPHER T480
L480 CIPHER L480
Overland T480 3480 3480 OVERLAND T480
L480 OVERLAND L480
Cipher T490 3480 3480 CIPHER T490
L490 3490 3490 CIPHER L490
Overland T490 3480 3480 OVERLAND T490
L490 3490 3490 OVERLAND L490
STK 4280 3480 3480 STK 4280
Overland T490E 3480 3480 OVERLAND T490E
L490E 3490 3490 OVERLAND L490E
3490E 3490E
Fujitsu M1016B 3480 3480* FUJITSU M1016B
3490 3490* FUJITSU M10116B
3490E 3490E
Fujitsu M2483 3480 3490E FUJITSU M2483
3490
3490E
Fujitsu M2488 3480 3480 FUJITSU M2488
3490 3490
3490E 3490E
DLT/SDLT/TK
The DLT range has replaced the DEC TK range. Unfortunately, the most recent drives no longer support the
original TK50 and TK70 tapes. The drive is high speed.
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
Cipher 826 TK50 TK85 CIPHER T826
TK70
TK85
Cipher 860 TK50 TK85 CIPHER T860
TK70 TK86
TK85
TK86
DEC TZ85 TK50 TK85 DEC TZ85
TK70
TK85
Quantum DLT TK85 TK85 QUANTUM DLT
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TK86 TK86
TK87 TK87
DEC DLT2000 TK50* TK85 DEC DLT2
TK70* TK86
TK85 TK87
TK86
TK87
DEC DLT4000 TK85 TK85 DEC DLT4
TK86 TK86 COMPAC DLT
TK87 TK87
TK88 TK88
DEC DLT7000 TK85 TK89? DEC DLT7
TK86 QUANTUM DLT
TK87 TANDBERG DLT
TK88
TK89
DEC DLT8000 10G 20G QUANTUM DLT
20B 35B TANDBERG DLT
35G 40G
40G
Quantum SDLT220 TK88 SDLT1
TK89
SDLT1
Quantum SDLT320 TK88 SDLT1
TK89
SDLT1
Quantum SDLT600 SDLT1 SDLT2
SDLT2
* Only certain drives are calibrated to read TK50 and 70 tapes
TK50 and TK70 formats use Compat Tape cartridges
Tape capacities and names
TK85 2.6GB DLTIII
TK86 6.0GB DLTIII
TK87 10/20GB DLT2000 mode DLTIII
TK87XL 15/30GB DLTIIIXL
TK88 20/40GB DLT4000 mode DLTIV
TK89 35/70GB DLT7000 mode DLTIV
40/80GB DLT8000 mode DLTIV
0.5" Tape
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
M4 9914 800 800 M4 DATA
1600 1600
3200 3200
6250 6250
Overland Overland
Kennedy Kennedy
HP
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OnStream Tape
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
OnStream SC50 ADR30 ADR30 ONSTREAMSC
No hardware ADR50 ADR50
compression
OnStream ADR50 ADR30 ADR50 ONSTREAMADR
ADR50
Optical Disk
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
Hewlett Packard C1113J 650M 1.3G C1113J
1.2G 2.6G
1.3G 5.2G
2.6G
5.2G
Matashita 7300 MATSHITA
Philips LMS 6100 LMS LD 6100
Philips LMS 660x LMS LF 660
SyQuest
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
SyQuest 44MB 44MB 44MB SQ5
SyQuest 88MB 44MB 88MB SQ5
88MB
SyQuest 270MB 135MB 270MB SQ3105S
270MB
IOMEGA (Zip and Jaz)
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
LTO
Manufacturer Model Read Write ID String
Dell PV110LTO2 LTO1 LTO1
LTO2 LTO2
Dell PV110LTO3 LTO1 LTO2
LTO2 LTO3
LTO3
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Glossary
Catalog – The history of backups performed by a backup server including dates and media information.
Expiration Period – The point in time determined that the media is no longer reliable for production use.
Frozen – When media is pulled from normal vaulting routines and taken out of circulation temporarily for reasons such as disaster recovery
or litigation.
Master Servers – The servers on your network that execute the backup software.
Media Lifetime – The length of time or number of mounts, that backup media is effective in storing a backup.
Media Pool – A logical grouping of media used to keep backups with the same retention policies together.
Media Servers – The servers on your network that a performing the backups.
Mounts – The number of times media was inserted into a drive and data was written to it.
Policy Elements – Include the starting and ending location and the length of time for a particular movement and joined with other Policy
Elements to make up a complete Vaulting Policy.
Retention Policy – Is the length of time that the data on the media is still useful.
Retirement – The process of removing media or a media pool from circulation permanently for reasons such as number of mounts or media
lifetime.
Unfreeze – The process of bringing media that was designated as frozen back into normal circulation.
Vaulting Policies – Are the schedules that drive the movements of the tapes from location to location and their duration at each stop.
Vaultset – The group of media linked together through a common vaulting policy.
Volume – One unit of media.
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