[NTLUG:Discuss] Tape Backup info needed - Help?

[Stephen Davidson]

Hi Stuart.

gorky:~ # mt -f /dev/qft0 status
mt: /dev/qft0: No such device or address
gorky:~ #

Next suggestion?


Stuart Johnston wrote:
> Try:
>
> mt -f /dev/qft0 status
>
>
> Stephen Davidson wrote:
>> Greetings.
>>
>> I have an IOMega Ditto 2GB Tape Drive.  Works fine on Microsoft.   Ever
>> since I switched to SuSE 9.2/9.3, I have been unable to do a network
>> backup (or anything else that requires a large load on the CPU) in
>> anything resembling a reasonable amount of time.
>>
>> So, I want to backup my email and work files, and see what happens when
>> I throw SuSE 10 on this machine.
>>
>> I have spent the last couple of hours pouring through man pages and
>> Google searches looking for how to backup linux onto a Ditto Tape drive
>> that I have had for some time.  Plugs into the machine's parallel port.
>> All the documentation I have seen says this is supported.  (See parport,
>> a module which is currently loaded btw).  But I have not found anywhere
>> that tells me how to work this.
>>
>> gorky:~ # mt status
>> mt: /dev/tape: No such file or directory
>> gorky:~ #
>>
>> Ok, well, hooked up to parallel port.
>>
>> gorky:~ # mt -f /dev/lp0 status
>> mt: /dev/lp0: Invalid argument
>> gorky:~ #
>>
>> Since I got "slammed" with work a few months back (the last time I tried
>> to upgrade this machine, and get it working), I have been stuck on using
>> M$ for all development work.  This is a situation I would like to
>> rectify.  Before I upgrade this machine again, I want some kind of
>> backups in place.  Yes, M$ is not the greatest, but right now, it is the
>> thing that works.
>>
>> I do have other machines I can backup to, except for the fact that
>> network based backups are currently taking in excess of 1 week (on a
>> 10/100 LAN, I might add).  Oh, and TAR seems to have trouble with
>> archives over 1GB?  (Won't unpack them).  So, bottom line is, I am
>> looking for something/anything that will work as a backup strategy.
>> (Last alternative, burn my data to CD/RWs, which have lower capacity
>> than tape).
>>
>> Help?
>>
>> -Steve
>>

-- 
Java/J2EE Developer/Integrator
Stephen Davidson and Associates, Inc.
Vice President, DFW JavaMUG (http://javamug.org)
Past Chair, Dallas/FortWorth J2EE Sig (http://j2eesig.org)
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