Command ReferenceA-53
NAME
mt - magnetic tape positioning and control
SYNOP SIS
mt [ -f | -t tapedevice ] command [ count ] [ command [ count ] ... ]
DESCRIPTION
mt is used to position or control the specified magnetic tape drive supporting the
commands listed below. Commands that support a count field allow multiple
operations to be performed (the rewind, status and offline commands do not sup-
port a count field). mt will output failure messages if the specified tape drive
cannot be opened or if the operation fails.
The -f option specifies which tape device to use. Use sysconfig -t to list all tape
devices on the filer. -t has the same effect as -f.
USAGE
eof, weof Writes count end-of-filemarks beginning at the current position on
tape.
fsf Forward spaces over count filemarks. Positions the tape on the
end-of-tape side of the filemark.
bsf Backward spaces over count filemarks. Positions the tape on the
beginning-of-tape side of the filemark.
fsr Forward spaces count records. Positions the tape on the end-of-
tape side of the record(s).
bsr Backward spaces count records. Positions the tape on the
beginning-of-tape side of the record(s).
erase Erases the tape beginning at the current tape position. When the
erase completes, the tape is positioned to beginning-of-tape.
rewind Rewinds the tape, positioning the tape to beginning-of-tape.
status Displays status information about the tape unit.
offline Rewinds the tape and unloads tape media.
diag Enables or disables display of diagnostic messages from tape
driver. Enabling diagnostic messages can be helpful when attempt-
ing to diagnose a problem with a tape device. Specifying a count of
1 enables display of diagnostic messages, a count of 0 dis-
ables diagnostic messages. Diagnostic messages are disabled by
default.
eom Positions the tape to end of data (end of media if tape is full).
mt