TAPES AND DISKS

Please see this page for more information on disks in AIX

dd if= of= bs= conv=sync

- direct (and I mean DIRECT) copy, normally to tape. Archaic syntax and very rarely used. flags:

• if - input filename or device
• of - output filename
• bs - block size
• conv - ??

e.g. To write a file to tape use
$ dd if=/etc/hosts of=/dev/rmt0 bs=1024 conv=sync # write hosts file to tape using dd

cpio

stands for copy in-out, and is extremely powerful if you can cope with the innumerable flags that you have to use(!)
$ cpio -iBcvumd "etc/hosts"

 # Grab /etc/hosts file from tape
$ find /etc -print | cpio -oBcv >/dev/rmt0 # Write the contents of the /etc directory to tape
$ find /etc -print | cpio -pdumv /usr2/etcbackup/ # copy directory /etc to /usr2/etcbackup and retain all permissions.
meaning of the flags:

• i - input
• o - output
• B - Block size of 5120 bytes
• c - read/write header info
• v - list file names
• u - unconditional copy - overwrites existing file.
• m - keep modification dates
• d - creates directories as needed.
• t - generate listing of what is on the tape.
• p - preserve permissions.

tapeutil -f

- A program which came with the tape library to control it's working. Called without arguments gives a menu. Is useful for doing things like moving tapes from the slot to the drive. e.g.
$ tapeutil -f /dev/smc0 move -s 10 -d 23 # which moves the tape in slot 10 to the drive (obviously, this will depend on your own individual tape library, may I suggest the manual?).

doswrite -a

- copy unixfile to rs6000's floppy disk drive in DOS format. -a option expands certain characters, for certain ascii conversions.

dosdir 

- show list of files on a dos floppy disk. Useful with option -l (long format). Like dos command 'dir'

dosread -a

- copy dos file in floppy disk drive to unix - if UNIXFILE is omitted, it outputs to the screen.

dosdel 

- delete dos file on floppy disk.

dosformat

- format dos floppy disk (High Density)

tar

- Read/Write stuff to archive.
tar cvf /dev/rmt0  # will write files to tape
tar xvf /dev/rmt0 will read files from tape
tar tvf /dev/rmt0 will give a listing of what's on the tape. If you're using an archive file then replace /dev/rmt0 in the examples above with the name of the archive file.