anomalous tbtape behavior

Mark Heinicke mheinick@Glue.umd.edu writes: [...] "Tape devices that do not rewind automatically before opening and on closing are considered incompatible with OnLine operation." [...] Informix is very snooty about what tape devices they support or don't. We break most of the rules most of the time, and as long as we keep up with what we're doing it works. We're archiving to a no rewind tape and using mt to position, *with compression!* I guess I can see why they don't want to fool with all the myriad combinations of tapes, disks, and such out there. In unix (for the most part) a file is a file is a file, and you can manipulate the bit/byte streams to your heart's delight as long as you put it back when you're thru. We archive to disk, and gnuzip the file, and ftp it to a remote site, and though none of this is "supported" it all works very well. Don't hesitate to do what works, and don't be dragged down by Informix's less-than-ideal support. That said, you did check the "archive tape size" in your TBCONFIG, didn't you? __________________________________________________________________ | Clem Akins Standard Disclaimers Apply | |Reynolds Metals Co, Alloys Plant "Climb High, Cave Deep!" | | Muscle Shoals, Alabama USA cwakins@leia.alloys.rmc.com | |________________________________________________________________|