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

[Stuart Johnston]

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
>