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MT(1)									 MT(1)

NAME
       mt - magnetic tape control

SYNOPSIS
       mt [-f tapename] command... [count]

DESCRIPTION
       The  mt utility sends commands to a magnetic tape drive. If -f tapename
       is not specified, the environment variable TAPE is used.	 If TAPE  does
       not exist, mt uses the device /dev/rmt/0n.

OPTIONS
       The following options are supported:

       -f tapename
		      Specifies the raw tape device.

OPERANDS
       The following operands are supported:

       count
		  The  number  of  times that the requested operation is to be
		  performed. By default, mt performs  command  once.  Multiple
		  operations of command can be performed by specifying count.

       command
		  The  following available commands that can be sent to a mag‐
		  netic tape drive are supported. Only as many	characters  as
		  are  required	 to uniquely identify a command need be speci‐
		  fied.

		  asf
			    Specifies absolute space  to  count	 file  number.
			    This  is  equivalent to a rewind followed by a fsf
			    count.

		  bsf
			    Back spaces over count  EOF	 marks.	 The  tape  is
			    positioned	on  the	 beginning-of-tape side of the
			    EOF mark.

		  bsr
			    Back spaces count records.

		  bssf
			    Back spaces over the requested number  of  sequen‐
			    tial  file	marks. Sequential file marks are where
			    the file marks are one right after the other  with
			    no	other  blocks  of  any	kind  between the file
			    marks. The	number	argument  specifies  how  many
			    sequential file marks to which to space. For exam‐
			    ple, bssf 4 searches backwards to the first	 place
			    where  there are 4 sequential file marks and posi‐
			    tions to the BOP side of the 4th file mark.

			    This command is not supported by all drives.

		  eof
		  weof
			    Writes count EOF marks at the current position  on
			    the tape.

		  fsf
			    Forward  spaces  over count EOF marks. The tape is
			    positioned on the first block of the file.

		  fsr
			    Forward spaces count records.

		  fssf
			    Forward  spaces  the  over	requested  number   of
			    sequential	file  marks. Sequential file marks are
			    where the file marks are one right after the other
			    with  no other blocks of any kind between the file
			    marks. The	number	argument  specifies  how  many
			    sequential file marks to which to space. For exam‐
			    ple, fssf 4 searches forwards to the  first	 place
			    where  there are 4 sequential file marks and posi‐
			    tions after the 4th file mark.

			    This command is not supported by all drives.

		  load
			    Requests drive load and thread current media.  Not
			    supported by all drives.

		  lock
			    Prevents media removal.

		  nbsf
			    Back spaces count files. The tape is positioned on
			    the first block of the file. This is equivalent to
			    count+1 bsfs ollowed by one fsf.

		  seek
			    Positions to requested logical tape position.

		  tell
			    Gets and prints current logical tape position.

		  unlock
			    Allows media removal.

		  If  count  is	 specified with any of the following commands,
		  the count is ignored and the command is performed only once.

		  config
				  Reads the drives current configuration  from
				  the  driver  and displays it in st.conf for‐
				  mat. See st(7D) for definition of fields and
				  there meanings.

		  eom
				  Spaces  to  the end of recorded media on the
				  tape. This is	 useful	 for  appending	 files
				  onto previously written tapes.

		  erase
				  Erases the entire tape.

				  Some	tape drives have option settings where
				  only portions of the tape can be erased.  Be
				  sure	to select the correct setting to erase
				  the whole tape. Erasing a tape  can  take  a
				  long	time  depending	 on  the device and/or
				  tape. Refer to the  device  specific	manual
				  for time details.

		  forcereserve
				  Attempts  to	break a SCSI II reserve issued
				  by another initiator. When this command com‐
				  pletes,  the	drive  is not reserved for the
				  current initiator, but is available for use.
				  This	command	 can  be  only	be executed by
				  those with super-user privileges.

		  offline
		  rewoffl
				  Rewinds the tape and, if appropriate,	 takes
				  the  drive  unit  off-line  by unloading the
				  tape.

		  release
				  Re-establishes  the  default	 behavior   of
				  releasing at close.

		  reserve
				  Allows  the  tape  drive  to remain reserved
				  after closing the  device.  The  drive  must
				  then be explicitly released.

		  retension
				  Rewinds  the cartridge tape completely, then
				  winds it forward to the end of the reel  and
				  back to beginning-of-tape to smooth out tape
				  tension.

		  rewind
				  Rewinds the tape.

		  status
				  Prints status	 information  about  the  tape
				  unit.

				  Status information can include the sense key
				  reported by  the  drive,  the	 residual  and
				  retries  for the last operation, the current
				  tape position reported in file  number,  and
				  the  number  of blocks from the beginning of
				  that file. It might also  report  that  WORM
				  media is loaded in that drive.

EXIT STATUS
       0
	    All operations were successful.

       1
	    Command  was  unrecognized	or mt was unable to open the specified
	    tape drive.

       2
	    An operation failed.

FILES
       /dev/rmt/*
		     magnetic tape interface

SEE ALSO
       tar(1), tcopy(1), ar.h(3HEAD), attributes(5), mtio(7I), st(7D)

BUGS
       Not all devices support all options. Some options  are  hardware-depen‐
       dent. Refer to the corresponding device manual page.

       mt  is  architecture sensitive. Heterogeneous operation (that is, SPARC
       to x86 or the reverse) is not supported.

				 Jun 21, 2007				 MT(1)
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