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mcicap(4)							     mcicap(4)

NAME
       mcicap - media changer capability database

SYNOPSIS
       /etc/mcicap

DESCRIPTION
       The mcicap file is a database consisting of media changer descriptions.
       Each entry within the mcicap file describes a specific  media  changer,
       or a model of media changer.

       The entries within the mcicap file are used by certain functions within
       the media changer driver software.  For example, entries are  necessary
       for  all media changers that you plan on accessing with the mcutil com‐
       mand.

       An mcicap file entry has the following form:

       name|alt_name|another_alt_name:capability:capability: ...

       This form is described as follows: The vertical bars (|)	 are  part  of
       the  entry.  Fields are separated by colons (:).	 The first field lists
       all names that are used for the particular media changer, separated  by
       vertical	 bars (|).  The first name (name) is the most common abbrevia‐
       tion for the media changer.  The first and second names should  contain
       no  blanks.  The third name (another_alt_name) is optional and may con‐
       tain blanks for readability; it should be a long name, fully  identify‐
       ing  the	 media	changer.   Following the media changer's names are its
       capabilities.  Each capability is separated by a colon (:).   Capabili‐
       ties  may  be in any order, and are described in the following section.
       An entry may continue onto multiple lines by inserting a backslash  (\)
       as the last character of the line that you wish to continue.

   Capabilities
       The  capabilities that you list in an mcicap file entry each consist of
       two-letter codes, possibly followed by further information.  The	 vari‐
       ous  capabilities  fall under three categories: The capability code, if
       present in the entry, means that the media  changer  has	 a  particular
       feature.	  For  example, the HP100 media changer has auto-eject. There‐
       fore, the entry for a HP100 media changer includes the  ae  code.   The
       capability code must be followed by a pound sign (#) and a number.  For
       example, the following ns capability code setting indicates that	 there
       are 144 slot elements:

	      ns#144 The capability code must be followed by an equal sign and
	      a string.	 The string must be enclosed within double  quotes  if
	      it   contains  any  whitespace;  otherwise,  double  quotes  are
	      optional.	 For example, the following dt capability code setting
	      indicates that the data transfer unit is a disk type:

	      dt=disk

   Capability Codes
       A  listing  of all capability codes appears in this section.  For clar‐
       ity, the following conventions are used: Boolean capability  codes  are
       shown  exactly  as they would appear in an entry (as a two-letter code)
       Numeric capability codes are followed by	 #n  String  capability	 codes
       are followed by	=string

       The  following is a list of all capability codes: Auto-eject. Indicates
       that the media changer does not need to send an explicit eject sequence
       to  a  drive  when the drive is the source of a move or exchange opera‐
       tion.  Bar code reader.	Indicates that the media changer has the abil‐
       ity  to	return	the  bar  code information printed on the medium.  The
       information is returned in the volume tag field (the last field) in the
       output  of the element status function.	The element status function is
       the -e option to the mcutil command.  Device names.   Contains  a  list
       (separated  by  commas)	of the device names for the accessible drives.
       If the first character of a device name is a slash (/), then  the  name
       is  a full path to the device.  If the first character of a name is not
       a slash, then the /dev directory path is assumed as a prefix. For exam‐
       ple, the following are equivalent device name capability code settings:

	      dn="mc0,mc5"
	      dn="/dev/changer/mc0, /dev/changer/mc5" Data transfer unit type.
	      Contains the disk or tape string.	 This  information  is	needed
	      for  the	eject command if the device requires an explicit eject
	      operation.  It is useful to provide this information  regardless
	      of  the  status  of the auto-eject capability because the mcutil
	      command  can  be	used  to  provide  configuration  information.
	      Including	 the dt capability field could provide the mcutil com‐
	      mand, and therefore the user, with more  information.   Exchange
	      medium.	Indicates that the media changer supports the exchange
	      medium capability as stated in the SCSI-II standards  documenta‐
	      tion.   Interface arguments.  Contains interface-specific infor‐
	      mation.  Media changers using the scsi2 interface	 type  do  not
	      use  this	 field.	  The uagent interface requires the bus target
	      and logical unit number (LUN) identifiers of the media  changer.
	      For  example,  the following interface argument setting is for a
	      device on bus 0, target 1, and LUN 1:

	      ia="0 1 1" Initialize element status.  Indicates that the	 media
	      changer  supports	 an  initialize	 element  status capability as
	      stated in the SCSI-II standards documentation.  Interface	 type.
	      Specifies	 the  interface	 type to connect to the media changer.
	      Currently, the scsi2 and uagent interface types  are  supported.
	      The  scsi2 interface type uses the SCSI CAM Media Changer inter‐
	      face (see mc(7)) and  therefore  requires	 the  SCSI  CAM	 Media
	      Changer  Driver  to be built into the running kernel. The uagent
	      interface requires the CAM systems uagent driver, which is  con‐
	      tained  in any kernel running the SCSI CAM system.  The /dev/cam
	      pseudo device is required and is used by the  uagent  driver  to
	      communicate  with	 the  media changer.  Log select/sense.	 Indi‐
	      cates that the media changer supports a logging interface	 capa‐
	      bility  as stated in the SCSI-II standards documentation.	 Media
	      changer device file.  Names the device file  that	 is  used  for
	      controlling  the media changer.  For the scsi2 interface type it
	      is the device file that connects to the SCSI CAM	Media  Changer
	      Driver.  For  the	 uagent interface, the /dev/cam file is almost
	      always used.

       MD=range

       MP=range

       MS=range
       Physical maps.  Maps the physical addresses of  the  slot  (MS),	 drive
       (MD),   port  (MP),  and	 transport  (MT)  elements  to	their  logical
       addresses.  Most	 SCSI-II  compliant  media  changers  provide  element
       address	information  so	 these	entries	 are not required.  The use of
       physical map codes within an mcicap file entry is indicated  when  your
       jukebox	is  not	 SCSI-II  compliant,  or when you wish to override the
       jukebox addressing.  By overriding the jukebox  addressing  you	could,
       for  example,  prevent a particular drive from being used.  If you wish
       to provide physical mapping information, see your jukebox hardware man‐
       ual for the physical addresses of the elements.

	      The  range  value	 can  be  one of the following: A range from a
	      lower number to a higher number, indicated by using a minus sign
	      (-).   For example, the following MS code setting indicates that
	      the physical address for the slot elements are  116,  117,  118,
	      and 119:

	      MS=116-119 A list of numbers or ranges separated by commas.  For
	      example, the following MD code setting indicates that the physi‐
	      cal  addresses  for  the	drive elements are 111, 112, 113, 114,
	      115, 311, 210, 211, and 212:

	      MD=111-115,311,210-212

       The media changer driver software maps logical  addresses  to  physical
       addresses.  For each element type (slot, drive, port, or transport) the
       logical addresses are mapped to the  physical  addresses	 consecutively
       starting at logical address zero.

       The  following are examples of address mappings: Maps the physical slot
       addresses 116, 117, 118, and 119 to the logical slot addresses 0, 1, 2,
       and 3.  Maps the physical drive addresses 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 311,
       210, 211, and 212 to the logical drive addresses 0, 1, 2, 3, 4,	5,  6,
       7, and 8.

       Note that for the above examples to map exactly as depicted, you should
       indicate in your mcicap file entry the precise number of elements.   In
       other  words,  the  two	previous examples should include the following
       capability code settings in the mcicap file entries:

       ns#4
       nd#9

       Defaults for Mapping

       If the quantity of a type of element or its physical addresses are  not
       provided	 within	 an  mcicap file entry, then the jukebox is queried by
       the driver software.  If the quantity of	 a  type  of  element  becomes
       known  to  the  driver  software	 but not all (or none) of the physical
       addresses become known,	then  the  "missing"  physical	addresses  are
       assumed	to  be	the same as the corresponding logical addresses.  Mode
       select/sense.   Indicates  that	the  media  changer  supports  a  mode
       select/sense  capability	 as stated in the SCSI-II standards documenta‐
       tion.  Number of slots.	Specifies the number of	 slot  type  elements.
       The  media  changer, when queried by the media changer driver, may pro‐
       vide the number of slot type elements that it supports.	The  ns	 capa‐
       bility code setting overrides the number provided by the media changer.
       Number of drives.  Specifies the number of drive	 type  elements.   The
       media  changer,	when  queried by the media changer driver, may provide
       the number of drive type elements that it supports.  The nd  capability
       code  setting overrides the number provided by the media changer.  Num‐
       ber of import/export ports.  Specifies the number  of  port  type  ele‐
       ments.	The  media  changer, when queried by the media changer driver,
       may provide the number of port type elements that it supports.  The  np
       capability  code	 setting  overrides  the  number provided by the media
       changer.	 Number of transports.	Specifies the number of transport type
       elements.  The media changer, when queried by the media changer driver,
       may provide the number of transport type	 elements  that	 it  supports.
       The  nt	capability  code  setting overrides the number provided by the
       media changer.  Prevent/allow functionality.  Indicates that the	 media
       changer	supports  a  prevent/allow capability as stated in the SCSI-II
       standards  documentation.   Position-to-element.	  Indicates  that  the
       media  changer  supports	 a position-to-element capability as stated in
       the SCSI-II standards documentation.  Read diagnostics.	Indicates that
       the  media  changer supports a read diagnostics capability as stated in
       the SCSI-II standards documentation.  Read element  status.   Indicates
       that  the  media	 changer  supports a read element status capability as
       stated in the SCSI-II standards	documentation.	 Release/reserve  ele‐
       ment.  Indicates that the media changer supports a release/reserve ele‐
       ment capability as stated in the SCSI-II standards documentation.  Type
       compatible  entry field.	 Equates the string value to the first name of
       a previous entry in the mcicap file.  The entry in which the  tc	 field
       exists  is  compatible  (has  the  same	capabilities)  as a previously
       defined entry - the entry indicated by the string value.	  This	allows
       capabilities  which  are	 associated with the media changer model to be
       defined once, while the more specific media changer information -  such
       as that regarding connectivity and device naming - is defined with each
       individual media changer's logical name.	 For a sample of  how  to  use
       the  tc	field  see the EXAMPLE section near the end of these reference
       pages.  Two-sided medium.  Indicates that the jukebox media  is	double
       sided;  also  indicates	that the media changer transport mechanism can
       perform an invert operation.  Volume tag. Indicates  that  the  jukebox
       returns	volume	tag information (when valid) as part of the output for
       the element status function.  The element status	 function  is  the  -e
       option to the mcutil command.

   Preparing Descriptions
       The  amount  of	information  that  must be provided in the mcicap file
       entry is dependent on the particular jukebox.  It is possible to have a
       very short entry because the media changer can provide certain informa‐
       tion.  For example, the HP100 is	 typical  of  most  SCSI-II  compliant
       media  changers	because	 the number and address of each element can be
       provided by the media changer.	Therefore,  that  information  is  not
       required	 in the mcicap file entry.  Some jukeboxes require an explicit
       command to eject the media from the drive before a move	from  a	 drive
       can  be	accomplished.  Therefore, for some jukeboxes, you must provide
       certain information within the mcicap file entry - information such  as
       device  names  -	 that  allows for particular media changer operations.
       Such an operation would be opening a drive and giving  the  eject  com‐
       mand.

       If  an  mcicap  file  entry provides information that the media changer
       also provides, the mcicap file entry takes precedence.  For example, if
       the  media  changer  states  it	has X number of slots, the mcicap file
       entry for that media changer changes that  number  by  providing	 a  ns
       capability  code	 setting.   In this way you can, for example, make the
       HP100 media changer look and act like it has fewer slots available.

       The most effective way to prepare a media  changer  description	is  by
       imitating  the  description  of	a  similar media changer in the mcicap
       file; then build up a description gradually.  To check the validity  of
       a  particular  media  changer  description, use the mcutil command.  To
       test a new media changer description, set the MCICAP environment	 vari‐
       able to the path name of the file containing the description.  The mcu‐
       til command reads that file rather than the /etc/mcicap file.  The MCI‐
       CAP  environment	 variable can also be set to the mcicap file entry (to
       avoid having the mcutil utility read a file).  See the mcutil reference
       page for more information.

RESTRICTIONS
       A  very unusual media changer may expose deficiencies in the ability of
       the mcicap file to describe it.	Also, an  unusual  media  changer  may
       expose deficiencies in the mcutil command.

EXAMPLES
       The  following entry, which describes the TL800, is typical of an entry
       in the mcicap file:

	 TL800|backup_tape_changer|remote_backup_TC:
	      :ae:re:is:ls:pe:pa:rs:
	      :dt=tape:
	      :mc=/dev/mc9:it=scsi2:dn="/dev/changer/mc9":

FILES
       File containing media changer descriptions.

RELATED INFORMATION
       Commands: mcutil(1)

       Files: mc(7) delim off

								     mcicap(4)
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