[comp.os.vms] Tape management systems

nagy%warner.hepnet@LBL.GOV (Frank J. Nagy, VAX Wizard & Guru) (03/22/88)

> I appreciate your remarks concerning BACKUP. Indeed, due to all the replies
> I have received, I have learned a good deal about the parameters associated
> with BACKUP. This has led me to a broader question: Is it possible to manage
> tapes sensibly on VMS?  I used a CDC Cyber for many years and I cannot find
> anything under VMS to approach the LABEL command under NOS.  In general, I
> am concerned about the issue of security and device allocation/deallocation.
> Have you addressed these issues in your shop, or do you know of anything
> on the DECUS tapes or commercially available that addresses this issue?
     
No, the general issue of labelled tapes etc. has not been addressed even
in the main high end VAXCluster at Fermilab.  Tape drive allocation is
managed by an inhouse tape daemon and rights identifiers to allow tapes
to be (mostly) used from batch jobs (all the cluster machines are always
running at 100% capacity except the 8800 which runs at 200%) with some
drives reserved for system backup usage and some allowed for interactive
access.

There is a commercial product called TAPESYS available.  The vendor name
escapes me.  I have no experience with it so someone else will have to
respond.

Finally, Digital has a new product in the works to manage tapes and disk
(optical) disks.  This is rumored to be announcing within the next few
months (I've heard everything from March to May/June; like other things
it *probably* requires VMS V5.0 so might be waiting on that).  Contact
your Digital Sales Rep for more information (probably on a non-disclosure
basis).

= Frank J. Nagy   "VAX Guru & Wizard"
= Fermilab Research Division EED/Controls
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jdh@bsu-cs.UUCP (John Hiday) (03/29/88)

In article <880322070817.2d200fdd@LBL.Gov> nagy%warner.hepnet@LBL.GOV (Frank J. Nagy, VAX Wizard & Guru) writes:
> [...]
>Finally, Digital has a new product in the works to manage tapes and disk
>(optical) disks.  This is rumored to be announcing within the next few
>months (I've heard everything from March to May/June; like other things
>it *probably* requires VMS V5.0 so might be waiting on that).  Contact
>your Digital Sales Rep for more information (probably on a non-disclosure
>basis).
>

There was a session on this at Fall DECUS.  The closest thing to a release
date I could get from anyone was "probably before Spring DECUS."  They
did say that it would run on V4.7, so there must be something else holding
it up.  Possibly the optical disk, since I think I remember them saying
that the two products would be announced together.

If there is sufficient interest I could post a summary of my notes from
that session.  It looks like a nice product, but then I have no experience
with the tape management systems available on other machines to compare it
to.

-- 
== John Hiday                UUCP: <backbones>!{iuvax,pur-ee,uunet}!bsu-cs!jdh
== Ball State University / University Computing Services        GEnie: JDHIDAY
== Muncie, IN 47306