Joe Geiser wrote
>On Saturday, June 28, 1997 9:21 AM, Max & Gloria Buten
>[SMTP:[log in to unmask]] wrote:
>> We want to copy a 400 MB file to tape to send to an IBM system.
.................

>FCOPY can use multiple tapes when LABEL is specified on the file
>equation.  Since you are going to an IBM system, and it probably has
>no problem with IBM labels, use a FILE equation such as:
>
>  :FILE T;DEV=TAPE;REC={record parms};LABEL={labelp},IBM
>
>Where {record parms} are the record length, blocking factor, etc. and
>{labelp} is the six character Label, surrounded by quotation marks.
>
>You will be prompted for the tape by label on the console.  Reply as
>usual.  If the tape goes to a second reel, you will be prompted on
>the console for the second reel.

Write labels on ALL the tapes you THINK you might need before you start.
You can't put labels on any but the first tape during the copy process, and
the tapes MUST be labelled.

In general, the label parameter doesn't need to be in quotation marks.  It
can be less than 6 characters (spaces implied at the end).

You can translate to EBCDIC at the same time using FCOPY.  I've never tried
it in this direction myself, but I believe the label translation is done
separately (or not at all) so there is the possibility of confusing the IBM
machine.

Make the blocking factor as large as you can.  This maximizes the ratio of
data to inter-record (really inter-block) space and gets more data on each
tape.  There is a limit on blocking factor of 255 and with small record
lengths the blocks can be smaller than the inter-record space!  This is
important when computing how many tapes you think you will need (see above!).

HP uses a "volume set" parameter, which is the same as the label on the
first tape, and a "volume" identifier, which is the label of the individual
tape.  This can get almighty confusing at times, particularly when reading
the tapes.


John D. Alleyn-Day
Alleyn-Day International
408-286-6421   408-286-6474 (Fax)
[log in to unmask]       http://www.Alleyn-Day.com