Bruce:

You asked some questions about tape management (I've lost the original post
so please bear with me).

When you mention labels, I assume you're not talking about tape labels, but
about the sticky kind that get affixed to the tape cassette.  We have all of our
DAT's numbered and labelled.  We usually just put the date and the reel series
number on the label (3/10 #1 of 3), unless it's an archival backup (like year-
end) and then we put a larger label on it detailing exactly what's on the
tape.  We don't keep any paper backup listings.  The nightly backup listings
go into a disk file which is imported into a data base where the file names
are linked by backup date and tape reel number, so I can always find out which
file was backed up when and which tape reel(s) it is on.  Obsolete backups
(reels which are being used over again in the rotation) are automatically
deleted from the data base so the data base contains only the current backup
tapes.  Archival backups may have a paper listing, but usually the label is
self-describing (archival backups are *not* in the tape data base).

Here's how this works.  Each morning I remove the previous night's backup tape
and insert a new tape (the next one from the rotation).  I enter the "reel"
number(s) (I know they're not reels, but the machine doesn't!).  The backup
executes at night and creates a uniquely named disk file (Lyymmdd).  The disk
file is read and the reel number(s) used are scratched from the tape library
and re-entered using the new backup listing.  A file is created (that I print
to the terminal when I sign on) that tells me if the backup was successful and
how many MB and which "reels" were used.  The tape library is an Image data base
that I can use QUERY on the locate files.

We wrote all of the software for this ourselves (in COBOL).  If you're
interested
in further details, contact me.

Jim Phillips                            Manager of Information Systems
E-Mail: [log in to unmask]      Therm-O-Link, Inc.
Phone: (330) 527-2124                   P. O. Box 285
  Fax: (330) 527-2123                   Garrettsville, Ohio  44231