mt(1)								   User Commands							     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 magnetic tape drive are supported. Only as many characters as are
		  required to uniquely identify a command need be specified.

		  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 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 example, bssf 4 searches backwards to the first place where there  are  4
			    sequential file marks and positions to the BOP side of the 4th file mark.

			    This command is not supported by all drives.

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

		  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 example, fssf 4 searches forwards to the first place where there are
			    4 sequential file marks and positions 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 format. See st(7D) for defini-
				  tion 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 cor-
				  rect 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 completes, 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	  Rewinds the tape and, if appropriate, takes the drive unit off-line by unloading the tape.
		  rewoffl

		  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 opera-
				  tion,  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

ATTRIBUTES

       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |      ATTRIBUTE TYPE	     |	    ATTRIBUTE VALUE	   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Availability		     |SUNWcsu			   |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

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-dependent. Refer to the corresponding device manual page.

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

SunOS 5.11							    21 Jun 2007 							     mt(1)