1/2" tape cleaners?

[Doc Shipley]

Ethan Dicks wrote:

> On Sun, Oct 24, 2004 at 03:41:45PM -0500, Doc Shipley wrote:
> 
>>  It's amazing how much faster a DLT4000 runs when you set the 
>>blocksize to 0 (variable - allows the tape drive to set it and the app 
>>to override) instead of 512 bytes.  :)
> 
> 
> Ooh!  Nice!  I may have to fiddle with that (I'm making personal backups
> on some DLT drive of that vintage)

   Any recent Linux _should_ be doing the right thing.  The only time 
I've actually had trouble with a DLT was the aforementioned DLT4000 on 
an RS/6000.  AIX doesn't really believe that devices not IBM-branded can 
perform up to spec, and sets them to the lowest possible common spec. 
In this case, a hard setting of 512-byte blocksize.

   A mksysb backup speeded up by a factor of 30 when Jonathan coaxed the 
OS into using the drive's own settings.


	Doc