In message <199603290251.VAA07902@jfwhome.funhouse.com>, "John F. Woods" writes
:
>> I read a tech doc over at www.austin.ibm.com and they have info on how to
>> deal with scsi tapes, etc... it's a pretty decent document.
>> They mention most tape drives can be put in either fixed-block or
>> variable-block modes.... is this true, and if so, how do I know which
>> mode NetBSD is using?  Can it be changed?
>
>This is IBM you're talking about.  They probably figure that half-inch
>800BPI reel-to-reel tape drives still dominate the earth.

IBM's probably refering to 8mm drives, all of the RS/6000 AIX boxen have a
"fixed" and "variable" length block size options when you configure the
devices.  It can be a real pain when you want to exchange tapes with an HP or a
Sun. 8-)

>
>I'm pretty sure none of the QIC standards permit anything other than 512
>bytes per block.
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Jeremy C. McDermond					mcdermj@xenotropic.com
Xenotropic Imaging Systems
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