Linux Tape Backup
Linux Drivers
LSI SAS2008
My first obstacle was getting the drive to show up in Linux. Apparently RHEL/CentOS decided to stop putting LSI SAS2008 (SAS9200-8e) drivers in the distro, starting with RHEL/CentOS8. Here's some more info: https://access.redhat.com/discussions/3722151 Also a helpful vid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fOAuXiynYM
I was able to get the correct drivers for my LSI SAS9200-8e using the driver that matched my kernel (CentOS Stream 8/4.18.0-448.el8.x86_6) here: http://mirror.centos.org/centos/8-stream/kmods/x86_64/packages-rebuild/Packages/k/ (I used kmod-mlx4-4.18.0~448-1.el8s.x86_64.rpm).
Also, FWIW, I'm using a Quantum Ultrium LTO 4 (Model B) SAS Tape Drive attached to a LSI SAS9200-8e. I'm using a fresh install of CentOS Stream 8 on a Dell PowerEdge R730xd.
LSI SAS3008 / Dell 12Gbps HBA
I have since switched to a LSI SAS3008 PCI-Express Fusion-MPT SAS-3 (branded as a Dell 0T93GD 12G SAS HBA Low Profile Dual Port Host Bus Adapter) and the card just worked out of the box with RHEL 9.3. I'm still using the Quantum Ultrium LTO 4 (Model B) SAS Tape Drive, mounted in a 2U Dell PowerVault 114X enclosure.
Using The Tape Drive In Linux
The main program you will use is call "mt". You can install it by running sudo yum install mt-st.
/dev/st0 rewinds tape after being written to
/dev/nst0 don't rewind tape after being written to
Check if tape is online
mt -f /dev/st0 status
A cartridge is inserted and ready to write. Because we used /dev/st0, the tape rewound itself after executing the command, and is now positioned at the beginning.
List The First file
file - < /dev/nst0
Example Output: blah
Forward Tape To Next File
mt -f /dev/nst0 fsf 1
Seek To A File On The Tape
mt -f /dev/nst0 asf {file_number}
File numbers start at zero (0).
Write Directory To Tape, At Current Position
tar cvf /dev/nst0 {directory}
or, you can also write the file list to a file so you have a record of files:
tar cvf /dev/nst0 {directory} | tee {listing.txt}
Rewind The Tape
mt -f /dev/nst0 rewind
List The Files In The Current Tar File
Make sure you move to the tar file you want, first
tar tf /dev/nst0
or, you can also write the file list to a file so you have a record of files:
tar tf /dev/nst0 | tee {listing.txt}