Understanding tape files

What a tape file is

All data on a tape is stored in tape files. Tape files are separated by file marks on the tape and have no names. You specify a tape file by its position on the tape.

Reading and writing tape files

You write a tape file using a tape device that you specify. When you read the tape file, you must specify a device that has the same compression type that you used to write it. The compression type is indicated by the last character in the tape device name, for example, the a in nrst0a.

For example, if you have two tape drives of the same model with tape drive numbers 1 and 2 and you write a file on nrst0a, you can read it safely on the other tape drive using rst1a, because devices of the same model have the same compression type (type a).