In: Categories » Computers and technology » Storage devices » Configuring Linux to Support a Tape Drive
| The ease of configuring Linux to support a tape drive depends on the Linux distribution and version, the type of drive, the interface it uses, and whether the drive is present when Linux is installed or is added later. If you use a modern, mainstream ATAPI or SCSI drive with a recent Linux distribution, installation will likely be straightforward. If you use an older distribution, an obsolescent or proprietary drive, or a drive that uses an interface other than ATAPI or SCSI, you may encounter significant problems getting the drive to work, if indeed you can get it working at all. You can use the following tape drives with Linux:
Once Linux recognizes a tape drive, you can use bundled Linux applications such as tar, mt, mtx, dump, restore, and cpio to write and read tapes in the drive. You can also use full-featured backup applications such as BRU (http://www.tolisgroup.com/), Amanda (http://www.amanda.org/), and Arkeia (http://www.arkeia.com/) to implement a formal backup program. Here are some useful sites that cover various aspects of using tape drives with Linux:
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