Table of Contents
- Packaging Information
- Initiating the MCP TapeStack Utility
- STACK Function
- UNSTACK Function
- APPEND Function
- ENCRYPT Function
- DECRYPT Function
- ENCRYPT&STACK Function
- ENCRYPT&APPEND Function
- UNSTACK&DECRYPT Function
- CONSOLIDATE Function
- DUPLICATE Function
- INVALIDATE Function
- DIRECTORY Function
- SIZE Function
- RECREATEDIRECTORY Function
- SETTINGS Function
- HELP Function
The MCP TapeStack utility is a set of functions that supports media migration, tape stacking, and tape encryption on MCP systems. Stacking and unstacking support media translation to and from heterogeneous tape drivers and media. This allows the user to stack up to 10,000 aging tapes (18- and 36-track) to a single high-capacity (for example, 9840, SDLT, and LTO) modern tape. Most TapeStack functions require the system to have at least two tape drives connected and usable. You can, however, view or re-create a directory and size tapes with only one tape drive.
The functions provided by the MCP TapeStack utility are the following:
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Stack – Reads multiple source tapes in their native format and writes them in an encoded (stacked) format to a single destination tape.
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Unstack – Reads a stacked tape and decodes a previously stacked tape image and creates a new tape in its native format.
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Append – Reads multiple source tapes in their native format and writes them in an encoded (stacked) format to the end of an existing stacked destination tape.
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Encrypt – Reads a source tape, encrypts the data, and writes it to an output tape.
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Decrypt – Reads an encrypted tape, decrypts the data, and writes it to an output tape.
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Encrypt&Stack – Reads multiple source tapes in their native format, encrypts the data, and writes the original data in an encoded (stacked) format to a single destination tape.
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Encrypt&Append – Reads multiple source tapes in their native format, encrypts the data, and writes the original data in an encoded (stacked) format to the end of an existing stacked tape.
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Unstack&Decrypt – Reads a stacked tape, locates a previously stacked image, decrypts the data, and creates a new tape in its native format.
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Consolidate – Combines multiple, previously stacked tapes into a single stacked tape, which contains all the stacked tape images from the input stacked tapes.
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Duplicate – Makes a duplicate copy of a stacked tape.
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Invalidate – Logically invalidates a specific stacked tape volume on a stacked tape.
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Directory – Lists the contents of a stacked tape.
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Size – Reads a set of native format tapes to determine how much data is on the tapes. This feature is useful as an assessment tool to determine the current tape utilization and the value of using the MCP TapeStack utility.
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Recreate Directory – Rebuilds the directory of all virtual tape volumes on a stacked tape if it has become damaged or is missing.
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Settings – View and change MCP TapeStack settings.
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Help – Provides help on using the MCP TapeStack utility.
The advantages of using the MCP TapeStack utility include the following:
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Media consolidation – By providing the ability to stack multiple tape volumes onto a single stacked tape, the MCP TapeStack utility can greatly reduce the number of tape media cartridges needed.
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Media migration – The MCP TapeStack utility provides the ability to migrate from older, potentially obsolete, tape media types to newer higher capacity and performance tape media types. For example, many existing 18- and 36-track tapes can be stacked onto a single LTO tape. To retrieve any of the original tape volumes, an unstack operation is performed to re-create the tape volume, on a modern tape media type (for example, LTO, 9x40, and SDLT).
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Media Security – The MCP TapeStack utility provides the ability to secure data by encrypting tape volumes.
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Cost Savings – By using the MCP TapeStack utility to provide media consolidation and migration, the number of tape cartridges needed can be dramatically reduced. In addition, older tape drive types can be replaced with modern tape drives.
