Re: Virtual Tape format

date: Mon, 29 Sep 2025 16:55:30 +0000 (UTC)
from: cesco via MIDRANGE-L <midrange-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Re: Virtual Tape format

What do you want to achieve at an higher level?
Save directly to AWS or a local gateway that emulates tapes (VTL) via FC or iscsi?If you just want move the file to AWS for archival, just copy the file via S3 from the I

I have a number of physical IBM SL tapes I need to get the data off of in a format where I can transport them over the internet to someone else.

The data on the tapes is exceedingly rare. I need to 1) Digitize them in ANY kind of reconstructable format, and 2) Get them in some kind of interchange format other people without AS/400s can use.

They are mainframe data, and most modern mainframes and emulators can cope with AWSTape format (this has nothing to to with Amazon Web Services, by the way, AWSTape is a different thing altogether).

1) is easy. I can read the tapes on an AS/400 into an image catalog, and then I have the data digitized in at least SOME format that I can duplicate.

2) is harder. I don't know what the actual file format is of the virtual tape volumes, so I need to find some way to convert those virtual volumes to something like AWSTape.

I can use a PC running a mainframe emulator to read the tapes directly into AWSTape format (there are dos/Mac/linux utilities do to this), but I don't have a way (currently) to hook an HVD Differential SCSI tape drive up to a PC with an LVD SCSI card in it. Which is a different problem altogether.

I was just hoping that there was documentation somewhere for the virtual tape format used in image catalogs, so I didn't have to read these old tapes down more than once.

Thanks,
Joe