For information about managing Fibre Channel tape devices,
see the Guidelines for OpenVMS Cluster Configurations.
Getting
Magnetic Tape Device Information You
can enter the SHOW DEVICES command to find available magnetic drives
on your system. The SHOW DEVICES/FULL command enables you to retrieve
additional information about the characteristics of a particular
magnetic tape device.
Modifying
Magnetic Tape Device Characteristics Use
the DCL command SET MAGTAPE to define the default characteristics
associated with a specific magnetic tape device for subsequent file
operations. The device must not be currently allocated to any other user.
The following examples illustrate uses of the SET MAGTAPE
command in conjunction with the MOUNT command.
The MOUNT command mounts a tape on the MTB1: device. The /FOREIGN
qualifier indicates that the tape is not in the standard format
used by the operating system. For example, certain Backup utility (BACKUP)
operations require you to mount a tape with the /FOREIGN qualifier. The SET MAGTAPE command defines the density at 800 bpi for
writing to the magnetic tape. (The density is reset only if the
magnetic tape has never been written before.)
The MOUNT command mounts a foreign magnetic tape on the MTA0:
device; the SET MAGTAPE command directs the I/O subsystem to position
the magnetic tape to skip four files.
$MOUNT MTA1:/FOREIGN$SET MAGTAPE/REWIND MTA1:
The MOUNT command mounts a foreign tape on the MTA1: device;
the SET MAGTAPE/REWIND command rewinds the volume.
HP OpenVMS System Manager's Manual, Volume 1:... 
Managing Peripheral Devices
