From: afgun@engin.umich.edu (Andrew F Gunnesch)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux
Subject: Re: Tape Drive Questions
Followup-To: comp.os.linux
Date: 28 Jan 1993 18:12:09 GMT
Organization: What?  We don't need no stinkin' organization
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: beck.engin.umich.edu
Summary: Quick QIC summary?
Keywords: QIC

In article <2250@osiris.bosch.de> mchapman@eis.k8.rt.bosch.de writes:
>I asked these questions to the TAPE channel but got no answers except 
>for some hate mail telling me I should not be so dumb as to ask and 
>serveral mails saying "hey, I want to know the answers too!!"
>So can someone **PLEASE** enlighten us all and post the answers here!
>
>What is Qic-02 Qic-36 Qic-80 and what is a colorado jumbo?
>
>Hey! I'm really confused! Can someone please enlighten me and
>other ordinary mortals what all these qic numbers are. It
>would also be good to know what tape drives from what manufacturers
>are what standards.
>
>For instance the colorado jumbo 250MB drive. (Its adverised just
>like that and nobody seems to be able to say what it is except that
>it is QIC compatible!!!!) Is that QIC-125? 
>Could I read/write QIC 80 tapes with it?  
>Do I want to (for data interchange)?
>
>What is the most interchangable tape format?
>
>What interfaces are supported with linux up to now?
>
>What interface has a colorado jumbo, archive xxx, everex xxx etc?
>
>What are the chances of getting enough info from the
>manufacturer to write/adapt a driver for it?
>
>What are the chances of someone who knows nothing about
>tape drivers (but a bit about unix drivers) writing a driver
>for it?
>
>What standard do people use to exchange tapes (QIC-80 QIC-125 ??)
>
>Any constructive enlightenment would be appreciated.
>I think this is of sufficient interest to post any replies
>to comp.os.linux.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Mike
 
Here's what I can offer you.  I'm not sure on the correctness, so
please take my posting with a grain of salt.

QIC-36 is a "basic" tape drive interface.  The next step up is the
QIC-02 intelligent interface.  For SCSI, there is QIC-104/111 as an
interface.  Larger capacity drives use QIC-121, a SCSI-2 interface.
Note that the QIC-36 interface can only do QIC-24 as a recording
format.

These drives have several recording formats.  QIC-24, an older format,
has a native capacity of 60MB, uncompressed, using the 600A tape.
The next step up is QIC-120, using the 6150 tapes.  You get 125 MB
on a QIC-120 drive with this tape.  A QIC-120 drive should be able
to read QIC-24 tapes.  Above this, there is QIC-150.  On the 6150
tape you will get 150 MB, and 250 MB on the 6250 tapes.  Read compat-
ibility is QIC24/120.  QIC-525 uses DC 6525 cartridges for 525 MB or
DC6320 cartridges for 320 MB.  One of these drives should be able to
read QIC-120 or 150 format tapes.

Above and beyond this are completely SCSI drives, mostly SCSI-2 that
do from 1 to 10 GB/tape, uncompressed.


The minicartridge drives are a whole other ballgame.  I'm not terribly
familiar with those, suffice to say that common formats are QIC-40/80,
and then QIC-100/128 and above.

Colorado Jumbo drives are the minicartridge variety, and tend to run
off of the floppy diskette drive controller.

Many Archive, Everex, Wangtek drives are QIC-02 or the SCSI interface.
I've had experience with this type.

The drivers are not simple to write, and timing is critical in the
floppy-controller style drives.  Perhaps a bit too tight for reliable
use under Linux.  I do not know HOW complex one of these drivers is,
though I've heard that someone has one in alpha testing.  I've used
Hennus Bergman's QIC-02 driver with my setup with good results, though
my machine isn't fast enough to stream.

Archive told me that my SC-400 is a QIC-36 card, but it DOES work with
the QIC-02 driver for Archive cards.

Hope this information is what you were looking for.  Good luck, and
please contribute to the development of Linux if you can!

--andrew
Andrew F. Gunnesch           /-\     "I disapprove of what you say, but I will
afgun@caen.engin.umich.edu  |   |  __   __           __    defend to the death
==> Evil CAEN sysadmin <==  |===| |__| |  | |   |   |  |   your  right to  say
 What?  I just work here    |   | |    |__| |__ |__ |__|   it."     --Voltaire
-- 
Andrew F. Gunnesch           /-\     "I disapprove of what you say, but I will
afgun@caen.engin.umich.edu  |   |  __   __           __    defend to the death
==> Evil CAEN sysadmin <==  |===| |__| |  | |   |   |  |   your  right to  say
 What?  I just work here    |   | |    |__| |__ |__ |__|   it."     --Voltaire