A method of interacting with tape storage media in a storage management system , comprising: storing, using a tape archive device , a data object within a plurality of partitions (30 1 , 30 2 , ...) on a storage tape , wherein one or more of said partitions are non-contiguous, and wherein all of said partitions are linked to form at least a portion of a logical volume; positioning said tape archive device at a start of said data object; and using said tape archive device, reading said data object, characterized in that : said using comprises transmitting to the tape archive device, from a host application running on a server , a read command; and responsive to receiving the read command, said tape archive device automatically transitions between each of said partitions forming said logical volume to read said data object; wherein said storing step comprises: providing, by the host application to said tape archive device, a writable mask that informs said tape archive device that each of said partitions is writeable; transmitting to the tape archive device, from the host application, a write command; and responsive to receiving said write command at the tape archive device, writing, by said tape archive device to said storage tape, said data object within said plurality of said partitions on said storage tape. storing, using a tape archive device , a data object within a plurality of partitions (30 1 , 30 2 , ...) on a storage tape , wherein one or more of said partitions are non-contiguous, and wherein all of said partitions are linked to form at least a portion of a logical volume; positioning said tape archive device at a start of said data object; and using said tape archive device, reading said data object, characterized in that : said using comprises transmitting to the tape archive device, from a host application running on a server , a read command; and responsive to receiving the read command, said tape archive device automatically transitions between each of said partitions forming said logical volume to read said data object; said using comprises transmitting to the tape archive device, from a host application running on a server , a read command; and responsive to receiving the read command, said tape archive device automatically transitions between each of said partitions forming said logical volume to read said data object; wherein said storing step comprises: providing, by the host application to said tape archive device, a writable mask that informs said tape archive device that each of said partitions is writeable; transmitting to the tape archive device, from the host application, a write command; and responsive to receiving said write command at the tape archive device, writing, by said tape archive device to said storage tape, said data object within said plurality of said partitions on said storage tape. providing, by the host application to said tape archive device, a writable mask that informs said tape archive device that each of said partitions is writeable; transmitting to the tape archive device, from the host application, a write command; and responsive to receiving said write command at the tape archive device, writing, by said tape archive device to said storage tape, said data object within said plurality of said partitions on said storage tape. <EOS>