Reference Guide

Chapter 4 SCSI Commands
ERASE Command (19h)
DLT-S4 Interface Reference Guide 33
ERASE Command (19h) 4
The ERASE command erases the data on the tape medium. The tape drive
erases the data only if the Long bit is set to 1 and the drive receives the
ERASE command while it is at Beginning of Tape (BOT). If the Long bit is
set to 0, this command has no effect on the tape medium.
Figure 5 ERASE Command
Descriptor Block — Data
Format
Table 15 ERASE Command
Descriptor Block — Field
Descriptions
Note: The time required to completely erase a tape cartridge is more
than 3 hours.
Bit
Byte
7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
0 Operation Code (19h)
1 Reserved Immed Long
2 — 4 Reserved
5 Control
Field Description
Immed Immediate. If set to 0, the drive does not return status
until the selected operation has completed. If set to 1, the
drive returns status as soon as it initiates the operation.
Long Must be set to 1 to perform an erase operation. Issuing an
ERASE command when the tape is not at BOT is an
ILLEGAL REQUEST. If set to 0, the drive performs no
operation—the
ERASE command does not affect the tape.