User Guide

6-12 Ampex 1308911-02
Model No.
Running Head
dd2_format_tape DD-2 Utilities Manual Pages
35 physical blocks are reserved for system information and therefore
not available for user data, leaving a usable minimum size of 200
physical blocks (roughly 240 million bytes).
If the format type is Initialize or Partial, zero is the only valid value.
bcount The number of Group B partitions per partition pattern, in the range
0-255. A zero indicates that there is only one type of partition on the
tape (the Group A partition).
If the format type is Initialize, zero is the only valid value. If the format
type is Partial, one is the only valid value.
layout Tape layout, as specified by one of the following strings which indicate
how to handle allocation of partitions across system zones. You can
leave this element empty, in which case Pack is the default layout.
Alternate Puts a system zone between every partition and no system
zones inside of any partition. If there is not enough space
for a full partition between the last system zone and the End
of Tape (EOT), the remaining space is not used.
Pack Packs as many partitions as possible onto the tape, allowing
any given partition to span a system zone if necessary. If
there is not enough space for a full partition between the
last system zone and EOT, the remaining space is not used.
Pack is the only valid string if the format type is Initialize
Stretch Any given partition is stretched to the next system zone if
there is not room for another partition before the system
zone. This can mean that some partitions are larger than the
specified size. If there is not enough space for a full
partition between the last system zone and EOT, the last
partition is extended to EOT.
Waste Does not allocate partitions across system zones. Instead,
allocates each partition with exactly the specified size,
wasting any space between the end of the partition and the
system zone if there’s not enough room for another
partition before the system zone. If there is not enough
space for a full partition between the last system zone and
EOT, the remaining space is not used.
NoZones Formats the tape without system zones.