User Guide

Ampex 1308911-02 A-5
Glossary and Acronyms Glossary
End of Media (EOM)
Same as End of Partition.
End of Media Warning (EMW)
(End of Media Warning is more appropriately thought of as End of
Partition Warning. The terminology is maintained for consistency with
earlier DD-2 tape configurations.) EMW is a position located ten
physical blocks (approximately 11.4 MB) before the end of a partition.
This position is a recorded mark on tape that is not user configurable.
User data can be written to the first seven physical blocks starting at
EMW if necessary, but the last three physical blocks are reserved for
system use.
End of Partition (EOP)
A mark recorded on the Logical Address Track that indicates the end
of a user data partition.
End of Recording (EOR)
Same as End of Data (EOD).
End of Tape Zone (EOT)
A zone near the end of tape starting at the physical end of media
(PEOM) and ending at the physical end of tape (PEOT). Tape can
unload here manually by selecting EJECT and pressing the EJECT
switch on the front panel, or by a software command. This is not
recommended, as the EOT zone has no volume format information, so
when the cartridge is reinserted, the drive must find the nearest system
zone on tape before doing any other functions. See End of Partition.
EOR End of Recording, another name for End of Data.
errno A system variable that holds the latest system call error code.
Error Code A value set by an unsuccessful system call that indicates the reason for
the failure. The system variable
errno contains the last error code
reported.
Error Log A set of internal tape drive counters that keep track of error, service,
and operational statistics. Logged events include things such as read/
write errors, buffer over and underruns, feet of tape head movement,
seconds of tape head contact, and the like.
File Descriptor An integer value returned by the open system call that uniquely
identifies the open interface to the device.