1 HV Installation and Operations Guide

38 Buffered Tape Writes Chapter 2

Buffered Tape Writes

Buffered Tape Writes is an option designed to enhance system performance.

By returning status on consecutive write commands prior to the tape device

receiving data, Buffered Tape Writes remove the latency of waiting for

responses from the tape device. In the event that data does not transfer

correctly for any reason, the bridge will return a check condition on a

subsequent command.

Commands other than Write(6) are not issued until status is received for any

pending write. Also, status is not returned until the device completes the

command. For instance, when a synchronizing command is sent to a drive,

such as sending a Write File mark, a good status means all prior commands

have been successfully completed and data has been successfully written to the

medium. This is appropriate for such tasks as file backup/restore.

For more information, see SCSI on page 89.