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markh794 / mhvtl

Linux based Virtual Tape Library
http://sites.google.com/site/linuxvtl2/
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LTFS #78

Open slawomirksiazek opened 2 years ago

slawomirksiazek commented 2 years ago

Hello, Is it possible to add LTFS support? Thanks

markh794 commented 2 years ago

I get a request for LTFS about every 12 - 18mths (not a high volume). A VTL converts a perfectly good block device into a sequential device. LTFS makes a sequential device look like a block device. Apart from testing (fundamentally) non existent software writing LTFS, the feature really doesn't make sense for a VTL. I'd be happy to accept patches to add the feature, but I can't see myself having time & effort to add LTFS anytime soon.

I'm happy to be corrected

Cheers, Mark

scsirob commented 2 years ago

LTFS for Linux and some BSD flavors is readily available. The HP developers have turned over their code to the IBM devs and you can find ltfs with support for either brand here: https://github.com/LinearTapeFileSystem/ltfs

LTFS requires partition support. When/if mhVTL supports partitions then LTFS should work too. It requires some fundamental changes to the file structures in mhVTL, it's not trivial.