obtar -Xlabel

Purpose

Use obtar -Xlabel to pre-label tape volumes. This action enables obtar to associate a printed label on the tape with the recorded contents of the tape.

Usage Notes

Use the following steps to pre-label a tape volume.

Before using a volume for the first time, assign a unique identifier to it. The identifier can be between 1 and 31 characters long. Write this identifier on a printed label (the volume tag) on the outside of the tape, or use a pre-printed label.
Place the write-enabled volume in any accessible tape drive.
From any host on which Oracle Secure Backup is installed, do the following:
1. Log in as root, or log in to Oracle Secure Backup as a user belonging to a class having the manage devices and change device state right.
2. Execute an obtar -Xlabel command in the following form:
```
obtar -Xlabel -Xtag:volume-tag -f tape-device
```

After you have labeled a tape, obtar retains the association between the volume tag and the volume ID. The tag is the external identifier, whereas the volume ID is the internal one. Whenever obtar displays the label for that volume, it also displays the volume tag. Similarly, when obtar prompts you for a volume at restore time, it displays both the volume ID and tag.

Syntax

obtar -Xlabel::=

obtar -Xlabel [ -Xtag:tag ] [ -Xfamily[:family] ] [ -f device_name ]

Semantics

You can specify a number of options with obtar -Xlabel; this section describes those options that you are most likely to use. Refer to "obtar Options" to learn about additional obtar -Xlabel options.

-Xtag[:tag]: Specifies tag as the volume tag (barcode) to be written to the volume label. This option is not required if Oracle Secure Backup is already aware of the volume's tag or the volume resides in a library equipped with a barcode reader and the volume has a readable barcode attached.
-Xfamily[:family]: Specifies that the volume being labeled belongs to the media family named family.
-f device: Specifies the name of a device. If you omit the -f option, then obtar reads from the device specified by the TAPE environment variable, if it is defined.

Examples

Pre-Labeling a Tape

Example 4-32 labels the tape volume in tape0 with the tag WKLY58010.

Example 4-32 Pre-Labeling a Tape

obtar -Xlabel -Xtag:WKLY58010 -f tape0

You can omit the -Xtag option if the volume has a machine-readable tag (barcode) and resides in a library equipped with a barcode reader.

Pre-Labeling a Tape with a Media Family

When you label a volume, you can optionally tell obtar to limit that volume's use to a specified media family. In this case, obtar will not allow data destined for media families other than the one you specify to be written to the volume.

To select the media family for the volume, include the option, -Xfa:family-name on the obtar command line.

Example 4-33 labels the tape in the tape drive rdrive MMR-2006 and restricts its usage to media family INCR.

Example 4-33 Specifying a Media Family

obtar -Xlabel -Xtag:MMR-2006 -f rdrive -Xfa:INCR