# US 10,120,612 B2 · Apparatus, method, and program product for tape copying

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- Number: US 10,120,612 B2
- Document ID: US10120612B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/402,589
- Filed: 2017-01-10
- Published: 2018-07-12
- Granted: 2018-11-06
- Earliest claimed: 2017-01-10
- Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation
- Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation
- Inventors: Tohru Hasegawa; Hiroshi Itagaki; Sosuke Matsui; Shinsuke Mitsuma; Tsuyoshi Miyamura; Noriko Yamamoto
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10120612B2

## CPC

- G06F 3/065: {Replication mechanisms}
- G06F 3/0619: {in relation to data integrity, e.g. data losses, bit errors}
- G06F 3/0686: {Libraries, e.g. tape libraries, jukebox}
- G06F 7/36: Combined merging and sorting
- G11B 27/002: {Programmed access in sequence to a plurality of record carriers or indexed parts, e.g. tracks, thereof, e.g. for editing; (transfer of record carriers from magazine G11B15/68, G11B17/10; G11B17/22)}
- G11B 27/032: on tapes (G11B27/036, G11B27/038 take precedence)
- G11B 27/10: Indexing; Addressing; Timing or synchronising; Measuring tape travel
- G11B 27/107: {of operating tapes}
- G11B 27/328: {on a tape [TTOC]}
- G11B 5/86: Re-recording, i.e. transcribing information from one magnetisable record carrier on to one or more similar or dissimilar record carriers {(by varying the order of the information G11B27/029, G11B27/036)}
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G11B: INFORMATION STORAGE BASED ON RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN RECORD CARRIER AND TRANSDUCER (recording measured values in a way that does not require playback through a transducer G01D9/00; recording or playback apparatus using mechanically marked tape, e.g. punched paper tape, or using unit records, e.g. punched or magnetically marked cards G06K; transferring data from one type of record carrier to another G06K1/18; circuits for coupling output of reproducer to radio receiver H04B1/20; gramophone pick-ups or like acoustic electromechanical transducers or circuits therefor H04R)

## Abstract

An apparatus, method, system, and program product are disclosed for tape copying. One method includes mounting a first source tape of multiple source tapes on a source tape drive. The method includes mounting a destination tape on a destination tape drive. The method also includes copying a first index of an index partition of the first source tape to a first copied index of an index partition of the destination tape. The method includes storing first position information corresponding to the first copied index on the destination tape. The method also includes copying first data of a data partition of the first source tape to a first copied data of a data partition of the destination tape. The method includes storing second position information corresponding to the first copied data on the destination tape.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus comprising:
a mounting module that mounts a first source tape of a plurality of source tapes on a source tape drive and mounts a destination tape on a destination tape drive;
a duplication module that copies a first index of an index partition of the first source tape to a first copied index of an index partition of the destination tape and copies first data of a data partition of the first source tape to a first copied data of a data partition of the destination tape; and
a positioning module that stores first position information corresponding to the first copied index on the destination tape and stores second position information corresponding to the first copied data on the destination tape;
wherein at least a portion of the mounting module, the duplication module, and the positioning module comprises one or more of hardware and executable code, the executable code being stored on one or more computer readable storage media and wherein:
the mounting module mounts a second source tape of the plurality of source tapes on the source tape drive;
the duplication module copies a second index of an index partition of the second source tape to a second copied index of the index partition of the destination tape and copies second data of a data partition of the second source tape to a second copied data of the data partition of the destination tape; and
the positioning module stores third position information corresponding to the second copied index on the destination tape and stores fourth position information corresponding to the second copied data on the destination tape.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an indexing module that:
reads the first copied index using the first position information;
reads the second copied index using the third position information; and
forms a composite index on the destination tape based on the first copied index and the second copied index.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the index partition of the first source tape comprises a first data storage region having the first index, and the index partition of the destination tape comprises a second data storage region having the first copied index.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a capacity of the destination tape is larger than a capacity of the first source tape.

### Claim 5

A method for tape copying, comprising:
mounting a first source tape of a plurality of source tapes on a source tape drive;
mounting a destination tape on a destination tape drive;
copying a first index of an index partition of the first source tape to a first copied index of an index partition of the destination tape;
storing first position information corresponding to the first copied index on the destination tape;
copying first data of a data partition of the first source tape to a first copied data of a data partition of the destination tape;
storing second position information corresponding to the first copied data on the destination tape;
mounting a second source tape of the plurality of source tapes on the source tape drive;
copying a second index of an index partition of the second source tape to a second copied index of the index partition of the destination tape;
storing third position information corresponding to the second copied index on the destination tape;
copying second data of a data partition of the second source tape to a second copied data of the data partition of the destination tape; and
storing fourth position information corresponding to the second copied data on the destination tape.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, further comprising:
reading the first copied index using the first position information;
reading the second copied index using the third position information; and
forming a composite index on the destination tape based on the first copied index and the second copied index.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein copying the first index of the index partition of the first source tape to the first copied index of the index partition of the destination tape comprises maintaining a form of the index partition of the first source tape in the first copied index.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein copying the first data of the data partition of the first source tape to the first copied data of the data partition of the destination tape comprises maintaining a form of the first data of the first source tape in the first copied data.

### Claim 9 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the index partition of the first source tape comprises a first data storage region having the first index, and the index partition of the destination tape comprises a second data storage region having the first copied index.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method of claim 9, further comprising copying third data of the first data storage region to third copied data in the second data storage region.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein a file mark separates the third data and the first index in the first data storage region.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein a file mark does not separate the third copied data and the first copied index in the second data storage region.

### Claim 13 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein a capacity of the destination tape is larger than a capacity of each tape of the plurality of source tapes.

### Claim 14 (depends on 5)

The method of claim 5, wherein the first source tape is an older generation tape relative to the destination tape.

### Claim 15

A computer program product for tape copying, the computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a processor to cause the processor to:
mount a first source tape of a plurality of source tapes on a source tape drive;
mount a destination tape on a destination tape drive;
copy a first index of an index partition of the first source tape to a first copied index of an index partition of the destination tape;
store first position information corresponding to the first copied index on the destination tape;
copy first data of a data partition of the first source tape to a first copied data of a data partition of the destination tape;
store second position information corresponding to the first copied data on the destination tape;
mount a second source tape of the plurality of source tapes on the source tape drive;
copy a second index of an index partition of the second source tape to a second copied index of the index partition of the destination tape;
store third position information corresponding to the second copied index on the destination tape;
copy second data of a data partition of the second source tape to a second copied data of the data partition of the destination tape; and
store fourth position information corresponding to the second copied data on the destination tape.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The computer program product of claim 15, wherein copying the first index of the index partition of the first source tape to the first copied index of the index partition of the destination tape comprises maintaining a form of the index partition of the first source tape in the first copied index.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The computer program product of claim 15, wherein copying the first data of the data partition of the first source tape to the first copied data of the data partition of the destination tape comprises maintaining a form of the first data of the first source tape in the first copied data.