File index, metadata storage, and file system management for magnetic tape
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsArnon Amir, David A. Pease, Rainer Richter
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In one embodiment, a method includes loading a tape cartridge into at least one tape drive installed in an automated tape library, where a tape of the tape cartridge has at least two partitions; writing plurality of data blocks on a first of the partitions; and writing an index on a second of the partitions, wherein the index includes information about at least one of files and the blocks on the first partition
Claims25
A method, comprising:
- loading a tape cartridge into at least one tape drive installed in an automated tape library, wherein a tape of the tape cartridge has at least two partitions;
- writing a plurality of data blocks on a first of the partitions;
- and
- writing an index on a second of the partitions, wherein the index includes information about at least one of files and the blocks on the first partition.
A system comprising:
- a data tape cartridge, the data tape cartridge comprising:
- a magnetic recording tape having at least two independently writable partitions, wherein the at least two independently writable partitions allow a plurality of files to be recorded in a first partition and an index to be recorded in a second partition, wherein the index contains references to the plurality of files in the first partition.
A dual-partition tape cartridge, comprising:
- a magnetic recording tape having a first partition and a second partition;
- and
- an initial index written to the second partition, wherein the partitions are physically separate and independently addressable on the tape.
A computer program product for writing an index on a tape, the computer program product comprising:
- a computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising:
- computer readable program code configured to load a tape cartridge into at least one tape drive installed in an automated tape library, where a tape of the tape cartridge has at least two partitions;
- computer readable program code configured to write a plurality of data blocks on a first of the partitions;
- and
- computer readable program code configured to write an index on a second of the partitions, wherein the index includes information about at least one of files and the blocks on the first partition.
A method, comprising:
- loading a tape cartridge into a tape drive installed in an automated tape library, where a tape of the tape cartridge has at least two partitions;
- reading an index from a first partition of the tape, wherein the index includes information about at least one of files and the blocks on a second partition of the tape;
- and
- using the information to locate and read a plurality of data blocks of at least one file from the second partition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.