Points To Note - HP VS80 - StorageWorks DLT VS 80 Tape Drive User Manual

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file:///C|/Documents%20and%20Settings/topher.COL-SPRINGS/Desktop/dltvs80%20manual/document/common/drivers_faqs/eng/nt_q1.htm [11/29/2001 8:35:45 AM]
http://www.hp.com/support/tape may have a later version
frequently asked questions
"How do tape drivers work within a Windows NT environment?"
contents of this section
the layered driver approach

points to note

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the layered driver approach
Windows NT uses a layered driver architecture. This allows multiple SCSI Host
Bus Adapters (HBA) to be transparently used with multiple tape drives. The
general structure of how a Backup Application communicates with a physical tape
drive is shown below in a very simplified, diagrammatic format.
points to note
The main points to note are:
1. Windows NT tape drivers are effectively "plug-ins" to a generic tape class
driver.
2. Windows NT SCSI HBA drivers are effectively "plug-ins" to a generic SCSI
class driver.
3. Multiple tape drivers and SCSI HBA drivers can be plugged in at the same
time.
4. The class drivers provide the "environment" within which the plug-ins
operate. The class driver does most of the work that is common to the tape
drives and the HBA's (for example, read/write etc), and uses the plug-in to
provide device-specific processing (for example, reading/modifying
particular tape drive-specific settings)
5. This environment (known in programming terms as an "API") can change
slightly from one version of NT to another. (Although the environment is
"usually" backwards compatible, there is no guarantee of this). For this
reason, you should always use the tape drivers made for the version of
Windows NT that you are running.
6. A tape driver is required for each general type of tape drive, for example: a
DAT tape driver, a DLT tape driver, an Ultrium tape driver etc. The driver
will only load and operate if it recognises the SCSI Inquiry string of one or
more tape drives connected to the system.
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