This repository is no longer maintained, please consider using https://github.com/LinearTapeFileSystem/ltfs instead.

=======================================================================
Linear Tape File System (LTFS) - Version 3.0.0
=======================================================================

Files in this download contain Licensed Materials, property of HP,
(C) Copyright 2015 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP.

Files in this download also contain Licensed Materials, property of IBM,
(C) Copyright IBM Corp. 2010, 2014  

The LTFS software application is an open-source tape file system
implemented on dual partition tape drives.

This file is part of the Linear Tape File System package.  LTFS is
free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms
of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published by the Free Software
Foundation, version 2.1 of the License.

LTFS is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or 
FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU Lesser General Public
License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
or download the license from <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.

See the Licensing agreement (COPYING.LIB) when LTFS is downloaded.

Further details on LTFS implementation can be found at
 www.lto.org/technology/ltfs.html


=======================================================================
LTFS usage
=======================================================================

1.	Build and/or install the LTFS application

	Installation instuctions are in INSTALLING.linux/INSTALLING.macosx
	Information on how to build from source are in BUILDING.linux/BUILDING.macosx/Building.windows 

2.	Ensure that /usr/local/bin/ is in your command search path

	For example:
	$ export PATH="$PATH:/usr/local/bin"

3.	Format the tape cartridge in LTFS format

	For Linux:
	$ mkltfs -d /dev/st0

	For Mac OS X:
	$ mkltfs -d 0
  
	Usage: mkltfs <options>

Available options are:
  -d, --device=<name>       Tape device (required)
  -f, --force               Force to format medium
  -s, --tape-serial=<id>    Tape serial number (6 alphanumeric ASCII characters)
  -n, --volume-name=<name>  Tape volume name (LTFS VOLUME by default)
  -r, --rules=<rules>       Rules for choosing files to write to the index partition.
                            The syntax of the rule argument is:
                                size=1M
                                size=1M/name=pattern
                                size=1M/name=pattern1:pattern2:pattern3
                            A file is written to the index partition if it is no larger
                            than the given size AND matches at least one of the name
                            patterns (if specified). The size argument accepts K, M, and G
                            suffixes. Name patterns might contain the special characters
                            '?' (match any single character) and '*' (match zero or more
                            characters).
      --no-override         Disallow mount-time data placement policy changes
  -w, --wipe                Restore the LTFS medium to an unpartitioned medium (format to a legacy scratch medium)
  -q, --quiet               Suppress progress information and general messages
  -t, --trace               Enable function call tracing
      --syslogtrace         Enable diagnostic output to stderr and syslog
  -V, --version             Version information
  -h, --help                This help
  -p, --advanced-help       Full help, including advanced options
  -g, --interactive         Interactive mode
  -i, --config=<file>       Use the specified configuration file (default: /usr/local/etc/ltfs.conf)
  -e, --backend=<name>      Use the specified tape device backend (default: ltotape)
  -b, --blocksize=<num>     Set the LTFS record size (default: 524288)
  -c, --no-compression      Disable compression on the volume
  -k, --keep-capacity       Keep the tape medium's total capacity proportion
  -x, --fulltrace           Enable full function call tracing (slow)
      --long-wipe           Unformat the medium and erase any data on the tape by overwriting special data pattern.
                            This operation takes over 3 hours. Once you start, you cannot interrupt it.

LTFS17085I Plugin: Loading "ltotape" driver
LTOTAPE backend options:
  -o log_directory=<dir>      log snapshot directory (default=/var/log)
  -o nosizelimit              remove 512kB limit (NOT RECOMMENDED)

Usage example:
  mkltfs --device=/dev/nst0 --rules="size=100K"
  mkltfs --device=/dev/nst0 --rules="size=1M/name=*.jpg"
  mkltfs --device=/dev/nst0 --rules="size=1M/name=*.jpg:*.png"

4.	Mount the formatted tape cartridge
	$ mkdir /mnt/lto5
	$ ltfs /mnt/lto5

	ltfs options:
	
	usage: ltfs mountpoint [options]

general options:
	-o opt,[opt...]        mount options
	-h   --help            print help
	-V   --version         print version

FUSE options:
	-d   -o debug          enable debug output (implies -f)
	-f                     foreground operation
	-s                     disable multi-threaded operation
	
	-o allow_other         allow access to other users
	-o allow_root          allow access to root
	-o nonempty            allow mounts over non-empty file/dir
	-o default_permissions enable permission checking by kernel
	-o fsname=NAME         set filesystem name
	-o subtype=NAME        set filesystem type
	-o large_read          issue large read requests (2.4 only)
	-o max_read=N          set maximum size of read requests
	
	-o hard_remove         immediate removal (don't hide files)
	-o use_ino             let filesystem set inode numbers
	-o readdir_ino         try to fill in d_ino in readdir
	-o direct_io           use direct I/O
	-o kernel_cache        cache files in kernel
	-o [no]auto_cache      enable caching based on modification times (off)
	-o umask=M             set file permissions (octal)
	-o uid=N               set file owner
	-o gid=N               set file group
	-o entry_timeout=T     cache timeout for names (1.0s)
	-o negative_timeout=T  cache timeout for deleted names (0.0s)
	-o attr_timeout=T      cache timeout for attributes (1.0s)
	-o ac_attr_timeout=T   auto cache timeout for attributes (attr_timeout)
	-o intr                allow requests to be interrupted
	-o intr_signal=NUM     signal to send on interrupt (10)
	-o modules=M1[:M2...]  names of modules to push onto filesystem stack
	
	-o max_write=N         set maximum size of write requests
	-o max_readahead=N     set maximum readahead
	-o async_read          perform reads asynchronously (default)
	-o sync_read           perform reads synchronously
	-o atomic_o_trunc      enable atomic open+truncate support
	-o big_writes          enable larger than 4kB writes
	-o no_remote_lock      disable remote file locking

Module options:

[subdir]
	-o subdir=DIR	       prepend this directory to all paths (mandatory)
	-o [no]rellinks	       transform absolute symlinks to relative

[iconv]
	-o from_code=CHARSET   original encoding of file names (default: UTF-8)
	-o to_code=CHARSET	   new encoding of the file names (default: UTF-8)

LTFS options:
	-o config_file=<file>     Configuration file (default: /usr/local/etc/ltfs.conf)
	-o work_directory=<dir>   LTFS work directory (default: /tmp/ltfs)
	-o atime                  Update index if only access times have changed
	-o noatime                Do not update index if only access times have changed (default)
	-o tape_backend=<name>    tape backend to use (default: ltotape)
	-o iosched_backend=<name> I/O scheduler implementation to use (default: unified, use "none" to disable)
	-o umask=<mode>           Override default permission mask (3 octal digits, default: 000)
	-o fmask=<mode>           Override file permission mask (3 octal digits, default: 000)
	-o dmask=<mode>           Override directory permission mask (3 octal digits, default: 000)
	-o min_pool_size=<num>    Minimum write cache pool size. Cache objects are 1 MB each (default: 25)
	-o max_pool_size=<num>    Maximum write cache pool size. Cache objects are 1 MB each (default: 50)
	-o rules=<rules>          Rules for choosing files to write to the index partition.
	                          The syntax of the rule argument is:
	                          size=1M
	                          size=1M/name=pattern
	                          size=1M/name=pattern1:pattern2:pattern3
	                          A file is written to the index partition if it is no larger
	                          than the given size AND matches at least one of the name
	                          patterns (if specified). The size argument accepts K, M, and G
	                          suffixes. Name patterns might contain the special characters
	                          '?' (match any single character) and '*' (match zero or more
	                          characters).
	-o quiet                  Disable informational messages (same as verbose=1)
	-o trace                  Enable diagnostic output (same as verbose=3)
	-o syslogtrace            Enable diagnostic output to stderr and syslog(same as verbose=303)
	-o fulltrace              Enable full call tracing (same as verbose=4)
	-o verbose=<num>          Override output verbosity directly (default: 2)
	-o eject                  Eject the cartridge after unmount
	-o noeject                Do not eject the cartridge after unmount (default)
	-o sync_type=<type>       Specify sync type (default: time@5)
	                          <type> should be specified as follows:
	                          time@min:  LTFS attempts to write an index each 'min' minutes.
	                                     min should be a decimal number from 1 to 10
	                                     It is equivalent to "-o sync_type=unmount" when 0 is specified
	                                     (default: min=5)
	                          close:     LTFS attempts to write an index when a file is closed
	                          unmount:   LTFS attempts to write an index when the medium is unmounted
	-o force_mount_no_eod     Skip EOD existence check when mounting (read-only mount)
	                          Only use for a CM corrupted medium
	-o rollback_mount=<gen>   Attempt to mount on previous index generation (read-only mount)
	-o release_device         Clear device reservation (should be specified with -o devname
	-o capture_index          Capture latest index to work directory at unmount
	-a                        Advanced help, including standard FUSE options

453e LTFS17085I Plugin: Loading "ltotape" driver
LTOTAPE backend options:
	-o devname=<dev>          tape device (default=/dev/nst0)
	-o log_directory=<dir>    log snapshot directory (default=/var/log)
	-o nosizelimit            remove 512kB limit (NOT RECOMMENDED)

5.	Write files to the LTFS volume
	For example:
	$ cp -RL /home/user1  /mnt/lto5/

6.	Unmount the tape cartridge
	This flushes the data buffer of the file system to the tape cartridge,
	and prepares for eject.

	$ umount /mnt/lto5
		OR
	$ fusermount -u /mnt/lto5  (Linux only)

7.	If at some time in the future user wishes to remove the LTFS format from
	the cartridge so that it can be reused for a different purpose, use
	the unltfs utility.  Note that this will IRRETRIEVABLY DESTROY all
	contents of the cartridge, so use it only when you are sure that you
	wish to erase the LTFS volume.

	$ unltfs -d /dev/st0

	unltfs options:

	Usage: unltfs <options>
	
	-d, --device=<name> specifies the tape drive to use
	-y, --justdoit      omits normal verification steps, reformats without further prompting
	-e  --eject         eject tape after operation completes successfully
	-q, --quiet         suppresses all progress output
	-t, --trace         displays detailed progress
	-h, --help          shows this help
	-i, --config=<file> overrides the default config file
	-b, --backend       specifies a different tape backend subsystem
	-x, --fulltrace     displays debug information (verbose)
	
8.	If the cartridge gets inconsistent due to power failure or improper unmount or incase 
	of any other failures then user can make it consistent again using the ltfsck utility.

	$ ltfsck /dev/st0

	ltfsck options  

	Usage: ltfsck [options] filesys

	filesys                         Device file for the tape drive

Available options are:
   -g, --generation=<generation>   Specify the generation to roll back
   -r, --rollback                  Roll back to the point specified by -g
   -n, --no-rollback               Do not roll back. Verify the point specified by -g (default)
   -f, --full-recovery             Recover extra data blocks into directory _ltfs_lostandfound
   -z, --deep-recovery             Recover EOD missing cartridge.
                                   Some blocks might be erased, but recover to final unmount point
                                   with an index version of at least  2.0.0  or earlier.
                                   (Must be used for a cartridge that cannot be recovered by a normal option.)
   -l, --list-rollback-points      List rollback points
   -m, --full-index-info           Display full index information (Effective only for -l option)
   -v, --traverse=<strategy>       Set traverse mode for listing roll back points. Strategy should be forward or backward. (default: backward)
   -j, --erase-history             Erase history at rollback
   -k, --keep-history              Keep history at rollback (default)
   -q, --quiet                     Suppress informational messages
   -t, --trace                     Enable diagnostic output
       --syslogtrace               Enable diagnostic output to stderr and syslog
   -V, --version                   Version information
   -h, --help                      This help
   -p, --advanced-help             Full help, including advanced options
   -i, --config=<file>             Use the specified configuration file (default: /usr/local/etc/ltfs.conf)
   -e, --backend=<name>            Override the default tape device backend
   -x, --fulltrace                 Enable full function call tracing (slow)
       --capture-index             Capture index information to the current directory (-g is effective for this option)
       --salvage-rollback-points   List the rollback points of the cartridge that has no EOD

LTFS17085I Plugin: Loading "ltotape" driver
LTOTAPE backend options:
   -o log_directory=<dir>      log snapshot directory (default=/var/log)
   -o nosizelimit              remove 512kB limit (NOT RECOMMENDED)

Usage example:
  ltfsck /dev/nst0
  ltfsck --generation --rollback /dev/nst0
  ltfsck --deep-recovery --full-recovery /dev/nst0

Changes from version v2.3.0 to 3.0.0:
=====================================

	- Support for LTO-7 Ultrium SAS standalone tape drives
	- LTFS Configurator displays messages indicating the progress of the mount operation
	- LTFS Configurator supports custom names for tape drives
	- CartridgeBrowser utility supports search based on file attribute values
	
Changes from version v2.2.1 to 2.3.0:
=====================================
	
	- Added multidrive support for windows
	- Added support for icons and label to indicate the status of the cartridge in windows
	- Added support for search option within Cartridge Browser
	- Added new utility "LTFS Smart copy" for efficient data transfer from cartridge and content data verification for files on the cartridge.
	- Implemented ability to list rollback points of a cartridge without EOD marker (--salvage-rollback-points)
	- Installation in Linux (RHEL)is now using RPM package.
	- LTFS is built with ICU version 50.1.2
	- Added support for RHEL 7.0
	- Added support for MacOSX 10.10
	- Removed support for SLES
	- Defect fixes
	
Changes from version v2.2.0 to 2.2.1:
=====================================
	
	- Added 'interactive mode' for mkltfs utility.
	- The default 'mkltfs' behavior modified to avoid user confirmation.
	- The '--quite' option in 'mkltfs' and 'unltfs' utilities now does not imply '--force'

Changes from version v2.1.1 to 2.2.0:
=====================================

	- Added support for LTFS Spec Version 2.2.0
	- Added support for MAM Barcode attribute
	- Added support for ICU version 4.8.1.1
	- Added support for RHEL 6.5 and RHEL 5.10
	- Added support for Windows 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1
	- Removed support for MacOSX 10.6
	- Defects fixed in Windows and Mac GUI
	- Defects fixed in Windows and Mac Installer
	- Defects fixed in LTFS core application

Changes from version v2.1.0 to 2.1.1:
======================================

	- Error fixes in windows installer to support upgrade
	- Fix to accept the index rules correctly when supplied using the LTFSConfigurator
	- Fix in ltfsck when run with --deep-recovery option
	- Fix to mount full tapes as read-only
	- Fix to clear the EWSTATE flag when a full tape is rolled back with --erase-history option
	- Fixed memory leaks
	
	
Changes from version v2.0.0 to 2.1.0:
======================================

	- Enhanced LTFS driver for small file support(Improve file creation/listing time 
	  when a directory has many small files)
	- Improved Wizards and Configuration tool for Windows GUI
	- Cartridge utilities can be run directly from LTFSconfigurator
	- Default volume name is LTFS_VOLUME
	- Enhanced support for LTO CM attributes 
	- Added support LTFS format specifications 2.1.0
	- Added support for symbolic link for Linux and Mac
	- Added support for rollback mount/read-only mount
	- Added support to save the current index as a xml file on unmount or when 'ltfsck' is run.
	- Application can run in background now in Mac.
	- Rollback of index is now possible only by specifying the generation number of the index,
	  rollback using timespec of the index is disabled.
	- Implemented signal handlers to handle kill/interrupt signals and unmount the volume even when 
	  the mount is being done.
	- Tape can be unformatted by specifying -w option to mkltfs  


Changes from version v1.2.2 to v2.0.0:
======================================

	- Added support for LTO6 tape drives
	- Set the Application Format Version MAM attribute when formatting a volume
	- Added support for four new virtual extended attributes (VEA's):
	  ltfs.softwareProduct, ltfs.softwareVendor, ltfs.softwareVersion, 
	  ltfs.softwareFormatSpec
	- Improved the handling of a cartridge that was not unmounted properly
	- Improved the process for storing a file on the index partition when the
	  data placement policy is specified
	- Modified to update the change time of a file or directory when the VEA
	  ltfs.modifyTime is written
	- Fixed the problem that ltfs.mediaStorageAlert VEA is cleared when another
	  VEA is read
	- Fixed a problem in ltfsck when trying to list rollback points and a corrupt
	  index is encountered
	- Added a check for a write-protected cartridge in mkltfs


Changes from version v1.2.0 to v1.2.2:
======================================

	- Added the unltfs utility
	- Added "-o nosizelimit" option to ltfs
	- Improved message reporting for advisory conditions that previously were
	  being reported as error conditions
	- Installer on Mac OS X now tries to create the logfile directory if it
	  doesn't already exist
	- Mac OS X package now includes an application to simplify the management
	  of an LTFS volume


Changes from version v1.1.0 to v1.2.0:
======================================

	- Conforms with new LTFS Format Specification 2.0.0
	- Backward compatibility with Version 1.0 formated tapes, and built-in
	  automatic migration mechanism to Version 2.0.0 format
	- Improved the parsing and handling of the index information
	- Supports standardized virtual extended attribute (VEA) names.
	  VEA names used in previous release of LTFS become obsolete and
	  no longer available.
	- See Important Note below
	- Enhanced the ability to recover the tapes in inconsistent state,
	  which was caused by unexpected power outage.
	- Added a new function to flush the in-memory user data to the tape medium
	  at pre-defined timing; either sync at file close or sync periodically.
	  The default behaviour is now to sync the index every five minutes.
	- Changed the command line syntax of ltfs and mkltfs command for
	  specifying the data placement rules
	- Check for incompatible media and report problems in a helpful way
	- Various minor corrections and updates


Important Note:
===============

Earlier versions of the LTFS application supported the original 1.0 LTFS
format specification; version v1.2.0 and later supports the updated 2.0.0 LTFS
format specification.  LTFS volumes created with application v1.2.0 will not
be readable in older versions of the LTFS application, as shown in the
following table:

                      Cartridge written by    Cartridge written by    Cartridge written by
LTFS application      v1.1.0 or earlier       v1.2.0 or later         v2.1.0 or later
--------------------  ----------------------  ----------------------  -----------------------
v1.1.0 or earlier     Read/Write ok           Cannot be mounted       N/A

v1.2.0 or later       Readable ok; will       Read/Write ok           N/A
                      automatically be
                      converted to new
                      format if written

v2.1.0 or later       Readable ok; will       Readable ok; will       Read/Write ok
                      automatically be        automatically be
                      converted to new        converted to new
                      format if written       format if written
						
It is recommended that all instances of LTFS should be updated to latest version
to avoid these compatibility issues. 

If for some reason it is important to maintain cartridges readable by
previous versions of the LTFS application, care should be taken to avoid
writing to those cartridges with the new version of the application.  This
may be accomplished by mounting the volume as read-only, or by using the
cartridge write-protect tab to prevent cartridge updates.  However this
should be regarded as a temporary measure until all the application instances
can be updated to latest version.

Limitations:
============

	1.	When the tape cartridge is almost full, further write operations will
		be prevented.  The free space on the tape (e.g. from the df command)
		will indicate that there is still some capacity available, but that
		is reserved for updating the index when the tape is unmounted.

	2.	Future mounts of a cartridge that is almost full (has passed the
		point at which "early warning" is reported) will mount as Read Only,
		to prevent further modifications which may not fit on tape.  This 
		status is cleared when a cartridge is reformatted (using mkltfs) or
		when the volume is rolled back erasing history (using ltfsck).

	3.	(Mac OS X)  LTFS does not support moving a folder within LTFS.
		Any attempt to move a folder in such a manner will result in an 
		"operation not permitted" error, and the operation will be ignored.
		The user can still move a file within LTFS, and the user can also move
		a folder from LTFS to non-LTFS file system or vice versa.

	4.	(Mac OS X)  Mac OS X's Spotlight will not display the files 
		on LTFS as a result of search.