  DDS (DAT) Tape Media Compatibility? 
 The Question is:
 
How do I write to a DAT tape on a TLZ10 drive that will be readable on a DDS1
 drive, TLZ04 for example. I need to send software updates to client sites that
 have TLZ04 thru TLZ10 drives and I want to record the tapes at the lowest
 common density (I expect
 that any DAT drive can read tapes recorded at DDS1 density, correct?).
 
I'm guessing that the INIT command might be the answer.
 
My system is a MicroVAX 3100-90 running OpenVMS 7.3 with a TLZ10 external drive.
I run nightly backups using DDS3-125m DAT tapes.
 
 The Answer is :
 
  The OpenVMS Wizard would strongly encourage the use of CD-R media, and
  tools to generate CD-R media directly on OpenVMS are readily available.
 
  As for the question, the OpenVMS Wizard would encourage the use of the
  DDS-1 DAT media -- newer DDS drives will typically recognize and will
  write the proper density.  DDS-1 media always utilizes the DDS-1 format
  and capacity, while DDS-2 is always DDS-2, etc.  You can/will also want
  to select compression (/MEDIA_FORMAT=COMPACTION) appropriately, and --
  for the very widest distribution possible -- you will probably want to
  avoid enabling and using compression (compaction).
 
 Answer written or last revised on  21-APR-2003 
