[plug] Non-rewinding devices under Linux

[Paul Wilson]

I've got a Linux server at work with a DAT drive and I'm putting together a
backup script which ultimately writes everything to the tape.

On other Unixen (Digital, HP, AIX etc) SCSI tape devices have an entry in
/dev which refers to the device in 'non rewind mode' - for example, the
normal (rewinding device) might be :

	/dev/s0t0d0

and the non-rewinding device would be :

	/dev/s0t0d0n

It's useful when you want to write (for example) a header block on the tape
which identifies the backup cycle.

Linux doesn't have the equivalent device, so how do I do the same thing?

Paul