RTAPE getting stuck? (UX400 accessing remote Sun)

["Donald H. Mitchell" <dmitchell%backus.trc.amoco.com@RELAY.CS.NET>]

    Date: Fri, 5 Jan 90 16:45:31 EST
    From: barmar@Think.COM

    Are you using my Unix RTAPE or Symbolics's UX400S interface to /etc/rmt?  I
    never have managed to get RTAPE working under SunOS (but Lamson claims he
    did).

						    barmar
Sorry for the confusion: the UX400S interface (TAPE TCP UNIX-REXEC).

I worked around the problem.  Some results:
 - if the drive is "/dev/rst0" on SUN1 then specify "SUN1: st0".  The
   Symbolics automatically prepends an "r" on the drive name.
 - 'Initialize Restoration' leaves tape drive busy: you must kill the
   /etc/rmt process.
 - any abnormal end to 'Perform Restoration' also leaves drive busy.
 - Program correctly handles end of tape 1: i.e., cleanly completes
   including freeing the drive (however, need to 'Initialize
   restoration' again using tape 2).
 - For some reason that I cannot figure out but did repeat several
   times, restoring the "TV-FONTS" (sub)system just never worked in my
   configuration but did work when I asked my 3640 to do it.  (I was
   restoring system sources and my "SYS" logical is different for my
   3640 and UX400 in order to maintain the different genera versions;
   however, somethings I have pointing to the same place.  The fonts are
   all in the same place (i.e., not duplicated for each version)).  My
   configuration is roughly as follows.

SUN1              SUN2                   SUN3               3640
 tape drive        UX400 sources          UX400 board        7.2 sources +
                   in Unix directories                       sys:site; +
                                                             sys:fonts;


Note that the TV-FONTS were being restored to the 3640 through the UX400
board's management.  The UX400 got stuck in "Chaos Out" although it
successfully saved files to "sys:site;" when I deselected the "TV-FONTS"
system.  That made me think the files might be corrupted; however, when
I asked the 3640 to restore the TV-FONTS system from the same tape using
its drive, it worked.

What the world needs is more inexpensive Symbolics system
administrators :-)