tar
"tar" stands for "tape archive". It is probably the most popular UNIX utility used for working with magnetic tapes.
Several of the most common "tar" commands are listed below.
[tar tvf /dev/rct0]
This command lists the files that are on the magnetic tape referred to by the device "/dev/rct0". The "t" option of the tar command creates this listing.
This command does not write to the tape, nor does it extract any files from the tape. It only lists the files that are contained on the tape.
The tape drive device shown is "/dev/rct0". This is the default tape drive device for SCO Unix and XENIX systems. The "f" option of the "tar" command tells tar to expect a device name coming up next on the command line. The "v" option tells tar to use a "verbose" mode.
[tar cvf /dev/rct0 /]
This command copies all of the files from the root filesystem, "/", to the tape drive, using the device named "/dev/rct0".
[tar xvf /dev/rct0]
This command extracts all of the files from the tape in the tape drive.