An apparatus according to one embodiment includes a first block, a second block, and a drive mechanism configured to cause a magnetic recording tape to move over the blocks. Each of the blocks has a skiving edge along a tape bearing surface thereof. The blocks are positioned or selectively positionable in the apparatus to establish a particular respective wrap angle of the magnetic recording tape approaching the respective skiving edge. None of the blocks have a transducer coupled directly thereto.

A tape apparatus includes a tape drive and a processor. The tape drive is configured to perform data reading and data writing on a magnetic tape in which a plurality of tracks are formed. The processor is configured to control the tape drive to perform data reading and data writing on the plurality of tracks in a first segment among a plurality of segments obtained by dividing the magnetic tape in a running direction. The processor is configured to reserve a first track of the plurality of tracks as a copy target upon determining that an abnormality occurs in the first segment on the first track. The processor is configured to instruct the tape drive to copy data recorded in the first segment on the first track to a second segment on the first track at a predetermined timing. The second segment is adjacent to the first segment.

An apparatus according to one embodiment includes a block having multiple skiving edges along a tape bearing surface thereof, and a guide mechanism configured to set a wrap angle of a tape approaching the skiving edge. A drive mechanism is configured to cause the tape to move over the block. The block has no transducer coupled directly thereto. A computer-implemented method according to one embodiment includes causing a magnetic recording tape to pass over a block having a skiving edge at a wrap angle of at least one degree for burnishing the tape, wherein the block has an average hardness of at least about 9 Mohs.

In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method includes creating a spike in a servo channel from a predetermined start position to an end position, and storing servo data including at least a portion thereof generated during the spike. The spike has a predetermined amplitude. In another embodiment, a computer program product includes a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith. The program instructions are executable by a controller to perform the foregoing method.

In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method for simulating a defect signal in a time based servo system includes determining a start position for a spike, determining an end position for the spike, determining a servo channel, determining an amplitude of the spike, initiating an acquire lock process, creating the spike in the determined servo channel from the determined start position to the determined end position, and storing servo data including at least a portion thereof generated during the spike. The spike has the determined amplitude. In another embodiment, a computer program product for generating defect signals in a storage system includes a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, wherein the computer readable storage medium is not a transitory signal per se. The program instructions are executable by a controller to perform the foregoing method.

A system, method and computer program product for synchronizing data written to tape with improved data recovery. When writing data to tape, an index is kept in memory and updated to reflect change(s) to a file system mounted on tape. After a predetermined amount of data is written to a tape, a device may perform a sync operation, causing the index to be written into a data partition of the tape. If the sync operation is successful, the index in the index partition of the tape can be updated using a copy of the index in the data partition of the tape next time the tape is mounted. If the sync operation is not successful, the device may write the data to a different location on the same or another tape, update the index, and force another sync operation. This process can be repeated.

In one embodiment, a method for dynamically allocating a memory includes dividing a memory into a first portion and a second portion in response to detecting an error condition when reading data from a data storage medium. The first portion is allocated for processing normal read and/or write requests. The second portion is allocated for processing error recovery procedure (ERP) requests. In another embodiment, a computer program product for dynamically allocating a memory includes a computer readable storage medium having program code embodied therewith. The program code is readable/executable by a processor to divide, by the processor, a memory into a first portion and a second portion in response to detecting an error condition when reading data from a data storage medium. The first portion is allocated for processing normal read and/or write requests. The second portion is allocated for processing ERP requests.

In one embodiment, a tape drive includes a reserved data buffer and logic integrated with and/or executable by a processor. The logic is configured to read a data set from a medium and store a first portion of the data set to the reserved data buffer in response to a determination that the first portion of the data set is correctable using C2 error correction code (ECC). The logic is also configured to replace any stored row of a non-C2-correctable portion of the data set stored to the reserved data buffer with a corresponding row of the data set read from the medium in response to a determination that the stored row of the non-C2-correctable portion of the data set has an equal amount or more C1-correctable error therein than the corresponding row of the data set read from the medium.