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source: http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/tape-drives-naming-convention-under-linux/


used in industry for backup purpose.

SCSI tape device names
The st driver provides the interface to a variety of SCSI tape devices under Linux.

First (auto rewind) SCSI tape device name: /dev/st0
Second (auto rewind) SCSI tape device name: /dev/st1
First the non-rewind SCSI tape devices: /dev/nst0
Second the non-rewind SCSI tape devices: /dev/nst1
IDE tape device names
The ht driver provides the interface to a variety of IDE tape devices under Linux.

First (auto rewind) IDE tape device name: /dev/ht0
Second (auto rewind) IDE tape device name: /dev/ht1
First the non-rewind IDE tape devices: /dev/nht0
Second the non-rewind IDE tape devices: /dev/nht1
You need to use above devices to backup data to magnetic tape. Read man page of st for more information.