Hello GOSCO,
I assume that you have tried to add your SCSI unit using 'mkdev tape'. You are correct that you must know some details about the hardware but it is not too difficult to get this data. Here is a brief summary.
Host Adapter Type: 'ha' is usually the type but different hardware may require a different entry.
Host Adapter number: This is the number of the SCSI adapter to which your tape drive is attached. If this is the first or only SCSI adapter in your machine, this number is zero.
ID: This is the response number that is usually found on the back of the tape drive. It can be a dial or a group of pins that require jumpers. Valid values are 0 thru 7 (possibly 0 thru 15) with 2 being the default for tape drives. This value is a function of how many SCSI devices are already attached to this SCSI card, ie if you have three hard drives attached to the same SCSI card you want to attach the tape to, they probably use IDs of 0, 1, and 2. Therefore you must select from 3 thru 7.
LUN: This is the controller number for your tape drive. Your selection will probably be zero.
BUS: This is exactly what is says. The high-end SCSI controller cards support multiple buses. If you have a high-end controller card, you will need to know which bus that your tape drive is attached to. If you have a single-bus card, this entry will be zero.
Regarding the cataloging of the tape contents, the command 'tar tv8' means the following:
't' - table of contents mode
'v' - verbose display of file details
'8' - see '/etc/default/tar' and use entry 8 for the hardware device.
