IMPORT and EXPORT of data on the NCAR mass storage system

A discussion is presented of the problems concerning data movement between external devices and the MSS (mass storage system). The process of moving data to the MSS from foreign media, such as tapes, is called IMPORT. The reverse process is called EXPORT. The IMPORT/EXPORT software application was developed to move data to and from the MSS at NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research). This unique approach provides the user with many options as well as the flexibility to control data movement. Using the IMPORT/EXPORT program does not burden the user with a complex series of tape allocation requests for a one-step request. It was written to be easily upgradable to support many types of external storage devices.<>