Tape image files are Windows container files that contain the image of Alpha tapes.  These show up as virtual tape devices on the virtual Alpha system.  Tape image files can be created by Avanti, copied from another Alpha emulator, or ported from a real Alpha system.  By default, Avanti assigns a .vtape extension to tape image files.  Virtual tape devices require license units.

The vtape format utilized by Avanti is fully compatible with the vtape format used in SimH.  Avanti virtual tape devices default to a DEC DLT2000 device type.

A truncated tape image or a record whose leading and trailing lengths disagree is not a valid continuation of the recorded data. If a tape command reports end of data on an image that should contain more records, preserve the image for diagnosis and restore a complete copy; do not rely on repeated SPACE or READ commands to skip the damaged record. A host write failure, including insufficient disk space, is reported to the guest as a tape I/O error.

Note: By default, Avanti puts no configured limit on the size of a vtape file. Continuously appending to a tape can therefore fill the host system disk; available host storage and filesystem limits still apply.

To assign an existing tape file to a virtual tape device, select tape image in an unused disk location and click the browse button […].  Navigate to the desired host system folder and select the desired tape image file.

Avanti will create a tape image file at startup if the file does not already exist.  To create a new virtual tape, select tape image in an unused disk location and click the browse button […].  Navigate to the desired host system folder and type in the new tape file name.  When Avanti is started, an empty tape file will be created.