Tapes are full when *SM encounters the EOT mark.  At that point, the tape is
marked full.  Then, files begin to expire.  As they expire, the tape is
still full, i.e., you can't write any data to it.  At some point, the tape
can be reclaimed.  That is, all the good data, sans the holes, is written to
a new tape and this tape is marked as scratch to be reused again.

You might read the ADSM Admin Guide.  It does a good job of explaining the
product at a reasonably high level to get an overall impression of the
product.  One of the big problems we see is folks trying to compare *SM to
other products.  That doesn't work worth a darn.

Kelly J. Lipp
Storage Solutions Specialists, Inc.
PO Box 51313
Colorado Springs CO 80919
(719)531-5926
Fax: (719)260-5991
www.storsol.com
lipp AT storsol DOT com