Real tape library apparatuses are storage apparatuses for reading and writing data on physical tapes. A typical tape library apparatus includes physical drives and physical tapes stored in slots. When data is read from or written in a physical tape, the tape library apparatus sets the physical tape from its slot on a physical drive. In addition, the real tape library apparatus includes a robot mechanism, which automatically exchanges physical tapes on a physical drive. Namely, the robot mechanism automatically mounts or unmounts a physical tape into or from a physical drive. Next, the real tape library apparatus performs data read and write processing through online processing on the basis of the operating system (OS) of a host.
Regarding such operations, a real tape library apparatus normally supports a stand-alone mode. In the stand-alone mode, an operator manually mounts a physical tape into a physical drive and uses a host console to control reading or writing of data offline, without involving the OS of the host. By switching the operation mode to this mode, the operator uses the real tape library apparatus in the same way as a stand-alone tape drive.
There is a conventional technique for receiving network services. According to this technique, each storage medium is provided with a service identifier that identifies a type of a network service. For example, when such a storage medium is mounted on an information processing terminal, the information processing terminal connects, via a communication link, to a host computer that corresponds to the service identifier of the storage medium. In this way, the operator of the information processing terminal receives a desired network service from the host computer.
In addition, there is a conventional technique about a product agent having information relating to a product. This technique uses a barcode printed on paper or a sheet as a medium transferred with a product.
See, for example, the following documents:
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 07-319810
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2000-40109
While real tape library apparatuses support the stand-alone as described above, virtual tape apparatuses do not conventionally support the stand-alone mode. Thus, since the operator needs to perform complex stand-alone setup operations on such a conventional virtual tape apparatus, setting errors easily occur.