tar tape length limit

[Jason Bacon]

Hi,

It seems that the tape length in tar is limited to 2^31-1 bytes,
which doesn't quite cut it anymore.

The command below fails by immediately asking for volume #2:

        tar -cv --tape-length=2097152 -M -f test.tar Patch

The command below works fine:

        tar -cv --tape-length=2097151 -M -f test.tar Patch

I realize that the -L option generally shouldn't be necessary, but I've
been having problems reading back multivolume archives on our Caldera 3.1
system - gnu tar 1.13.  (FYI, I don't have the same problem with FreeBSD
4.5 - gnu tar 1.11.2)

I thought using -L might get around the problem by avoiding hitting the
end of the media, and allowing tar to gracefully move on to the next
volume.  Since we're using a Mammoth 60-gig tape drive, well beyond the -L
limit, I can't test this theory.

Just wondering if this is a known limitation, and if there are plans to
fix it.  I'd be happy to chip in by coding and or testing if necessary.

Thanks,

        Jason