[This is preliminary documentation and subject to change.]
RSM requires that all media be labeled so that it can be identified when it is inserted into a drive. Applications are required to identify media they are using by providing a Media label library that identifies the media it has labeled.
By providing this flexibility, RSM can support multiple labeling methods simultaneously, and allow proprietary labels to be used as well. RSM requires that an application relabel media assigned to it using the AllocateNtmsMedia function. After the application relabels the media it should use the UpdateNtmsOmidInfo function to notify RSM of the identification change.
RSM supports a default or Scratch label for both sequential and optical rewritable media. Writing a Scratch label destroys all data on the media. For sequential media, RSM uses a Microsoft tape format (MTF) label that is applied as media enters the Scratch pool. RSM does not update the media description when writing a Scratch label. RSM currently uses a binary label to identify optical media that are placed in the scratch pool.
RSM supports CD-ROM that cannot be relabeled. For CD-ROM media, RSM recognizes CDFS as a valid label. Since duplicated CD-ROMs are a common occurrence, RSM handles a CD-ROM quite differently from writable media.