A tape management system (TMS)[1] is computer software that manages the usage and retention of computer backup tapes.
This may be done as a stand-alone function or as part of a broader backup software package.
A modern tape management system (TMS) is usually used in conjunction with backup applications and are generally used to manage magnetic tape media that contains backup information and other electronically stored information.
Mainframe systems such as IBM's z/OS do provide some basic support for tape inventory control via the OS Catalog but as cataloging files is optional it is usually required that an additional software package does the following: These operations are usually achieved by using operating system "hooks" to intercept file open and close operations.
This computer data storage-related software article is a stub.