Tape image files are Windows container files that contain the image of Alpha tapes.  These show up as virtual tape devices on the virtual Alpha system.  Tape image files can be created by Avanti, copied from another Alpha emulator, or ported from a real Alpha system.  By default, Avanti assigns a .vtape extension to tape image files.  FreeAXP does not support virtual tapes.

The vtape format utilized by Avanti is fully compatible with the vtape format used in SimH.  Avanti virtual tape devices default to a DEC DLT2000 device type.

Note:Avanti puts no limit on the size of a vtape file.  Continuously appending to a tape will eventually fill the host system disk.