Suggestion for LTO Tape data recovery Software

If you’re looking for software to access and recover data from LTO tapes in RAW mode, there are a few options, though it’s important to note that tape recovery is very different from disk recovery. LTO tapes use sequential block structures and often depend on the backup application (NetBackup, TSM, Arcserve, etc.) that originally wrote the data. Still, there are tools that can bypass the backup layer and access the tape blocks directly.

Stellar Data Recovery for Tape – This tool can create an image of an LTO tape at the block level, even if the backup catalog is missing or the tape is partially damaged. It’s often used in recovery labs when backup software fails to read.

ddrescue / mt with Linux – While not tape-specific, GNU ddrescue combined with the mt (magnetic tape) utility can sometimes be used to dump raw tape data, skipping over bad blocks. This requires manual handling and deep tape knowledge.

LTFS Utilities – If the tape was formatted in LTFS (Linear Tape File System), utilities from IBM, HP, and Quantum can allow raw access to file contents without the original backup software. However, if the tape was written with backup software, LTFS tools won’t help.

Open Source Tools – Tools like Amanda and Bacula are backup/recovery systems that can sometimes interpret raw tape structures if you know the format used.
If you want something ready to use for individual recovery cases, Stellar Tape Recovery is probably the most practical option available to end users.