# Creating Tapes Manually You can create new virtual tapes manually using either the AWS Storage Gateway console or the Storage Gateway API. The console offers a convenient interface for tape creation with the flexibility to specify a prefix for a randomly-generated tape barcode. If you need to fully customize your tape barcodes (for example, to match the serial number of a corresponding physical tape), you must use the API. For more information on creating tapes using the Storage Gateway API. see [CreateTapeWithBarcode](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/latest/APIReference/API_CreateTapeWithBarcode.html) in the *Storage Gateway API Reference*. **To create virtual tapes manually using the Storage Gateway console** 1. Open the Storage Gateway console at [https://console.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/home](https://console.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/). 1. In the navigation pane, choose the **Gateways** tab. 1. Choose **Create tapes** to open the **Create tapes** pane. 1. For **Gateway**, choose a gateway. The tape is created for this gateway. 1. For **Tape type**, choose **Standard** to create standard virtual tapes. Choose **WORM** to create *write once read many* (WORM) virtual tapes. For more information, see [Write Once, Read Many (WORM) Tape Protection ](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/storagegateway/latest/tgw/GettingStartedCreateTapes.html#WORM). 1. For **Number of tapes**, choose the number of tapes that you want to create. For more information about tape quotas, see [AWS Storage Gateway quotas](resource-gateway-limits.md). 1. For **Capacity**, enter the size of the virtual tape that you want to create. Tapes must be larger than 100 GiB. For information about capacity quotas, see [AWS Storage Gateway quotas](resource-gateway-limits.md). 1. For **Barcode prefix**, enter the prefix that you want to prepend to the barcode of your virtual tapes. **Note** Virtual tapes are uniquely identified by a barcode, and you can add a prefix to the barcode. You can use a prefix to help identify your virtual tapes. The prefix must be uppercase letters (A–Z) and must be one to four characters long. 1. For **Pool**, choose **Glacier Pool**, **Deep Archive Pool**, or a custom pool that you have created. The pool determines the storage class in which your tape is stored when it is ejected by your backup software. + Choose **Glacier Pool** if you want to archive the tape in the S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval storage class. When your backup software ejects the tape, it is automatically archived in S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval. You use S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval for more active archives, where you can retrieve a tape typically within 3-5 hours. For more information, see [Storage classes for archiving objects](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/storage-class-intro.html#sc-glacier) in the *Amazon Simple Storage Service User Guide*. + Choose **Deep Archive Pool** if you want to archive the tape in the S3 Glacier Deep Archive storage class. When your backup software ejects the tape, the tape is automatically archived in S3 Glacier Deep Archive. You use S3 Glacier Deep Archive for long-term data retention and digital preservation, where data is accessed once or twice a year. You can retrieve a tape archived in S3 Glacier Deep Archive typically within 12 hours. For more information, see [Storage classes for archiving objects](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonS3/latest/dev/storage-class-intro.html#sc-glacier) in the *Amazon Simple Storage Service User Guide*. + Choose a custom pool, if any are available. You configure custom tape pools to use either **Deep Archive Pool** or **Glacier Pool**. Tapes are archived to the configured storage class when they are ejected by your backup software. If you archive a tape in S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval, you can move it to S3 Glacier Deep Archive later. For more information, see [Moving tapes to S3 Glacier Deep Archive storage class](moving-tapes-vtl.md). **Note** Tapes created before March 27, 2019, are archived directly in S3 Glacier Flexible Retrieval when your backup software ejects them. 1. (Optional) For **Tags**, choose **Add new tag** and enter a key and value to add tags to your tape. A tag is a case-sensitive key-value pair that helps you manage, filter, and search for your tapes. 1. Choose **Create tapes**. 1. In the navigation pane, choose **Tape Library > Tapes** to see your tapes. By default, this list displays up to 1,000 tapes at a time, but the searches that you perform apply to all of your tapes. You can use the search bar to find tapes that match a specific criteria, or to reduce the list to less than 1,000 tapes. When your list contains 1,000 tapes or fewer, you can then sort your tapes in ascending or descending order by various properties. The status of the virtual tapes is initially set to **CREATING** when the virtual tapes are being created. After the tapes are created, their status changes to **AVAILABLE**. For more information, see [Understanding Tape Status](understand-tapes-status.md).