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Quantum DLTtape SDLT 320 Handbook - Vertical Markets

Manual is about: Quantum DLT 2000: User Guide

Summary of DLTtape SDLT 320

  • Page 1

    I from quantum corporation quantum ® dlttape ™ handbook your complete guide to today’s hottest storage technology eighth edition.

  • Page 2: Editor

    Notice editor peter mcgowan g•m marketing communications associate editor stephen weekley quantum corporation senior writer hank giles g•m marketing communications art director christine koch knockout graphics illustrator steve hussey copyright ©1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 quantum corporation quantum cor...

  • Page 3

    Foreword the world of data storage has changed a great deal since we pub- lished the first quantum dlttape ™ handbook in 1997. In just this short time, the role of storage has evolved dramatically. It has become clear that effective storage strategies are fundamental to the success of virtually any ...

  • Page 4

    Dlttape system as the dominant tape technology for backup, recovery, archiving, vaulting, near on-line storage, and multi- media storage hierarchies. Because super dlttape technology is the newest development in dlttape systems, we have included in this edition of the handbook a great deal of new in...

  • Page 5: Chapter

    Contents chapter — introduction — 1. The evolving tape storage market — 2. What is the dlttape system? — 3. History of dlttape technology — 4. Why customers want the dlttape system — 5. Reliability: the heart of the dlttape system — 6. Demystifying tape drive specs — 7. Dlttape media — 8. Automation...

  • Page 6

    Vi.

  • Page 7: Convergence Emergence

    Introduction this handbook will introduce you to one of the dominant forces in mid-range storage technology – the dlttape systems, including the new super dlttape systems. These systems are the acknowledged market-share leaders in mid-range tape backup and archiving, thanks to their remarkable perfo...

  • Page 8: •

    • a shrinking “window” for backup and archiving. • the emergence of enterprise level storage management strategies, including storage area networks. In this handbook, we will show you why dlttape and super dlttape drives and media are the best storage solutions for these and many of the other storag...

  • Page 9: •

    The evolving tape storage market quantum dlttape handbook 1 1.1 before we plunge into the story of the dlttape system, we need some context. Who’s buying dlttape drives and media? And, more importantly, why? In this chapter, we’ll walk you through some of the market forces that are impacting the ind...

  • Page 10

    The evolving tape storage market 1.2 with the projected amount of data that needs to be backed up climb- ing at a rapid rate, and the projected growth in tape drive units shipped staying relatively flat, each of those backup tape drive units must deliv- er more capacity than ever before. Analysts pr...

  • Page 11: New Storage Strategies

    Quantum dlttape handbook 1.3 computing. For storage and backup, this means a shift away from the high-end products used in mainframe environments (reel-to-reel tape), and away from low-end, pc-oriented products (4mm dat), and toward the mid-range (8mm and half-inch dlttape systems). New storage stra...

  • Page 12

    0 1997 1998 3,000 2,000 2,500 1,000 1,500 500 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 worldwide fibre channel hub and switch revenue ($m) source: idc april 2000 figure 1-3 worldwide fibre channel hub and switch revenues. Storage area networks (sans) incorporating fibre channel technology will grow as the preferred...

  • Page 13: Centralized Management

    Centralized management the management of information resources has been evolving from the totally centralized “glass house” systems of the 1970s and 1980s (see figure 1-4). In the late 1980s and into the 1990s, the client/ server model emerged. Computers were distributed, storage was distributed, an...

  • Page 14

    Gies. There is a greater demand for standard solutions, and robust, highly reliable systems for mission critical applications. Large, global enterprises demand global backup and disaster recovery plans. The system-level trends we’ve been talking about – the move to client/server, the emergence of st...

  • Page 15: Vertical Markets

    Vertical markets growth in specific vertical markets is pushing the demand for better backup solutions. Internet/intranet applications are growing at a very fast rate. They are driving the sales of servers, and they are also driving the sale of a large amount of storage capacity. An increase in stor...

  • Page 16: Content Is Everything

    Content is everything another trend driving the dlttape system market is the shift in application content. When images, color, full motion video, and audio are added to the content mix, storage requirements explode. This growth is generating demand for high capacity storage, and for backup. Applicat...

  • Page 17

    New technologies come out. For example, sony’s 8mm tape (ait) and ecrix’s vxa are not compatible with other 8mm tapes on the market. It appears that there are more formats available than the market can possibly use. To a certain extent, the formats sort themselves out naturally. Qic and 4mm products...

  • Page 18

    Capacity (gb, native) data rate (mb/s, native) bit density (kbpi) track density (tpi) media type media length recording channels hardware data compression interface 20 1.5 82.5 256 mp-2 1,800‘ 2 yes scsi-2/f se/hvd dlt 4000 40 6.0 98.0 416 mp-2 1,800‘ 4 yes scsi-2/fw lvd/hvd dlt 8000 35 5.0 86.0 416...

  • Page 19: Range Of Products

    The super dlttape systems, leapfrog current and proposed competi- tive technologies, with first generation super dlttape products offer- ing transfer rates of 11mb/s and capacity of 110gb, advancing to at least one terabyte (uncompressed) over multiple generations (see chapter 17 for a product roadm...

  • Page 20: Application Diversity

    Happier “out of the box” experience for users. There is also a trend toward providing more user-friendly graphical displays that show the user exactly what’s going on with backup, where the process stands at the moment, and what and where a hangup is occurring. Application diversity over time, the r...

  • Page 21: The Last Word

    Of needs. For example, we may see the emergence of a distinct class of “desktop” dlttape libraries aimed at video and graphic arts applications, while a class of mid-range to very large libraries may be targeted for storage area network (san) applications. The last word in any discussion of the mark...

  • Page 22

    What is the dlttape system? Quantum dlttape handbook 2 2.1 in later chapters we will cover a great deal of technical information about exactly how dlttape system technology works. In this chapter we focus on what it is about the dlttape and super dlttape sys- tems that makes them unique. When you ex...

  • Page 23: Half-Inch Tape

    What is the dlttape system? 2.2 half-inch tape the dlttape system uses half-inch wide tape. That is the widest tape available. The half-inch format was originally used in mainframe products and was adopted by digital equipment corporation when they designed the ancestors of the dlttape system. What ...

  • Page 24

    Quantum dlttape handbook 2.3 of the tape is reached, the heads are repositioned to record a new set of tracks, and the tape is again recorded on its whole length, this time in the opposite direction. That process continues, back and forth, until the tape is full. Current dlttape drives record either...

  • Page 25: Maintaining Compatibility

    Media, however, a defect on the tape – say a scratch – could be as long as an inch without causing an unrecoverable error. That’s because the parallel channel architecture used in dlttape drives enables the system to automatically rewrite bad blocks to parallel channels. Maintaining compatibility fi...

  • Page 26

    Quantum dlttape handbook 2.5 head motion write heads write heads read heads figure 2-6 dlt 7000 and dlt 8000 read/write head features 4 channels for a data transfer rate of up to 6mb/s (native). Center row of read elements provides read-after-write data accuracy. Figure 2-7 super dlttape read/write ...

  • Page 27: Simpler Tape Path

    What is the dlttape system? 2.6 adjacent tracks. This data recording technique is called symmetric phase recording ™ (spr). Spr’s herringbone pattern eliminates the need for guard bands and thus allows greater track density. Figures 2-5 and 2-6 show the arrangement of read/write elements on the two-...

  • Page 28

    Quantum dlttape handbook 2.7 drive leader head take-up reel tach assembly figure 2-8 the patented dlttape head guide assembly, first incorporated in the tf85 drive, is one of the keys to dlttape reliability. Six precision rollers provide a gentle tape path for long tape life. Take-up reel head guide...

  • Page 29

    What is the dlttape system? 2.8 figure 2-11 super dlttape system tape path is even sim- pler than that of the dlttape drive, requiring only four precision rollers to guide the tape. Figure 2-10 dlttape system tape path is key reason for the industry-leading reliability, long life, and accuracy of dl...

  • Page 30

    Quantum dlttape handbook 2.9 figure 2-12 helical scan tape system must pull tape out of the cartridge and around a spinning read/write head. Acute wrap angles and recording-side contact reduce tape life. By contrast, the dlttape head guide assembly is entirely different. It remains stationary. It co...

  • Page 31: Single Reel Design

    What is the dlttape system? 2.10 single reel design the dlttape media cartridge is unique in the midrange system market, in that it has only one reel. The take-up reel – the second reel – is in the dlttape drive itself. This single-reel design leaves a great deal more space for tape inside the cartr...

  • Page 32

    Itself, and it is guided by the stationary hga. It is inherently more stable, because much less movement is possible. When you look at a conventional two-reel 8mm cassette, it is obvi- ous that the two reels take up a great deal of space, leaving less space for tape. Not only can you see the differe...

  • Page 33: No Take-Up Reel

    History of dlttape technology quantum dlttape handbook 3 3.1 in 1984, the berlin wall was still standing, and the real estate bust, black monday, recession, and the collapse of the minicomputer market were still years away. At home, commodore 64 and atari computers were selling well. On the is front...

  • Page 34

    History of dlttape technology 3.2 sette systems (dat wasn’t out yet). Of course, the drive itself had to be made somewhat larger than most to accommodate the inter- nal take-up reel. Dubbed the tk50, the new tape drive was capable of storing 94mb per cartridge. Using a ferrite read/write head, the t...

  • Page 35: Need For Precision

    Quantum dlttape handbook 3.3 macintosh and its gui operating system were growing in popular- ity, having entered through the back door of corporate graphics departments and in-house advertising groups. Need for precision the tk70 wasn’t enough to quench the thirst for greater storage capacity and fa...

  • Page 36: Head Guide Assembly

    Head guide assembly probably the most important new feature introduced with the tf85 was the patented six-roller head guide assembly (hga). This mechanism provides a gentle, solid path to precisely move the tape past the read/write head. This boomerang-shaped assembly con- sists of a forged aluminum...

  • Page 37

    In 1991, windows 3.1 became a standard for pcs. “mini” manufac- turers industry-wide felt the pressure as companies discovered that a string of inexpensive pcs could be networked to do the same work that had once been the province of the minicomputer. Meanwhile, digital’s storage group kept advancin...

  • Page 38: Quantum Enters The Picture

    Could store up to 50gb of uncompressed data using the dlt 2000 drive and eventually up to 100gb of uncompressed data using the dlt 4000 drive. Early in 1994, digital began to gear up to sell dlt tape drives out- side its normal user base. The scsi-2 interface used by dlt drives was an industry stand...

  • Page 39: Sales Growth

    Cartridge. The new dlttape system provided data transfer at 1.5mb/s (3mb/s compressed) and was fully read/write compatible with previous generations of dlttape drives. Again, customer investments in dlttape drives and media were preserved. Sales growth quantum sales rose to $3.5 billion for fy’95 on...

  • Page 40: Dlt 8000 Drive

    Drive makers were left far behind. Demand for the drive quickly outstripped supply as oems and resellers flocked to take it on. Library manufacturers wanted the drive in order to up total library capacities into the multi-terabyte range. Unix review magazine named the dlt 7000 drive one of its outst...

  • Page 41: Dlttape System Sales Growth

    Benefit – investment protection: the dlt 8000 drive, which uses the same dlttape iv tape cartridges as the dlt 7000 drive, is compatible with a very large percentage of all of the dlttape media ever sold (some 55 million cartridges). Dlttape system sales growth at the end of fy '99, sales of dlttape...

  • Page 42: Dlt1 Drive

    Technology. Volume production and first customer shipments began in q1, 2001. These products address the individual storage needs of low-, mid-, and high-end customers in the mid-range data storage market. These new products include drives that deliver capacities of 110gb (uncompressed), and transfe...

  • Page 43: The Server Boom

    Why customers want dlttape systems quantum dlttape handbook 4 4.1 when quantum bought dlt technology in 1994, sales of dlt products were running a modest 20,000 units per year. In just six years, dlttape drive sales climbed to over 500,000 units a year. Why are so many people buying dlttape systems?...

  • Page 44: A Proven Technology

    Why customers want dlttape systems 4.2 the “birth of the server industry.” of course, today’s servers look a great deal like yesterday’s minicomputers, and, instead of disap- pearing, this class of computers is growing very rapidly. These midrange servers support much larger disk storage than deskto...

  • Page 45: Widely Available

    Quantum dlttape handbook 4.3 dlttape drives installed, and over 55 million dlttape cartridges in use worldwide. In the understated words of one user, “dlttape technology is a well understood way to get a lot of data backed up.” widely available dlttape systems are available from many sources. The li...

  • Page 46: Bigger Is Better

    Clock is running out, you don’t want to have to face the long, slow process of putting the ad on tape before you can ship it to the client. You want dlttape system speed. Bigger is better users want dlttape technology because bigger is much better. You can put much more information on half-inch-wide...

  • Page 47: More Reliable

    Ical system administrator running a network backup application, more capacity per cartridge means less need to swap cartridges. More reliable while we were researching this book, we talked to end users and network managers. Over and over again, they told us that they had switched to dlttape backup b...

  • Page 48

    End server arena, some people mistakenly characterize dlttape technology as expensive. That is simply not the case. One of the great things about the free market is that buyers usually figure out the best deals pretty quickly. Users want dlttape technol- ogy because, as it turns out, in many applica...

  • Page 49: True Cost

    Technology. No other tape drive system packs as much data in a single cartridge as the dlttape system; up to 110gb in native mode on a single super dlttape i cartridge. True cost the true cost of backup isn’t in the drives and the media at all – it’s in the people and time it takes to meet your back...

  • Page 50

    The upper limits of their potential, dlttape technology is just hit- ting its stride, with plenty of room to grow. Half-inch tape simply offers more growth capacity than the much smaller 4mm or 8mm formats (see figure 4-2). Where 8mm and 4mm are pushing their density limits, half-inch dlttape techno...

  • Page 51: Dlttape System Compatibility

    Media ensures the highest track density available today. Amp uses durable metal powder technology for recording at very high densities. The back side of the amp media contains specially formulated back- coating to receive the optical servo tracks, so customers can reserve the entire data-bearing sid...

  • Page 52

    Tapes. You will never need most of them. But if you do need some old tapes from last year, or 5 years ago, or just last week, you would have a major problem if you had changed backup platforms. That is gen- erally not the case with dlttape technology. A cartridge recorded on a dlt 2000 drive three o...

  • Page 53

    Quantum dlttape handbook 4.11 figure 4-5 symmetric phase recording (spr), used in dlt 7000 and dlt 8000 drives, angles recording tracks to prevent cross-track interference and increase data density. Figure 4-6 dlt 7000/8000 head positioned to read dlttape cartridge recorded on an older dlttape drive...

  • Page 54

    Why customers want dlttape systems 4.12 the dlt1 drive uses dlttape iv media, so dlt1 drives can read any dlttape iv cartridges recorded on dlt 4000 drives. And, of course, dlttape iv cartridges recorded on dlt1 drives can be read by dlt 4000 drives and by sdlt 220 drives. Super dlttape i media comp...

  • Page 55: You Count On Tape Backup

    Reliability: the heart of the dlttape system quantum dlttape handbook 5 5.1 there is nothing more frustrating (or costly) than attempting to restore a file or directory, only to discover it can’t be done because of errors or worn out tape. An inexpensive tape drive suddenly loses its appeal when a p...

  • Page 56: Head Guide Assembly

    Reliability: the heart of the dlttape system 5.2 up applications. In this chapter, we will take a look at the dlttape system features that make it the most reliable mid-range backup system on the market today. Unlike drives based on consumer video or audio recording tech- nology, such as 8mm and dat...

  • Page 57

    Quantum dlttape handbook 5.3 figure 5-1 patented head guide assembly (hga) used in the dlt 4000, dlt 7000, and dlt 8000 drives provides a rock solid tape path for industry-leading reliability and accuracy. Drive leader head take-up reel tach assembly take-up reel head guide rollers head drive leader...

  • Page 58: Tape Handling

    That stress the tape. Dlttape rollers are large and are arranged in a gentle arc along the hga. This roller arrangement results in much less wear than in helical scan system. When a dlttape cartridge is inserted into the drive, it is automati- cally locked into position. A patented buckling mechanis...

  • Page 59

    Quantum dlttape handbook 5.5 figure 5-4 super dlttape system tape path is even simpler than that of the dlttape drive, requiring only four precision rollers to guide the tape. To step up and down from track to track or, in the case of the dlt 7000 and dlt 8000 drives, to tilt forward and back. The d...

  • Page 60: Self-Cleaning Head

    Tachometer also helps the system keep track of how much tape is wound onto each reel and adjusts the speed of the two motors accordingly. Each time a cartridge is loaded, the drive calculates and sets the minimum tension required to achieve high-quality, consistent read/write signals. This calibrati...

  • Page 61: Error Detection

    Quantum dlttape handbook 5.7 outrigger islands help wipe contaminants such as dust from the tape as it passes. Like tiny stationary squeegees, these non-ener- gized islands continuously clean the dlttape media, ensuring proper tape/head contact, and data integrity. A low-stress tape path, contoured ...

  • Page 62: Adaptive Cache Buffering

    Reliability: the heart of the dlttape system 5.8 adaptive cache buffering dlttape drives feature adaptive cache buffering, which helps reduce stops and starts, reducing drive wear and tear. Adaptive techniques enable the dlttape system to adjust block sizes to match the host data rate. If compressio...

  • Page 63: Mean to You.

    Quantum dlttape handbook 5.9 cent usage. In fact, even at 100 percent duty-cycle, dlttape drives are rated at up to 250,000 hours mean time between failures (mtbf). Even when compared to a competing drive offering the same mtbf, dlttape drives are the clear winners, because we have calculated mtbf a...

  • Page 64

    Demystifying tape drive specs quantum dlttape handbook 6 6.1 specifications can be stated in different formats, using different terms, which may or may not mean the same thing. And some- times two different vendors will use the same term, but will base their use of the term on very different standar...

  • Page 65

    Demystifying tape drive specs 6.2 which ones you can ignore. Figure 6-1 includes the most impor- tant specifications for the dlttape drives. Capacity and data compression some manufacturers specify capacity in native mode. Others list capacity with an asterisk, and a footnote that says something lik...

  • Page 66: Performance and Compression

    Quantum dlttape handbook 6.3 very effectively, as can big graphics files. Other material, like tables, for example, doesn’t compress much at all. Files that have already been compressed may even get bigger if you try to compress them. The bottom line is that compression may or may not be relevant to...

  • Page 67: Load Time

    Load time load time is the time from the moment you insert a cartridge into the drive, until the cartridge is ready to read or write the data. When discussing the dlttape system, competitors often make the accurate statement that the load time spec for a dlttape cartridge is approximately one minute...

  • Page 68: Reliability and Environment

    Turer claims that, on average, this unit will run for 10,000 hours (or about 416 days) before it will break down and stop working. The bot- tom line is this: the dlttape system, with its patented head design, low- tension-tape contact, simple tape path, and stationery heads, has an inherently more r...

  • Page 69

    Ally use far lower figures. A dlttape drive lays down data in a series of parallel tracks that run the length of the tape. As a result, it takes multi- ple passes to read or write the same amount of data on dlttape media that should be read or written in a single pass on competitive drives. In gener...

  • Page 70

    Than for a drive with rotating heads. Dlttape media is more durable than other types of media by a very wide margin. Data integrity – error correction the important figure in terms of data integrity is the uncorrected bit error rate, sometimes referred to as the hard error rate. Uncorrected bit erro...

  • Page 71: Conclusion

    Centage of recorded data, and in larger blocks (measured in num- ber of consecutive bytes) to prevent data loss. During write operations, the dlttape drive assures that the data written is correct by performing a read after write. If an error is detected, the drive rewrites the data block (see figur...

  • Page 72

    Dlttape media quantum dlttape handbook 7 7.1 a dlttape cartridge is 4.16 inches wide, by 4.15 inches deep, by 1 inch high. It weighs between 7.7 and 7.85 ounces, depending on specific model. A dlttape cartridge holds between 1,200 and 1,828 feet of half-inch wide metal particle recording tape. A spe...

  • Page 73

    Dlttape media 7.2 what makes dlttape cartridges better? For many dlttape system users, the biggest difference between the dlttape system and other tape systems has nothing to do with trans- fer speed and cartridge capacity. It has everything to do with confi- dence that the information they put on a...

  • Page 74

    Access door leader supply reel write protect switch tape drive access quantum dlttape handbook 7.3 the one-reel design of the dlttape cartridge offers two major bene- fits. First, the dlttape cartridge has no wasted space. It is packed full of tape, which means more capacity per cartridge. Second, t...

  • Page 75

    On super dlttape i cartridges, a unique new buckling system increases cartridge life and supports heavy-duty-cycle environments. (see figure 7-3.) a solid metal pin attached to the drive leader links with molded clips that are permanently attached to the tape leader inside the cartridge. The positiv...

  • Page 76

    Difference in the position of the bot (beginning of tape) hole (see figure 7-4). The bot hole is a small hole in the tape that tells the drive that the leader has passed the read/write heads and it’s now safe to start recording. The distance from the beginning of the leader to the bot hole tells the...

  • Page 77

    Dlttape iiixt cartridge has a native capacity of 15gb, and the dlttape iv cartridge has a native capacity of 35 or 40gb. Super dlttape i cartridges have a capacity of 110gb. What accounts for the difference in capacity between cartridges? There are several factors. First and most obvious is tape len...

  • Page 78

    Quantum dlttape handbook 7.7 da t qi c-m c qi c-dc 8mm half-inch dlttape 0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 da t qi c-m c qi c-dc 8mm media recording area (square inches) figure 7-6 half-inch dlttape media leaves plenty of room for capacity growth for future dlttape drives. A single dlttape cartridge ...

  • Page 79: Media Availability

    Media availability quantum corporation sells all types of dlttape and super dlttape i cartridges. By setting up multiple channels of distribution for dlttape media, quantum has sought to assure customers all over the world that there will be an adequate supply of media available from multiple source...

  • Page 80: Compactape

    Quantum dlttape handbook 7.9 media. That quality has been proven by over 55 million dlttape cartridges sold. These cartridges provide unsurpassed durability and reliability. They are rated at one million tape passes, and have an archival life expectancy of 30 years. Compactape compactape was the nam...

  • Page 81

    Automation quantum dlttape handbook 8 8.1 according to a report from the market research firm idc, the over- all market for tape libraries is growing at an annual rate of 25 per- cent, while the market for dlttape system-based libraries is grow- ing at a rate of 35 percent. Analysts estimate that 19...

  • Page 82: Backup To The Future

    Automation 8.2 spectrum, from compact desktop libraries to enterprise level sys- tems. Super dlttape technology also incorporates features designed specifically to support library applications. Optional library-ready models offer the high reliability demanded in contin- uous and random operations. O...

  • Page 83

    Quantum dlttape handbook 8.3 is the need to gain control of their rapidly expanding information storage resources. The world of the mainframe is probably gone forever. We now live in a world of distributed computing resources, heterogeneous system environments, pervasive internet/intranet influence,...

  • Page 84: Growth Of Sans and Nas

    Growth of sans and nas one of the major factors in the continuing growth of the market for dlttape-technology-based automated libraries will be the emergence of new storage models, including storage area networks (sans) and network attached storage (nas). Both of these storage concepts place increas...

  • Page 85

    Quantum dlttape handbook 8.5 figure 8-2 evolution of storage management.

  • Page 86

    Cost and with little management overhead. Nas, however, is not the same as backup. In fact, by making it possible to easily expand stor- age, nas creates the need for expanded backup capacity. This is where dlttape-based libraries fit in the nas concept. In a typical configuration, a dlttape library...

  • Page 87

    Improved data security and availability. Backups become auto- matic, and backups are never missed. Data is secure and available at a moment’s notice. Seamless disaster recovery. With a two-drive system, a complete copy of a full backup can be made at the same time the primary copy is running. Disast...

  • Page 88: Inside Tape Libraries

    How to buy a tape automation system what should you look for in a tape automation system? As in buying a standalone tape drive, it’s best to begin with an evaluation of your current situation and your future needs. For instance, how much data do you need to back up? How fast is your data growing? Ho...

  • Page 89

    To be loaded individually into storage slots inside the library. Important note: be wary of manufacturers’ total capacity claims. Some library makers assume a 2:1 compression ratio in advertising their total capacity. Compression is highly variable and data depen- dent and should not be used as a gu...

  • Page 90

    Each library maker has their own tape handling mechanism. Some of the different mechanisms you’ll find include robotic arms, eleva- tors, and carousels. Some libraries are equipped with multiple mech- anisms. Another feature to look for in larger libraries is a “mailbox.” this is a slot or compartme...

  • Page 91

    Quantum dlttape handbook 8.11 protective housing. The higher the capacity of the library, the larger the housing. From table top to room size, tape libraries come in every shape and size. If you buy an expandable library system, you should consider future space requirement when locating the library....

  • Page 92

    Automation 8.12 by starting with dlttape system-based automation systems, you know you’re getting rock-solid drives at the heart of the system, drives that are renowned for reliable, error-free operation. Once you’ve made the decision to select a dlttape-based system, you can focus on the automation...

  • Page 93

    Quantum dlttape handbook 8.13 management and backup are becoming increasingly popular. Storage area networks give users anywhere on the network access to a large, centralized pool of storage resources sitting on their own high-speed network – and backed up by dlttape libraries.Tape automation sys- t...

  • Page 94

    Horizontal applications quantum dlttape handbook 9 9.1 no matter what business you’re in, or what industry-specific appli- cations you may use, you almost certainly need data backup and archiving. These are fundamental applications in the data storage world, and this is where the dlttape system is u...

  • Page 95: Backup And Archiving

    Horizontal applications 9.2 technology. What follows is a look at the leading uses of the dlttape system and the data management issues you may encounter when implementing them (see figure 9-1). Backup and archiving basic backup and archiving are fundamental information manage- ment chores that ever...

  • Page 96

    Quantum dlttape handbook 9.3 protective spot for a period of time. Some companies, especially those required by law to maintain historical records such as insur- ance companies and banks, archive data to special vaults or storage sites specially designed to protect valuable records. File-by-file vs....

  • Page 97: Near On-Line Storage

    Of the data must be weighed against the cost of the system required to back it up. If the data is important, the cost in system perfor- mance and the cost of acquisition can be more than justified. Dlttape systems are ideal for real-time backup because they mini- mize the drag on system performance ...

  • Page 98

    As if it were a disk. Only a handful of companies provide this type of software application, and it’s typically used with desktop sys- tems and not with servers or network access. Dlttape systems are typically not used in this type of application. Most tape-as-disk systems use lower end, inexpensive...

  • Page 99

    Optical disk front ends that act as a high speed cache. The hsm management software attempts to “anticipate” the file usage needs of your users, based on criteria you set. Files may be moved to progressively deeper storage based on the date they were last used or the importance of the files. Newer o...

  • Page 100: Virtual Tape

    Surprisingly, hsm systems are not proliferating as rapidly as origi- nally expected. This is due in large part to the drop in price and increased capacity of today’s disk drives. In addition, many library and autoloader tape systems can perform many of the functions that are typically associated wit...

  • Page 101: Rait

    Backup capacity, it can have a significant impact on overall perfor- mance. The system incorporates software algorithms that select which files are backed up to the disk portion of the backup space. In general, the most active files are backed up to disk. Then as these files become less active, they...

  • Page 102: Disaster Recovery

    Rait systems work in essentially the same way as raid. Rait is ranked by six increasing levels of security and capability from level 0 to level 5. For example, level 1 rait provides disk mirroring in which your data is written to two drives simultaneously. Each drive contains the same data. This is ...

  • Page 103

    Every business and organization should have some provision for business continuity should a calamity strike. The level of protec- tion that’s right for your business will depend on the resources you need to provide to ensure continuity (see figure 9-4). In extreme cases, this may mean a fully-functi...

  • Page 104: Library Management

    Library management this class of software application allows your network to access information stored on tape libraries and autoloaders. Library man- agement applications can either be used as stand alone systems that allow the operator to move cartridges around, take inventory and find out what’s ...

  • Page 105

    Vertical market applications quantum dlttape handbook 10 10.1 dlttape system records moments of creation cleo is a 1,200 ton detection apparatus at the business end of the half-mile-diameter linear accelerator buried beneath the athletic fields at cornell university in ithaca, new york. Cleo’s 100,0...

  • Page 106: 8Mm Couldn’T Take It

    Vertical market applications 10.2 8mm couldn’t take it lns selected dlttape systems because of the technology’s reputation for reliability in heavy-duty-cycle environments. Twenty-five out of the 30 dlttape drives used by lns are running at 75 percent duty cycle or greater, every day. At that rate o...

  • Page 107: •

    Quantum dlttape handbook 10.3 • e-commerce. • internet/intranet. • data mining. • graphic arts. • cae/cad/cam. • multimedia. • publishing. • data acquisition. • dvd mastering. • video-on-demand. • digital nonlinear video editing. • medical imaging. • disaster recovery. • video distribution. Vertical...

  • Page 108

    Ways. Probably the most common difference is the standalone nature of many vertical applications. While these special-purpose systems may be linked to a network system, they often don’t rely directly on the network for their operation. The special-purpose application is usually substantial enough to...

  • Page 109: E-Commerce

    In film and video editing and special effects creation, it is critical for editors to be able to move jobs quickly and safely on and off their workstations. In many organizations, each editing workstation has a dedicated dlttape drive for near on-line storage. The introduction of super dlttape drive...

  • Page 110

    Capacity, room for growth, speed, and (most importantly) reliabili- ty to support the e-commerce mission. Dlttape technology fits into the mission-critical e-commerce stor- age environment at multiple levels. For example, a business-to-busi- ness equipment auction house uses server-attached dlttape ...

  • Page 111: Working In The Data Mines

    Pages that have disappeared from the web, leaving behind “this page not found” messages. These “lost” pages have enormous potential value for academic and industry research – value protect- ed by dlttape technology. Working in the data mines data mining is another good example of the kind of vertica...

  • Page 112: Medical Imaging

    Medical imaging an increasing number of hospitals, laboratories, doctors, and med- ical research centers are relying on digital imaging to help speed diagnosis, save money, improve treatment quality, and accelerate medical training. Images from diagnostic tools such as cat scan- ners, mri, echocardi...

  • Page 113: Geophysical Data Collection

    When the developers at metrum-datatape incorporated went looking for an off-the-shelf tape drive to incorporate in their multi-application recorder/reproducer (mars-ii), they quickly discovered that the dlttape system offered exactly what they needed. Mars-ii systems are used to record critical flig...

  • Page 114: Disaster Recovery

    That’s where dlttape technology comes in. Ontario-based avax international specializes in unattended tape backup and data inter- change solutions. The firm supplies dlttape systems for a wide range of applications, including oil and gas exploration. In the words of andrew senior, an applications eng...

  • Page 115

    Today, new disaster recovery schemes are emerging that place greater importance on keeping a backup database up-to-date at all times. For instance, electronic vaulting in the form of data mirror- ing or shadowing reduces the recovery time for mission critical applications. Shadowing and mirroring ma...

  • Page 116: Digital Publishing

    Digital publishing the publishing industry is going digital as fast as it can. Digital presses, digital printing plate production, digital proofing, digital files, digital images…digital everything! Digital publishing reduces preparation time, saves on labor, reduces inventories, and, in the case of...

  • Page 117

    Backup for “road warriors” today’s business “road warriors” succeed or fail based on the information they carry in their portable computers. A stolen or damaged laptop, or a lost file, can mean failure if the data is not backed up. Connected corporation offers a solution: intelligent, hands-off, onl...

  • Page 118: Multimedia

    Eight compaq tape libraries handle all server backup, including all remote sites, over high-speed t1 lines. Full server backups are done weekly; differential backups are performed nightly. Law firm backs up time and billing data few things are more important to a law firm than the integrity of their...

  • Page 119: Some Time Travel Required

    One example of how the dlttape system is being used in a multi- media application is at a developer and publisher of computer entertainment software. These games are intricate blends of music, sound effects, computer graphics, photographs, live action, dia- logue, and other elements. Each video game...

  • Page 120: Video On Demand

    Vertical market applications 10.16 ongoing backup. Typically, the editor will work on one job for a period of time, perhaps several hours. When he or she finishes work on that project – completes a new scene, or completes a set of revisions, or simply needs to get on something with a hotter dead- li...

  • Page 121: Digital Nonlinear Editing

    Quantum dlttape handbook 10.17 demand (vod) service right now on a test-market basis. Vod ser- vices use cable to provide homes with an array of services, includ- ing home shopping, interactive games, on-line banking, and video on demand. The dlttape system provides the high capacity, fast throughpu...

  • Page 122: Systems.

    Vertical market applications 10.18 back up digital media.” avid lists a number of important reasons why its customers should consider dlttape systems, including: protection from data loss. By backing up digital source footage, users can go back to the digitized media, modify projects, or access clip...

  • Page 123: Before You Go Shopping…

    Dlttape system technology compared quantum dlttape handbook 11 11.1 it would be easy to say there's no comparison to dlttape system tech- nology – it’s the best! But, nothing is that simple. Sure, dlttape prod- ucts are fast, reliable, and offer industry-leading capacity and speed. Depending on your...

  • Page 124: •

    Dlttape system technology compared 11.2 • how important is backup system reliability? • what will media cost (cost per gigabyte)? • is the backup system supported by third-party software? • is there a clear growth path for my backup system? These are just some of the factors you should consider as y...

  • Page 125

    Quantum dlttape handbook 11.3 from the cartridge along a gently curving path (see figure 11-2) past the write-read-write head to the take-up reel. Unlike helical scan drives, in which the tape recording surface makes contact with numerous rollers and guides (see figure 11-3), the recording surface o...

  • Page 126

    And records to the end. The drive then steps the head to the next track, reverses direction and records back to the beginning of the tape, and so on. One of the main reasons dlttape drives achieve such high data transfer rates is because data is written using multiple channels. Dlt 4000 systems use ...

  • Page 127: Dlt1

    Data accuracy. These include parity, multi-layer cyclical redundancy code (crc), error detection code (edc) and custom reed-solomon error correction code (see chapters 5 and 6 to learn more). An additional advantage provided by the dlt 7000 and dlt 8000 drives is symmetric phase recording (spr). Usi...

  • Page 128: •

    Of the dlttape drives, with even less contact between the tape media and the rollers. The dual motor system in super dlttape drives is very similar to that used in the dlttape drives. Super dlttape drives record data in a serpentine linear format, just like dlttape drives, but use eight-channel reco...

  • Page 129: Helical Scan Systems

    Helical scan systems the next two backup systems we’ll discuss are 4mm dat (digital audio tape) and 8mm tape. Both of these systems are based on helical scan technology developed in the early days of television to store video images. This is virtually the same technology used in your home vcr. With ...

  • Page 130: Sony Ait-2

    Sony ait-2 sony's ait-2 drive is a high-performance 8mm helical scan drive offering a native capacity of 50gb and a native transfer rate of 6mb/sec. Important features of the ait-2 technology include its memory in cartridge (mic) feature, which stores data on the con- tents and usage history of the ...

  • Page 131: Quarter-Inch Tape (Qic)

    Effort. Such efforts can very easily get bogged down by conflict between the competing interests of the partners. Second, unlike super dlttape systems, mammoth-2, or ait-2, there is no installed base of ultrium products. Therefore, any user who decides to move to the ultrium technology must either m...

  • Page 132: Optical Options

    Dlttape system technology compared 11.10 that any new qic drive you buy is compatible with your existing tape cartridges. Incompatibility among qic drives and tape for- mats is a real problem that must be considered when purchasing this type of system. Like the dlttape system, qic systems use a serp...

  • Page 133

    Quantum dlttape handbook 11.11 write once, read many (worm) drives have been available for many years and are most often used to provide a permanent record for critical information, or are used in optical jukeboxes in hierar- chical storage management (hsm) systems. Law firms, for instance, often us...

  • Page 134

    Magneto-optical (mo) drives use a combination laser/magnetic head to achieve higher storage capacities than pd drives. However, higher capacity comes at the expense of compatibility with stan- dard cd drives. Mo disks can only be read by other mo drives. The highest capacity mo drive on the market t...

  • Page 135: It Depends

    Evaluating the cost of a dlttape backup solution quantum dlttape handbook 12 12.1 what does dlttape system backup cost? We could answer by showing you a price list, but that isn’t really an answer at all. If you are considering using a dlttape system for backup, then you are in the market for a seri...

  • Page 136: What’S It Worth To You?

    Evaluating the cost of a dlttape backup solution 12.2 if you’re dealing in megabytes, you probably do not need an indus- trial-strength solution. You are probably well covered by a desktop solution using 4mm dat tape that costs a few hundred dollars. However, once your volume reaches gigabytes, you ...

  • Page 137: What Does Media Cost?

    Quantum dlttape handbook 12.3 what does media cost? Media prices fluctuate. In general, however, smaller-capacity media tend to have a lower cost per cartridge, while larger capacity media (like dlttape cartridges) tend to offer the lowest cost per gigabyte. (see figure 12-1.) in these terms, dlttap...

  • Page 138

    Last week’s backups off-site, so that would mean a total of investment of 20 dlttape cartridges. Archiving data presents a very different need. When you are con- suming tapes on an ongoing basis, rather than rotating the same tapes through the system, media costs are higher. This is another case in ...

  • Page 139: Labor Costs

    Dlttape drives in the world – and can deliver the maximum perfor- mance possible for every one of those drives. For users, that means they do not need to go to the great expense of transferring all their older tapes to new media just to make them readable. And it means that users with a mix of dltta...

  • Page 140: What Does Down Time Cost?

    Another dlttape system user described his experience with labor costs in an application that required maintaining archives of client data. Using a 4mm dat system, he recalls, he had reached the point at which he was tying up two staff members for a total of about 35 hours per week, simply swapping t...

  • Page 141

    Quantum dlttape handbook 12.7 games (see chapter 10 for more detail). Building a video game is a large, complex development project, and it is not uncommon to have a system error or, more commonly, a human error that can blow up a file. In that situation, you don’t want a whole team of developers si...

  • Page 142: Getting Along With Others

    Platform connectivity & software compatibility quantum dlttape handbook 13 13.1 for the vast majority of dlttape system users, any issues of con- nectivity and compatibility have been worked out long before they turn on their new systems. That’s because most dlttape systems are sold through oems suc...

  • Page 143: •

    Platform connectivity & software compatibility 13.2 (oems), value-added resellers (vars), tape library makers, and independent software vendors (isvs) achieve connectivity and compatibility with dlttape systems and dlttape libraries. Our connectivity and compatibility support generally falls into th...

  • Page 144: Host Attachment

    Quantum dlttape handbook 13.3 form. This listing includes native applications such as tar backup, cpio, dd, ftio and fbackup. Examples of isv partners include computer associates, dantz, legato, seagate, novastor, microsoft, and many more. Host attachment the first step to using a dlttape drive or d...

  • Page 145

    The bru commands; and hp uses fbackup and frestore. The windows nt operating system comes with a native backup utility. Platform and software qualification programs every platform partner or isv that wishes to either sell dlttape drives or claim compatibility with dlttape drives, must first go throu...

  • Page 146: Software Support

    Time-to-market. By running some tests in parallel with quantum, the customer saves time and expense. Up to 20 drives on several different types of host platforms are typically used during the rqt phase. Rqt can last for up to ten weeks and is conducted late in the qualification cycle, after most iss...

  • Page 147: Seeking Software

    Using a platform or application that has been qualified to work with a dlttape drive, occasionally a customer will experience a problem in achieving expected performance. These types of cases are often the source for new application notes on our web site. Quantum’s customer support engineers will tr...

  • Page 148: For Dlttape System Users.

    We are continually working with major isvs to ensure support for current and future dlttape products. We check isv solutions to identify functional deficiencies, provide the isv with performance tips and tuning, provide quantitative and qualitative feedback, and provide the latest firmware updates. ...

  • Page 149: Evolving Storage Needs

    Storage management software quantum dlttape handbook 14 14.1 storage management software is a hot bed of evolutionary activity. A huge number of variables are in the mix, and new ones are popping every day. At the same time, the environment is changing very quickly, and the changing environment will...

  • Page 150: What’S In The Mix?

    Storage management software 14.2 finally, files are simply getting bigger. Not just the multimedia or imaging files, but even simple word processing files are getting larger and larger, adding layers of highlighting, tables, and mixed type fonts. Similarly, there was a time when an entire operating ...

  • Page 151

    Quantum dlttape handbook 14.3 figure 14-1 evolution of storage management.

  • Page 152

    Dlttape system technology and storage management as the shape of storage management software emerges, it’s clear that the dlttape system is a good fit. Here are some of the strengths that make dlttape technology the right foundation for enterprise storage management solutions. Capacity. The total si...

  • Page 153

    Quantum dlttape handbook 14.5 breadth of product line. Quantum is taking advantage of the suc- cess of dlttape technology by building an extensive family of dlttape system products. In an enterprise storage strategy, that means you have a choice among multiple compatible building blocks, all using t...

  • Page 154

    Firmware quantum dlttape handbook 15 15.1 firmware is the “brains” behind the scenes in many of the products we take for granted. It's hard at work in your microwave oven, your calculator, your refrigerator, your digital watch, your kids’ electronic toys, your cell phone, your treadmill, and your ca...

  • Page 155: •

    Firmware 15.2 trol. In most cases, firmware interprets or translates commands from you, from applications, or from communication controllers and turns them into commands the machine or device can understand. Firmware and your dlttape system every quantum dlttape system comes from the factory with fi...

  • Page 156: Scsi Interface

    Quantum dlttape handbook 15.3 scsi interface scsi (small computer system interface) is at the heart of dlttape drive control and communication. The scsi interface is designed to be an industry standard for device control and communication. Among the scsi commands supported by dlttape firmware are er...

  • Page 157

    The flexibility provided by firmware enables quantum to adapt dlttape systems to meet almost any operating system or vendor requirements. In addition, when compared to hardware modifica- tions, firmware changes usually take less development time and are less expensive to implement. It's important to...

  • Page 158: Two Ways To Upgrade

    This innovative feature enables quantum and its resellers to devel- op and issue new versions of drive firmware that enhance opera- tion and product value. For instance, firmware is sometimes upgraded in the field to introduce an improved compression algo- rithm or to refine a particular scsi comman...

  • Page 159

    Downloaded to the host from quantum’s bulletin board or corpo- rate web site. Looking back while moving forward one of the key benefits of the dlttape system is investment protec- tion. Each new generation of dlttape system has been compatible with previous generations. This means that your closet f...

  • Page 160

    Helping to implement these advanced features in future genera- tions of dlttape drives. Next, we'll look at learning how to use your dlttape system. Quantum dlttape handbook 15.7.

  • Page 161: Read The Directions

    Using the dlttape system quantum dlttape handbook 16 16.1 the dlttape family of systems offers the highest reliability, capaci- ty, and performance in the mid-range market today. For example, the dlt 8000 drive is rated at an mtbf (mean time between failures) of 250,000 hours – that’s over 28 years....

  • Page 162

    Using the dlttape system 16.2 ing your dlttape drive and media. These tips cover our standalone dlttape systems. For operational information on other dlttape automation systems and backup software, you should consult your system vendor directly or visit their web site. Dlttape media do’s & don’ts as...

  • Page 163

    Quantum dlttape handbook 16.3 tape. To reduce the chance of dropping cartridges, you should store them on their sides in their protective cases. Data recovery. If a damaged tape contains important data, we rec- ommend sending the tape to a qualified data recovery service, such as ovation data servic...

  • Page 164

    Storage requirements. As noted above, dlttape media is ideal for long-term archiving, with a storage life of 30 years or more. To achieve its maximum shelf life, a dlttape cartridge must be stored in its protective case on its side and kept within a reasonable tem- perature and humidity range. The i...

  • Page 165

    Its own sophisticated computer system, including ram, micro- processors, controllers, firmware, and data cache. Install your dlttape drive in a clean area with an industrial-quality surge-pro- tected power source. Be aware that many factors contribute to the overall performance you’ll experience wit...

  • Page 166

    What’s the hold-up? What if you install a dlttape drive and you don’t get the performance you expect? Here are a few things to check. First, make sure your dlttape drive is properly defined for the host system. It is common for a scsi host to disable (unbuffered mode) the adaptive cache on the drive...

  • Page 167: Resources For You

    Ed. Image files from a graphical program like paint may compress at 4.5:1 or more, while binary files may compress at just 1.5:1. Data that has already been compressed or random data (such as encrypt- ed data) may actually expand by about five percent if you attempt to compress it further. This can ...

  • Page 168: Dlttape Technology.

    Www.Quantum.Com or www.Dlttape.Com, or call your indepen- dent system vendor with any questions you may have about using your dlttape drive, dlttape-based tape automation system, or dlttape cartridges. Next, we’ll look at the future of dlttape system products – super dlttape technology. Using the dl...

  • Page 169: Current Trends

    Quantum dlttape handbook 17.1 super dlttape:the future of dlttape technology 17 current trends one reliable way to discern where is and data storage management might be headed is to project present trends. Every current trend has a built-in momentum that will carry it forward. Some of the is trends ...

  • Page 170: Big Iron In Server Clothing

    Super dlttape: the future of dlttape technology 17.2 to solve the backup crisis, the dlttape system will continue to be the system of choice for library vendors and end users alike. Big iron in server clothing one trend that promises to continue for the foreseeable future is re- centralization. In t...

  • Page 171

    Quantum dlttape handbook 17.3 at the high end of the library market, modular systems that can be expanded with additional drives and tape slots will continue to offer cost-effective and scalable solutions. The fundamental features of the dlttape system will continue to attract library makers. These ...

  • Page 172: Raising The Bar

    Super dlttape: the future of dlttape technology 17.4 raising the bar the dlttape system can continue to improve in performance and capacity well into the future. A dlttape cartridge has over 10,000 square inches of recording area, several times the recording area offered by helical scan technologies...

  • Page 173

    Quantum dlttape handbook 17.5 tion starting in q1, 2001. We believe this new super dlttape tech- nology will become even more dominant than the dlttape system is today. While today’s dlttape technology is expanding its market share, the next-generation super dlttape products leapfrog all cur- rent a...

  • Page 174: Seamless Transition

    Super dlttape: the future of dlttape technology 17.6 seamless transition dlttape products, current and future, offer backward compatibility to the large and growing installed base of dlttape systems. If you are running an it operation, you will probably consider updating your backup strategy to take...

  • Page 175: •

    Quantum dlttape handbook 17.7 flavors of standard unix over the years. Which has not prevented unix from working as an open system. On the other hand, windows is proprietary. Yet, because it is also ubiquitous, windows is clearly an industry standard. We believe that dlttape technology, by virtue of...

  • Page 176: Lgmr Technology

    Super dlttape: the future of dlttape technology 17.8 lgmr technology the cornerstone of the super dlttape technology platform is its use of laser guided magnetic recording (lgmr). This unique technolo- gy application will produce an advanced scalable platform designed to meet an extraordinary range ...

  • Page 177: Pivoting Optical Servo (Pos)

    Quantum dlttape handbook 17.9 figure 17-2 lgmr technology increases tape capacity by increasing the number of recording tracks on the data-bearing side of the tape and servoing optically on the back side. Four key technologies contribute to the revolutionary capacity and performance lgmr brings to s...

  • Page 178

    Super dlttape: the future of dlttape technology 17.10 sensitivity to outside influences, which allows the super dlttape sys- tem to achieve a track count with an order of magnitude increase over current dlttape products.(see figure 17-3.) magneto-resistive cluster heads (mrc) quantum has evolved the...

  • Page 179

    Quantum dlttape handbook 17.11 head motion head motion magneto-resistive cluster heads figure 17-4 super dlttape read/write head features 8 channels. Very small magneto-resistive cluster (mrc) heads yield data transfer rates as high as 11mbs. New high-efficiency prml channel a newer prml channel imp...

  • Page 180

    Super dlttape: the future of dlttape technology 17.12 positive engagement tape leader buckling mechanism super dlttape systems feature a newly designed positive engagement tape leader buckling mechanism – a robust buckling system that increases cartridge life and supports the heavy duty cycle enviro...

  • Page 181: New, Rugged Media Cartridge

    Quantum dlttape handbook 17.13 super dlttape drive leader dlttape iv tape cartridge leader super dlttape i tape cartridge leader figure 17-6 positive engagement tape leader buckling mechanism increases cartridge life and supports heavy duty-cycle, 7x24 environments, along with compatibility with dlt...

  • Page 182: Managing Technology Risk

    Super dlttape: the future of dlttape technology 17.14 the modules include the best features of current dlttape tech- nology design and the breakthrough technologies that allow the super dlttape system to achieve its exceptional performance. Each module is optimized to perform a specific set of funct...

  • Page 183

    Quantum dlttape handbook 17.15 central role of dlttape technology in our customers’ storage strategies. We hope you’ve enjoyed this look into dlttape technology. One thing is certain, the dlttape system is the system to beat for a long time to come. If industry-leading capacity, reliability, and spe...

  • Page 184

    Quantum dlttape handbook a.1 appendix a super dlttape system products: sdlt 220 drive sdlt 220 for the mid-range server market, the sdlt 220 drive offers storage capacity of 110gb and data transfer rate of 11mb/sec. This model is designed to provide excellent data backup and archiving storage for mi...

  • Page 185

    Dlt 8000 the quantum dlt 8000 half-inch cartridge tape drive provides leadership in data storage and retrieval for demanding data back- up, archiving, and near on-line storage applications for mid range systems. The tape drive features a native transfer rate of 6mb/s, with a native capacity of 40gb....

  • Page 186

    Dlt1 drive dlt1 the quantum dlt1 half-inch tape drive is designed to provide high-capacity backup for small- to medium-size storage servers and workstations in cost-sensitive applications. The dlt1 tape drive offers a combination of 40gb native capacity per cartridge and a native transfer rate of 3m...

  • Page 187

    Appendix a a.4 dlt 4000 drive dlt 4000 the quantum dlt 4000 half-inch tape drive is designed for heavy duty-cycle computer applications in the lower to middle level of the tape drive market for mid-range systems. The dlt 4000 tape drive offers a combination of 20gb native capacity per car- tridge an...

  • Page 188

    Quantum dlttape handbook a.5 dlttape cartridges the quantum dlttape family of half-inch cartridges, approved for use in all dlttape system drives and autoloaders, delivers the highest capacity of any 5.25-inch cartridge – up to 220gb in compressed mode. To ensure accuracy, a patented tape leader ens...

  • Page 189

    Glossary quantum dlttape handbook g.1 a access. (v) read, write, or update information on a storage medium, such as tape. (n) the operation of reading, writing, or updating stored information. Access time. The interval between the time a request for data is made by the system and the time the data i...

  • Page 190

    Glossary g.2 advanced servo positioning (asp). This closed-loop positioning system allows increased data density by continually adjusting the position of the tape drive’s read/write head to achieve the strongest signal strength. Allocation. The process of assigning particular areas of the media to p...

  • Page 191

    Quantum dlttape handbook g.3 backup. A copy of a file, directory, or volume on a separate storage device from the original, for the purpose of retrieval in case the original is accidentally erased, damaged, or destroyed. Backup window. The period of time used to back up critical databases and other ...

  • Page 192

    Glossary g.4 byte. The basic unit of computer memory, large enough to hold one character of alphanumeric data. Comprised of eight bits. See also bit. C cpu. Acronym for central processing unit. The microprocessor chip or group of chips that perform the bulk of data processing in a computer. Crc. Acr...

  • Page 193

    Quantum dlttape handbook g.5 compression. Encoding data to take up less storage space on magnetic tape. Compression is carried out in the host (software compression) or in the drive itself (hardware compression). Software compression speed is dependent on host processor power, whereas hardware compr...

  • Page 194

    Glossary g.6 data cartridge. The enclosed media cassette that is used to hold recording/restoral media. Data compression. A process generated by either hardware or software that reduces the amount of storage space required to hold a particular block of data. Typical compression rates are 2:1 or 3:1 ...

  • Page 195

    Quantum dlttape handbook g.7 e ecc. Acronym for error correction code. The incorporation of extra parity bits in transmitted data in order to detect errors that can be corrected by the controller. Edc. Acronym for error detection code. Dlttape drives include a 16-bit edc with every 4kb of user data....

  • Page 196: Faceplate. See Bezel.

    Glossary g.8 f fci. Acronym for flux changes per inch. See also bpi. Faceplate. See bezel. Files. A distinct group of data blocks. File-by-file backup. A recording method that records data a single file at a time as opposed to mirroring a tape or block of data. Firmware. Permanent or semi-permanent ...

  • Page 197

    Quantum dlttape handbook g.9 g gigabyte (gb). A unit of measure consisting of one billion bytes (one thousand megabytes). H half height. Standard drive size equivalent to half the vertical space of a 5.25-inch drive. Hard error. A data error that persists when the tape is reread, usually caused by d...

  • Page 198

    Glossary g.10 i isv. Acronym for independent software vendor. Image backup. A backup option that takes a “snapshot” of an entire system by writing a volume image to tape sector-by-sector, rather than file-by-file. This method of backup is very fast and allows companies to backup critical information...

  • Page 199: Mb. See Megabyte.

    Quantum dlttape handbook g.11 k kilobyte (kb). A unit of measure consisting of 1,024 bytes. L lempel-ziv algorithm. A data compression technique used in all dlttape drives. Named after abraham lempel and jacob ziv. Laser guided magnetic recording (lgmr). The super dlttape data recording system. It e...

  • Page 200

    Glossary g.12 mtbf. Acronym for mean time between failures. Reliability rating indicating the expected failure rate of a product in power on hours (poh). Since manufacturers differ in the ways they determine the mtbf, comparisons of products should always take into account the mtbf calculation metho...

  • Page 201

    Quantum dlttape handbook g.13 microsecond (µs). One millionth of a second (.000001 sec.). Millisecond (ms). One thousandth of a second (.001 sec.). Minicomputer. A somewhat out-of-date term used to describe a class of multi-user computer that was one notch below a mainframe system. Minicomputer popu...

  • Page 202

    Glossary g.14 overhead. Command overhead refers to the processing time required by the controller, host adapter, or drive prior to the execution of a command. Lower command overhead yields higher drive performance. Overwrite. To write data on top of existing data thus erasing the original data. P po...

  • Page 203

    Quantum dlttape handbook g.15 peripheral. A device added to a system as a complement to the basic cpu, such as a disk drive, tape drive, or printer. Petabyte. A unit of measure consisting of one quadrillion bytes (one billion megabytes). Pivoting optical servo (pos). An optically-assisted servo syst...

  • Page 204

    Glossary g.16 read/write head. The mechanism by which data is recorded on to magnetic media in a tape or disk drive system. See read after write. Reed-solomon error correction. An error correction technique based on research done by irving reed and gustave solomon at mit’s lincoln laboratory in the ...

  • Page 205

    Quantum dlttape handbook g.17 server. A powerful computer system with a large hard disk drive that serves the information access and communication needs of multiple users. Often servers are dedicated to a particular function such as internet access, printing, file management, backup, and network com...

  • Page 206

    Glossary g.18 surface. The side of the tape that is coated with the magnetic material for recording data. Sustained transfer rate. The data transfer rate of a tape drive in native mode. For instance, the dlt 8000 has a sustained transfer rate of 6mb/s in native mode, and up to 12mb/s at 2:1 compress...

  • Page 207

    Quantum dlttape handbook g.19 thin film. A type of coating allowing very thin layers of magnetic material used on tape drive read/write heads. Media with thin film surfaces can store greater amounts of data. Track. A linear or angled pattern of data written on a tape surface. Dlttape drives write in...

  • Page 208: X, Y, Z

    Glossary g.20 w write once, read many (worm). An optical disk technology that allows the drive to store and read back data but prevents the drive from erasing information once it has been written. X, y, z no entries.

  • Page 209

    Quantum dlttape handbook i.1 index a advanced metal powder (amp) media, 4.8, 7.7, 7.8, 11.6, 17.9, 17.11, 17.12 alexa internet, 10.6 alpha workstation, 10.1 application notes, 16.1 apple macintosh, 3.1 archiving, 1.13, 9.1, 9.2, 9.9, 10.9, 10.10, 10.18 atari, 3.1 autoloader, 1.12, 3.4, 4.3, 8.1, 8.3...

  • Page 210

    Index i.2 9.11, 10.2, 10.3, 10.4, 10.6, 10.7, 10.8, 10.10, 10.11, 10.13, 10.14, 10.15, 10.16, 10.17, 10.18, 11.1, 11.2, 11.9, 11.10, 11.11, 11.12, 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5, 12.6, 12.7, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, 13.6, 14.2, 15.5, 16.2, 16.5, 17.1, 17.2, 17.4, 17.6 backward compatibility, 1.11, 2.6,...

  • Page 211

    Quantum dlttape handbook i.3 computer associates, 13.3 connected corporation, 10.13 cornell university, 10.1, 10.8 corrupted file, 5.1 cozen and o'connor, 10.14 cyclic redundancy code (crc), 5.7, 11.5 d dat, 1.3, 1.8, 3.2, 3.3, 3.7, 4.1, 4.7, 5.1, 5.2, 6.7, 10.11, 11.1, 11.7, 11.10, 12.2, 12.5, 12.6...

  • Page 212

    Index i.4 dlttape iiixt, 1.9, 3.7, 4.9, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.5, 7.6, 16.7 dlttape iv, 1.9, 2.2, 3.6, 3.7, 3.9, 3.10, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 4.12, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 10.6, 11.5, 12.3, 12.4, 15.6, 16.6, 16.7, 17.6, 17.12, 17.13 dlttape cleaning cartridge, 16.3 dantz, 13.3 data acquisition, 1...

  • Page 213

    Quantum dlttape handbook i.5 electronic vaulting, 10.11 end of tape (eot), 7.5 eeprom (electronically erasable programmable read only memory), 15.1, 15.2, 15.4, 15.5 error correction code (ecc), 5.7, 5.8, 6.7, 6.8, 11.5 error detection code (edc), 5.7, 11.5 exabyte, 11.2, 11.8 f ferrite read/write h...

  • Page 214

    Index i.6 i idc, 1.3, 1.4, 1.12, 8.1, 8.2 isv (independent software vendor), 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, 13.7, 16.6 image backup, 9.2, 9.3, 9.10 international business machines (ibm), 3.2, 4.3, 13.1, 15.3 internet, 1.4, 1.7, 3.7, 3.9, 4.2, 8.3, 8.11, 9.1, 10.3, 10.6, 14.1, 16.3 intranet, 1.7, 3.7, 8.3, 9.1, 1...

  • Page 215

    Quantum dlttape handbook i.7 m macintosh, 3.1, 3.3 magneto-optical (mo), 11.12 magneto-resistive cluster (mrc) heads, 2.5, 11.6, 17.9, 17.10, 17.11 mailbox, 8.10 mean time between failures (mtbf), 3.8, 4.5, 5.9, 6.1, 6.2, 6.4, 6.5, 8.12, 16.1 media cost, 11.2, 12.3, 12.4 media durability, 6.5 medica...

  • Page 216

    Index i.8 prom (programmable read only memory), 15.1 parallel channel architecture (pca), 2.4, 5.7, 5.8, 11.4, 11.6 peak transfer rate, 6.3 performance, 1.2, 1.6, 1.10, 1.11, 1.12, 2.1, 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 4.3, 4.5, 4.6, 5.8, 5.9, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 8.8, 8.10, 8.11, 8.13, 9.3, 9...

  • Page 217

    Quantum dlttape handbook i.9 s san, 1.3, 1.4, 1.13, 8.4, scsi, 1.10, 3.6, 4.4, 5.8, 8.10, 10.16, 10.17, 13.4, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 16.6 scalability, 1.10, 4.7, 8.6, 10.8, 14.4, 17.2, 17.4 scratch area, 7.5 seagate, 13.3 self-cleaning, 5.6, 5.7, 16.1, 16.5 serpentine recording, 2.3, 2.4, 3.4, 11.1...

  • Page 218

    Index i.10 t tf85, 3.4, 3.5 tf857, 3.4 tf86, 3.5 tk50, 3.2 tk70, 3.2, 3.3 tachometer, 5.2, 5.5, 5.6 take-up reel, 2.2, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 2.10, 3.1, 3.2, 5.3, 5.4, 7.3, 11.3 tape as disk, 9.1, 9.4, 9.5 tape leader loop, 7.3 tape path, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 3.4, 3.5, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7, 6.5, 6.6, 7.3, 11.3...

  • Page 219: X, Y, Z

    Quantum dlttape handbook video-on-demand (vod), 1.7, 1.8, 10.3, 10.16, 10.17 video distribution, 1.7, 10.3 w white papers, 16.1 worm (write once, read many), 11.11 windows 3.2, 3.5, 10.13, 10.14, 13.4, 17.7 www.Dlttape.Com, 8.11, 13.2, 13.6, 16.1, 16.8 www.Quantum.Com, 8.11, 13.2, 13.6, 16.1, 16.8 x...