What is a Tape Drive?

Tape drive (Tape Drive) generally refers to single-drive products, usually composed of tape drives and tapes, is an economical, reliable, large-capacity, fast backup device. This product uses high-error-correction coding technology and read-through channel technology after writing, which can greatly improve the reliability of data backup. According to different loading methods, it is generally divided into manual loading tape drive and automatic loading tape drive, that is, automatic loading tape drive. At present, there are many manufacturers of tape drives. IT vendors include tape drives such as HP, IBM, Exabyte, and other professional storage vendors such as StorageTek, ADIC, and Spectra Logic. Tape library and other main products.

Tape Drives

Autoload

Tapes can be divided into six specifications based on the working principle of reading and writing tapes. Two of them adopt spiral scanning read and write methods: DAT (4mm) tape drives for workgroup level and 8mm tape drives for department level, and the other four are devices designed with data stream storage technology. Travan and DC series with magnetic head read and write, 1/4 inch tape width, low-end applications, and DLT with IBM multi-head read and write, 1/2 inch tape width, high-end applications and IBM 3480 / 3490/3590 series and so on.

1/4 inch tape reel:

QIC (Quarter Inch Cartridge: 1/4 inch tape roll) tape is a 1/4 inch tape cassette with a cassette, also called a 1/4 inch tape. It has two specifications, namely DC6000 and DC2000. The DC6000 tape drive is 5.25 inches and has been obsolete. The DC2000 tape drive is only 3.5 inches, the drive price is low, the degree of standardization is high, and many manufacturers are compatible with each other. The storage capacity of a box of DC2000 tape is generally 400MB, which is one of the currently used tapes.

Digital audio tape:

DAT (Digital Audio Tape) tape, with a magnetic bandwidth of 0.15 inches (4mm), is also called a 4mm tape. Because the magnetic tape storage system uses helical scanning technology, the magnetic tape has a high storage capacity. DAT tape systems generally use write-on-write and compression technology, which not only improves system reliability and data transmission rate, but also increases storage capacity. At present, the storage capacity of a DAT tape can reach 12GB. At the same time, more manufacturers of DAT tapes and drives are a promising data backup product.

8mm tape:

It is a high-capacity magnetic tape developed by Exabyte Company and suitable for large and medium-sized networks and multi-user systems. 8mm tape and its drive also use spiral scanning technology, and the tape is wider, so the storage capacity is extremely high, and the maximum capacity of a tape can reach 14GB. But the brand is single and there are fewer types.

1/2 inch tape:

This type of tape is divided into DLT (digital linear tape) tape and IBM 3480/3490/3590 series tapes. Due to the rapid development of DLT tape technology, it has become an important standard for network backup tape drives and tape library systems, and because of its large capacity, high speed, and unique development potential, it has become the leader in mid-to-high backup systems. DLT tapes have a capacity of up to 35GB per box, and the cost per unit of capacity is low; IBM 3480/3490/3590 series tapes are produced by IBM, and the storage capacity of each tape is up to 10GB. The corresponding drive system is actually a tape library. Store multiple cartridges, and its robot can automatically select any one of the cartridges to the drive. ^[1]