Introduction to Data tapes

Brief introduction to the mechanism behind data tape technology.
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1. What are Data Tapes ?

2. “Data storage device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape” Magnetic Tape Long and narrow strip of plastic film Magnetized undercoating of strip Various levels of magnetized data are stored on strip Magnetic Tape Data Storage D igital recording on magnetic tape to store digital information Commonly enclosed in cartridges and cassettes Tape Drive performs writing or reading of data

3. Digitization of Data

4. Digital Recording Digital audio and video are directly recorded on a storage device Direct encoding of data into the stream of discrete numbers which represents: Changes in air pressure for audio and chroma & luminance values for video through time Recording Process Recording Playback Techniques to Record to Commercial Media Digital Cassettes Read/write head moves quickly in order to maintain a high enough speed to keep the bits at a manageable size Optical Disc Recording A laser is used to burn microscopic holes into the dye layer of the medium A weaker laser is used to read these signals Digital Information Discrete, discontinuous representations of information or works

5. History of Data Tapes

6. Open Reels Wound on large (10.5 in/26.67 cm) reels Standard for large computers Univac First commercial data tape UNIVAC I - 1951. Used in UNISERVO Drive’s recording medium: A thin metal strip of 0.5 inch wide Nickel-plated phosphor bronze Recording density was 128 characters per inch Linear speed of 100 in/s Eight tracks: Six data tracks One parity track One timing track

7. IBM Formats Used ferrous-oxide coated tape Magnetic tape dimensions were 0.5 inch Wound on removable reels up to 10.5 inches in diameter Different tape lengths were available 1200 ft., 2400 ft. Introduction of half inch tapes Tape lengths increased in 1980’s Started using PET film Early half-inch tape had 7 parallel tracks of data along the length 9 track tapes supported the new 8-bit characters Effective recording density increased over time Common 7-track densities started at 200, then 556, and finally 800 cpi 9-track tapes had densities of 800, 1600, and 6250 cpi End of file was designated by a tape mark End of tape by two tape marks

8. DEC Tape I 0.75in wide tape, having: 6 data tracks 2 mark tracks 2 clock tracks Data recorded at roughly 350 bits per inch Durable to be used as the main storage medium for a OS First time used file sharing system Shoe shining – 1970’s Slow disk drive DEC T ape II DEC tape II was introduced around 1978 Same structure but used a much smaller 0.150 in tape Enclosed in a cartridge The TU58 DEC tape II drive had an RS232 serial interface Allowed it to be used with the ordinary serial ports Low cost floppy disk technology DEC tape II got obsolete

9. Cartridges and Cassettes Cassette An enclosure that holds two reels Single span of magnetic tape Cartridge A single reel of tape in a plastic enclosure

10. Technical details

11. Tape Width Half inch Recording Method Linear Linear Serpentine Scanning Transverse Accurate Helical Linear Recording Linear Serpentine Recording

12. Data Blocks D ata is written on tape in blocks Important to keep up with data rate Data Buffer Modern tapes offer speed matching feature Sequential Access to Data Tape provides sequential access to data Takes 10s to reposition the tape head Hard disk performs the action in 10s of milliseconds Offers random access to data

13. Access Time Tape Long latency for random accesses Alternatives available I ndexing Marking blocks with a tape mark Data Compression A ratio of 2:1 is typical Some enterprise tape drives can encrypt data

14. Companies Venturing in Data Tapes

15. 3M DEC Sony HP Quantum Storage Tek Maxell IBM Etc

16. Tape Products Available at ODSI

17. 8 MM Tape AIT Tape Barcode Labels Cleaning Cartridges DDS Tape DLT Tape DTF Tape Enterprise Tape LTO Tape T10000 Tape Traven Tape Tape Storage Cases VXA Tape Optical Cartridges QIC Tape RDX Cartridges SDLT Tapes SLR-MLR Tapes

18. 8MM Tapes

19. Magnetic data storage Pioneered by Exabyte D8 – Abbreviation used by SONY Dual reels in cartridge First Commercial Helical Scan recording Backward compatibility 170m length can store up to 170 GB Enhance length of 225m length stores 250 GB Tape Mediums : Metal Particles Tape Advanced Metal Evaporated Tape (AME) AME with Smart Clean

20. Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT)

21. Developed by SONY Dual reels in cartridge Provides backward and forward compatibility Uses helical scanning S-AIT is a variant Wider tape in larger cartridge Single reel 25GB to 1040GB Technical Features: AME (Advanced metal evaporated) MIC (Memory in chip) R-MIC (Remote memory in cassette) WORM (Write once read many)

22. Barcode Labels

23. Barcodes has adhesive backing Use for effective management of data tapes Alphanumeric coding

24. Cleaning Cartridges

25. Digital Data Storage Tapes (DDS)

26. Store digital data on DAT Tape Tape width is 3.8mm Latest formats are 8mm wide Helical scan recording method Length can be increased 2GB to 160GB DAT Tape: Developed by SONY Sequential transmission of data Ability to record digital data at: Higher lower and equal sampling rate

27. Digital Linear Tapes (DLT)

28. Magnetic tape data storage technology Owned by Quantum Corp. Linear serpentine recording Half-inch wide tape Tape material is metal particle tape (MP/AMP) Cartridges contain a single reel Reel motors controls tape speed and tension No capstan DLT includes WORM capability 2:1 data compression SDLT is a variant

29. Digital Tape Format (DTF)

30. Magnetic tape data storage format Developed by Sony Uses a 1/2in wide tape Cassette with two reels Helical scan process Two sizes of tape cassettes; "S" and "L” Highest capacity DTF 1 media tape is 42 GB DTF 2 tape delivers storage capacity of 200 GB

31. Enterprise Tapes

32. Half-inch tape technology Few are able to encrypt data Leading brands Sun Imation Fuji IBM

33. Linear Tape Open (LTO)

34. Magnetic tape data storage Open standards Part of quantum corp. Developed as a replacement for DLT Standard form-factor goes by the name Ultrium LTO version 6 holds 2.5tb 1 ⁄ 2 -inch wide tape in a single reel cartridge. Ultrium drive reads data: From a cartridge in its own generation From cartridges of at least the two prior generations. An Ultrium drive writes data: To a cartridge in its own generation To a cartridge from the immediate prior generation

35. Optical Cartridges

36. Capable of writing and rewriting data Available in 130 mm and 90 mm forms The disc consists of a ferromagnetic material Sealed beneath a plastic coating Reliable and inexpensive medium Designed in rewritable and WORM formats Leading companies offering magneto optical cartridges: Sony, verbatim, IBM, HP, Sony, Philips, Imation, Maxell

37. Quarter Inch Cartridge (QIC)

38. Magnetic tape data storage format Enclosed in a package of aluminum and plastic Holds two tape reels driven by a single belt The tape was originally 1 ⁄ 4 -inch wide Length is 300 to 1,500 feet Motorized capstan Data is written linearly along the length Could also be written in "serpentine”

39. RDX Cartridges

40. Features a removable hard disk cartridge A docking station for operating the cartridge The highest capacity is 1 TB Shock-proof 2.5-inch Serial ATA hard disk drives

41. SLR-MLR Tape

42. Perfect backup for: Mid-sized servers Small data centers Workstations Named by Tandberg Data for its line of QIC The earliest SLR drive has a capacity of 250 MB Latest drive has a capacity of 70 GB

43. T10000 Tape

44. Latest Oracle/Sun Storage Tek tape drive Used with large computer system Tape cartridges are 1 ⁄ 2  in (13 mm) wide Storage Capacity: T10000A has a native capacity of 500 GB T10000B drive support 1 TB T10000C tape drive stores 5 TB natively

45. Travan Tape

46. 8 mm magnetic tape cartridge Developed by the 3M company 750 inch length Linear track recording technology Travan does not verify data after writing The tape is not attached to the hubs Wrapped and held by friction

47. Tape Storage Cases

48. VAX Tape

49. “Packet technology” data format Helical scan technology 2 read heads for Each stripe Each stripe starts with a unique packet ID Ends with an ECC packet checksum Ensures data integrity

50. Thank You T HANK Y OU Website: www.odsi.co.uk Contact: [phone] Email: [email protected] Source: Wikipedia