IBM LTO-3 Tape Format Provides Unmatched Scalability
By: Tape4backup
Submitted: 2009-10-27 00:16:42 | Word Count: 578
LTO data storage technology is more advantageous and has gain more success and popularity due to its “open” format. Linear tape open is highly scalable and features breakthrough technologies that make it ideal to meet the challenges of current data intensive applications and strict laws. Highly efficient IBM LTO offers multiple sources of media and products.
IBM, Seagate and HP combined their efforts and engineered a new innovative LTO technology that offers a viable and ideal storage medium in a growing complex of backup data storage options. IBM LTO-3 tape has established new standards for performance, capacity and data throughput. Exceptional compatibility of high capacity IBM LTO3 tape enables the users to interchange their sensitive data across different platforms. Increasing needs of the modern backup applications are efficiently accommodated by the new advanced IBM LTO-3 media format. 24R1922 is the part number of the highly economical IBM ultrium 3 cartridge whose native capacity is 400 GB. The compression ratio offered by the IBM LTO-3 is 2:1. This means that the data recording capability of IBM LTO-3 tape will be twice as that of its native capacity.
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Ultrium is a powerful and high capacity specification of linear tape open whose per cartridge native capacity offerings range from 100GB (LTO-1 media tape) to 800GB (LTO-4 tape). High performance LTO-3 tape products developed by IBM are carefully engineered to meet the organizations’ needs at an affordable cost. The design of IBM LTO-3 tape comprises of a single hub that allows optimized packaging of media within the ultrium cartridge.
IBM has developed an exceptional and reliable compression algorithm for the LTO-3 tape format which doubles its speed as well as its data capacity. The data tracks of the IBM 24R1922 tape are further divided into 4 areas. Each area is called “data band”. Servo information bounds the top & bottom of each data band. Data is written on each data bands of IBM LTO-3 tape media one at a time. Cartridge memory is unique feature included in the IBM LTO cartridges. Upon loading the tape into the drive, it reads the contents held in the 4KB cartridge memory to accelerate its performance and upgrade the data throughput. The cartridge memory is non-volatile and is embedded in the robust cartridge shell of IBM LTO-3. Users of IBM LTO tape format are offered more luxury as they do not have to insert the cartridge into the drive for retrieving the information about initialization, manufacturer’s data, and calibration information.
Dedicated dual servo mechanism of IBM ultrium-3 increases the data integrity. IBM LTO-3 ultrium technology features error correction system which comprises of 2 levels. This error correction system is very effective and recovers the information from the longitudinal scratches. When the LTO data tapes are being manufactured, the servo bands are recorded onto the media tape. If any of the elements of servo becomes corrupt or defective, the head of the tape drive continues to track because of the 2nd redundant servo mechanism. The servo frame in IBM LTO-3 ultrium format encodes the words in longitudinal position which enables the data administrators to retrieve information from the absolute areas along the entire tape’s length.
Author Resource:-IBM LTO-3 tape technology is more advantageous, user friendly and economical. LTO tape format is very robust, reliable and cost efficient. Highly durable IBM 24R1922 LTO-3 tape cartridges are available at tape4backup.
