pctechguide.com

  • Home
  • Guides
  • Tutorials
  • Articles
  • Reviews
  • Glossary
  • Contact

ADR Tape Technology

Advanced Digital Recording technology is the product of seven years of research on the part of electronics industry giant Philips. To provide the focus needed to successfully bring ADR to market, Philips created a spin-off company – OnStream. The first ADR products were launched in the spring of 1999, in the shape of an IDE drive capable of delivering 15GB native/30GB compressed capacity per tape cartridge.

Full tape servo refers to the drives ability to continuously monitor the tape so as to be able to precisely re-position the in the event of the tape moving up or down even the slightest amount. The result is a high track density of 192 on ADR’s 8mm tape.

ADR

ADR’s unique ability to read or write all eight tracks of data simultaneously enables it to deliver impressive transfer rates at relatively low speeds, which confers other benefits. Tape wear is minimal and it is possible to distribute error correction code both horizontally and vertically. The result is an ECC which is significantly stronger than that produced by more conventional systems when the error correction code is distributed in one dimension only, along the data track. In fact, ADR’s ECC is so robust it is possible for up to 24 of its 192 tracks to be scratched off the entire length of the tape and still provide 100% >data recovery for the missing tracks.

Together, ADR’s full tape servo and multi-channel recording features are responsible for the drive’s outstanding data reliability specification of only one unreadable bit in every 1019 bits recorded. This is 10,000 times better than the PC’s primary data storage device, the hard disk drive.

ADR also uses an advanced media defect mapping technique which results in data being recorded twice as efficiently as with a traditional desktop PC tape drive. The technique is commonly used in tape systems to overcome the limitations in the process of producing recording media by allowing a tape drive to map areas of the media that are defective and thereby avoid writing data to these locations. Typical desktop tape drives require two passes to ensure data is not written over a media defect. First, a pass to write the data; second, a pass to verify the data and then re-write it elsewhere if a defect is encountered. With ADR, media defects are handled in a single pass. As the head travels down the tape it is constantly reading the embedded servo signals located on both sides of the data tracks. When the system stops detecting the servo signals, it knows there is a media defect and maps that region as defective. Once the head detects the correct servo signals again, it knows the media is good and starts writing data again.

Significantly, while competing technologies such as DAT and Travan have reached the end of their product roadmaps, year 2000 sees ADR at the beginning of its product development life cycle with room to grow for several generations, both in terms of capacity and data transfer rate:

Capacity improvement potential DTR improvement potential
Current native/compressed capacity 25/50GB Current native/compressed DTR 2/4MBps
Longer tape x2 Tape speed x3.6
Wider tape x3 Increased channels x3
Greater track density x4 Greater bit density x3
Greater bit density x3 PRML compression x2
PRML x2
Future native/compressed capacity 3600/7200GB Future native/compressed DTR 130/260MBps
  • QIC Mammoth
  • Travan Tape Storage
  • DAT Tape Storage
  • 8mm Tape Storage
  • AIT – Advanced Intelligent Tape – family of tape storage
  • DLT Tape Storage
  • Super DLT Tape Storage
  • ADR Tape Technology
  • Tape Storage Linear Tape Open
  • VXA Tape Storage technology
  • Robotic Tape Storage Applications
  • Tape Storage Mammoth

Filed Under: Tape Storage

Latest Articles

Cinepak technology

Cinepak is another asymmetric video compressor, developed jointly by Apple and SuperMac (a company later acquired by Radius). The format outputs 320x240 (quarter screen) at 15 fps with good quality, at a data rate that even slow … [Read More...]

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Review

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery Stellar Windows Data Recovery is a great product. I would even go so far as to say it is one of the best out there on the market right now. This data recovery program is easy to use and will get your data recovery going and done in no time at all. » … [Read More...]

Background Principles to Creating a Good Digital Music Management System

Background Principles The following aims and requirements are met by this DMMS. They are in no particular order of priority or preference. A centralised music repository Ability to access music from a variety of locations within the home Ability to use a variety of portable and fixed music … [Read More...]

A Harsh Reality You Can’t Ignore About Network Information Security

We are becoming more and more connected to our lives with computer technology. They help to process data at work. We receive money using plastic … [Read More...]

What is the Best VPN for Gamers?

Of the 44% of UK Internet users who have used a virtual private network (VPN) at some point in their lives, approximately 39% of this demographic are … [Read More...]

Think About Headless Commerce as of a Modular System

In recent years, eCommerce has transformed to where consumers no longer handle purchases on conventional websites. Shopping is currently carried out … [Read More...]

Service That Succeeds: How To Build an Effective IT Service Desk

In today’s tech-forward world, building a capable IT service team is essential for businesses hoping to scale tech-related hurdles and soar past the … [Read More...]

A simple PC guide on keeping safe while using public Wi-Fi

Did you know that there is a cyberattack every 39 seconds? You are more likely to be a victim if you are lax about your digital security. This … [Read More...]

Motivating Students to Learn Computer Science

Computer science has been an important part of the educational curriculum for decades. Professor Seymour Papert, a mathematician from South Africa … [Read More...]

Guides

  • Computer Communications
  • Mobile Computing
  • PC Components
  • PC Data Storage
  • PC Input-Output
  • PC Multimedia
  • Processors (CPUs)

Recent Posts

Photo Retouching

While scanners provide an effective means of capturing colour images, that's often just the beginning. Once a … [Read More...]

TeraHertz Technology

In 1971, Intel's first processor - the 4004 - had 2,300 transistors. Thirty years later, the Pentium 4 had about 42 … [Read More...]

2006 Update History of the PC Technology Guide

Date Details of site updates in 2006 28Nov '06 A & E content updated: New article on Number Systems added, covering … [Read More...]

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2022 About | Privacy | Contact Information | Wrtie For Us | Disclaimer | Copyright License | Authors