pctechguide.com

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

Super DLT Tape Storage

One of the most significant of the new formats is the next generation of Digital Linear Tape (DLT), otherwise known as Super DLT. This is important because developer Quantum accounted for around 80% of the tape drive market by early 1999. Drives based on Super DLT technology will far exceed the 35GB native capacity of the DLTtape IV format – with which it aims to be backwards compatible.

Using a combination of optical and magnetic recording techniques known as Laser Guided Magnetic Recording (LGMR) Super DLT uses lasers to more precisely align the recording heads. At the core of LGMR is an optically assisted servo system referred to as Pivoting Optical Servo (POS). This combines high-density magnetic read/write data recording with laser servo guiding. Designed for high duty cycle applications, the POS has a much lower sensitivity to external influences, which allows a much track density than is possible with other tape systems. The POS system decreases manufacturing costs and increases user convenience by eliminating the need for preformatting the tape. Furthermore, 10-20% more capacity is gained by deploying the optical servo on the unused backside of the media, making the entire recording surface available for actual data.

As the media moves through the POS, the optical tracking laser follows along on the backside of the media, tracking the embedded optical targets. The POS assembly pivots around a single mounting point to keep the magnetic read/write heads aligned with the optical tracks and reading data from or writing data to the tape. Another technological advance is the application of an advanced form of the Partial Response Maximum Likelihood (PRML) – a technique more usually associated with hard disk drives – to linear tape technology. This both further increases capacity and boosts data transfer rates by providing high encoding efficiency recording densities.

As indicated by the following table, the ultimate goal is to cram up to 1.2TB of uncompressed data onto a single cartridge with transfer rates rising to an eventual 100MBps uncompressed. Initial products, however, offer a more modest 110GB with sustained data transfer rates of 11MBps in native mode:

SDLT

220

SDLT

320

SDLT

640

SDLT

1280

SDLT

2400

Native Capacity 110GB 160GB 320GB 640GB 1.2TB
Compressed Capacity

(2:1 compression)

220GB 320GB 640GB 1.28TB 2.4TB
Native DTR 11MBps 16MBps 32MBps 50+MBps 100+MBps
Compressed DTR 22MBps 32MBps 64MBps 100+MBps 200+MBps
Media SDLT I SDLT I SDLT II SDLT III SDLT IV
Interfaces Ultra2 SCSI

LVD

HVD

Ultra2 SCSI

Ultra160 SCSI

Ultra 320 SCSI

Fibre channel

TBD TBD
Date Q1 2001 Q1 2002 Q3 2003 Q1 2005 Q3 2006
  • 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

Windows 10 is Coming

In case you have not heard, Windows 10 is about to be released to the masses. The new version is set to be released on July 29, 2015, and you can reserve your place in the installation queue now. The new version of Windows is slated to have a host of new features and options. And, don’t think you … [Read More...]

Use TRACERT to Diagnose Network Issues

Windows comes with several commands that help you diagnose network issues. But, one of the more useful commands available to you is the TRACERT command. TRACERT is a command line tool that will show the different hops a packet will take as it reaches its destination. You can type TRACERT followed by … [Read More...]

CD-ROM Orange Book

The Orange Book defines CD-Recordable discs with multisession capability. Part I defines CD-MO (Magneto Optical) rewritable discs; Part II defines CD-WO (Write Once) discs; Part III defines CD-RW (Rewritable) discs. All … [Read More...]

20 Cool Creative Commons Photographs About the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to have a huge impact on our lives. The market value for AI is estimated to have been worth $279.22 billion in 2024 and it … [Read More...]

13 Impressive Stats on the Future of AI

AI technology is starting to become much more important in our everyday lives. Many businesses are using it as well. While he has created a lot of … [Read More...]

Graphic Designers on Reddit Share their Views of AI

There are clearly a lot of positive things about AI. However, it is not a good thing for everyone. One of the things that many people are worried … [Read More...]

Redditors Talk About the Impact of AI on Freelance Writers

AI technology has had a huge impact on our lives. A 2023 survey by Pew Research found that 56% of people use AI at least once a day or once a week. … [Read More...]

11 Most Popular Books on Perl Programming

Perl is not the most popular programming language. It has only one million users, compared to 12 million that use Python. However, it has a lot of … [Read More...]

10 Exceptional Books on ChatGPT that Will Blow Your Mind

ChatGPT is a powerful new AI tool that is taking the world by storm. You are going to find a lot of amazing books that will teach you how to make the … [Read More...]

Guides

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

Recent Posts

Meeting the Agricultural Challenges of The Future with IoT

The Internet of Things is changing the future of many industries. One of the industries that will be most affected by the IoT is agriculture. It … [Read More...]

Avast! Pro Antivirus Review

PROS: Shields for all user computing sessions CONS: The shareware reputation may prevent serious consideration. OVERVIEW: Avast! Pro Antivirus … [Read More...]

Color Laser Printers

Laser printers are usually monochrome devices, but as with most mono technologies, laser printing can be adapted to … [Read More...]

[footer_backtotop]

Copyright © 2025 About | Privacy | Contact Information | Wrtie For Us | Disclaimer | Copyright License | Authors