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Two new tape backup technologies -- SuperDLT and Ultrium - are about to step up the competition and add some welcome options at the high end of the data protection market. SuperDLT is positioned as an extension of an existing, successful and widely deployed technology, while Ultrium, the new kid on the block, is hoping to cash in on the market's historic support for open standards-based products that offer interchangeability and cross-vendor interoperability.
To help potential customers assess the merits and drawbacks of these systems, this comparison will take a detailed look at each, with an eye toward both technical specifics and business objectives.
SuperDLT
SuperDLT is the first of a new family of DLT drives. It is currently expected to be defined for three generations. Precise technology roadmaps are still in development, but SuperDLT Generation One is expected to boast a cartridge capacity of 200GB and a transfer rate of 20MB/sec or higher (compressed). The third generation targets a capacity of 1TB and a sustained transfer rate of 80MB/sec (compressed). SuperDLT is expected to be backward read/write compatible with today's DLT 4000, DLT 7000 and DLT 8000 drives. But while SuperDLT is based on DLT, it also incorporates a number of significant changes that suggest its primary relationship to field-proven DLT is the name, not the technology
SuperDLT retains use of 1/2" tape and linear recording, but incorporates four signif icant changes to existing DLT technology
a pivoting optical servo
a cluster of MR (magneto-resistive) heads advanced metal evaporated (ME) media
an enhanced partial response (EPR) channel
These...