A report on Magnetic-tape data storage

10+1/2 in diameter reel of 9-track tape
Quarter-inch cartridges
An IBM 3590 data cartridge can hold up to 10GiB uncompressed.
Linear
Linear serpentine
Helical
IBM 729V

System for storing digital information on magnetic tape using digital recording.

- Magnetic-tape data storage
10+1/2 in diameter reel of 9-track tape

22 related topics with Alpha

Overall
An LTO-2 cartridge. The outer dimensions are 102.0 × 105.4 × 21.5 mm.

Linear Tape-Open

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An LTO-2 cartridge. The outer dimensions are 102.0 × 105.4 × 21.5 mm.
IBM Full-Height LTO-2 drive
The LTO logo
Comparison of "supertape" capacities, including LTO
HP Half-Height LTO-2 drive in an enclosure for desktop use
Inside a LTO-2 tape drive
ADIC Scalar 100 tape library interior
IBM 3584 tape library with LTO-1 (Ultrium) tapes visible
LTO-2 cartridge with the top shell removed, showing the internal components. Top right corner: tape access gate. Bottom left corner: write-protect-tab. Bottom right corner: cartridge memory chip
LTO cartridge memory
An example of an LTO-6 label
Leader pin on the end of a length of LTO tape
Internal head cleaning brush from an IBM LTO-2 FH drive. Swipes once for every insert and eject
LTO sales peaked at about 800,000 units in 2008

Linear Tape-Open (LTO) is a magnetic tape data storage technology originally developed in the late 1990s as an open standards alternative to the proprietary magnetic tape formats that were available at the time.

Large StorageTek Powderhorn tape library, showing tape cartridges with barcodes packed on shelves in the front and a robot arm moving in the back

Tape library

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Large StorageTek Powderhorn tape library, showing tape cartridges with barcodes packed on shelves in the front and a robot arm moving in the back
Small ADIC Scalar 100 tape library, showing a robot visible on the bottom with two IBM LTO2 tape drives behind it
Dell PowerVault 124T Autoloader
A manual magnetic tape library, common in the 1960s and 1970s

In computer storage, a tape library, sometimes called a tape silo, tape robot or tape jukebox, is a storage device that contains one or more tape drives, a number of slots to hold tape cartridges, a barcode reader to identify tape cartridges and an automated method for loading tapes (a robot).

DDS tape drive. Above, from left to right: DDS-4 tape (20 GB), 112m Data8 tape (2.5 GB), QIC DC-6250 tape (250 MB), and a 3.5" floppy disk (1.44 MB)

Tape drive

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Data storage device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape.

Data storage device that reads and writes data on a magnetic tape.

DDS tape drive. Above, from left to right: DDS-4 tape (20 GB), 112m Data8 tape (2.5 GB), QIC DC-6250 tape (250 MB), and a 3.5" floppy disk (1.44 MB)
An external QIC tape drive.

Magnetic tape data storage is typically used for offline, archival data storage.

IBM 2401 System/360 tape drives that introduced the 9-track format

9-track tape

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Now generally known as 9-track tape.

Now generally known as 9-track tape.

IBM 2401 System/360 tape drives that introduced the 9-track format
Full-size reel of 9-track tape
9 Track tape drive used with DEC minicomputers
Inside a 9 Track tape drive. The vacuum columns are the two gray rectangles on the left.
Full size 1/2" tape reel in protective case
Two small 1/2" tapes, front and back
Aluminum foil strips mark the start and end of tape
The write protection ring prevents the tape from being written when removed
A typical library of half-inch magnetic tape
3M 777 High Grade 6250 CPI - Security Computer Tape

The 1⁄2 inch (12.7 mm) wide magnetic tape media and reels have the same size as the earlier IBM 7-track format it replaced, but the new format has eight data tracks and one parity track for a total of nine parallel tracks.

An IBM 704 mainframe with IBM 727 7-track tape drives on the left

IBM 7-track

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An IBM 704 mainframe with IBM 727 7-track tape drives on the left
Reel of 1/2" tape showing beginning-of-tape reflective marker
A write-protection ring had to be inserted in the back of a reel to allow its tape to be written on.
A reel of half-inch magnetic tape being loaded onto an IBM 729 tape drive that is attached to an IBM 1401 being restored at the Computer History Museum.

IBM's first magnetic-tape data storage devices, introduced in 1952, use what is now generally known as 7-track tape.

1 GiB of SDRAM mounted in a computer. An example of primary storage.

Computer data storage

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Technology consisting of computer components and recording media that are used to retain digital data.

Technology consisting of computer components and recording media that are used to retain digital data.

1 GiB of SDRAM mounted in a computer. An example of primary storage.
15 GB PATA hard disk drive (HDD) from 1999. When connected to a computer it serves as secondary storage.
160 GB SDLT tape cartridge, an example of off-line storage. When used within a robotic tape library, it is classified as tertiary storage instead.
Read/Write DVD drive with cradle for media extended
Various forms of storage, divided according to their distance from the central processing unit. The fundamental components of a general-purpose computer are arithmetic and logic unit, control circuitry, storage space, and input/output devices. Technology and capacity as in common home computers around 2005.
A hard disk drive (HDD) with protective cover removed
A large tape library, with tape cartridges placed on shelves in the front, and a robotic arm moving in the back. The visible height of the library is about 180 cm.
A 1 GiB module of laptop DDR2 RAM
S.M.A.R.T. software warning suggests impending hard drive failure
Error rate measurement on a DVD+R. The minor errors are correctable and within a healthy range.

Other examples of secondary storage technologies include USB flash drives, floppy disks, magnetic tape, paper tape, punched cards, and RAM disks.

From left to right, a DVD disc in plastic cover, a USB flash drive and an external hard drive

Backup

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Copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.

Copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.

From left to right, a DVD disc in plastic cover, a USB flash drive and an external hard drive

Magnetic tape was for a long time the most commonly used medium for bulk data storage, backup, archiving, and interchange.

3592 Series tape

IBM 3590

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3592 Series tape
3590 High Performance tape

The IBM 3590 is a series of tape drives and corresponding magnetic tape data storage media formats developed by IBM.

Group coded recording

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In computer science, group coded recording or group code recording (GCR) refers to several distinct but related encoding methods for representing data on magnetic media.

In computer science, group coded recording or group code recording (GCR) refers to several distinct but related encoding methods for representing data on magnetic media.

The first, used in 6,250 bpi magnetic tape since 1973, is an error-correcting code combined with a run length limited (RLL) encoding scheme, belonging into the group of modulation codes.

A 36-track, 3490E Tape Cartridge

IBM 3480 Family

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A 36-track, 3490E Tape Cartridge

The 3480 tape format is a magnetic tape data storage format developed by IBM.