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Information about Data8

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8 mm Tape
The 8 mm Backup Format is a magnetic tape data storage format used in computer systems, pioneered by Exabyte Corporation. It is also known as Data8. Such systems can backup up to 40 GB of data depending on configuration. The tapes used are mechanically the same as the tapes used in 8 mm video format recorders and camcorders.

Until the advent of AIT, Exabyte were the sole vendor of 8 mm format tape drives. The company was formed with the aim of taking the 8 mm video format and make it suitable for data storage. They did so by building a reliable mechanism and data format that used the common 8 mm video tape technology that was available then. This was the first form of helical-scan tape used commercially for data storage.

Exabyte's first 8 mm tape drive was available in 1987. This was followed up with their Mammoth tape drive in 1996, and the Mammoth-2 (M2) in 1999.

Exabyte's drive mechanisms were frequently rebranded and integrated into UNIX systems.

Generations

NOTE: The AIT and VXA formats and some other less common formats also use 8 mm wide tape, but are completely incompatible.

Compatibility between tapes and drives and native capacities (GB)

MP AME AME w/ SmartClean
15 m 54 m 112 m 160 m 22 m 45 m 125 m 170 m 75 m 150 m 225 m
EXB-8200YY2.4
EXB-8205YYY
EXB-8205 XLYYYY
EXB-8500YY5
EXB-8505YY5
EXB-8505 XLYY57
EXB-8700YYYY
Eliant 820YY57
Mammoth (EXB-8900)RORORORO2.5Y1420
Mammoth-LTRORORORO2.5Y14 ! Mammoth-2 | || || || || 6 || 12 || 33 || 45 || 20 || 40 || 60


Legend:
  • RO - The tape drive can read this tape, but not write. (Read Only)
  • Y - The tape drive can read and write this tape, but size is not known.
  • Numbered entries indicate the native storage capacity (in GB) for this combination of tape and drive.

Exabyte 8 mm

These drives use Metal Particle (MP) tape.

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EXB-8200
  • 1987 -- EXB-8200
  • Full-Height form factor
  • 246 kB/s data transfer rate
  • EXB-8200SX model features high-speed search
  • 1990 -- EXB-8500
  • Full-Height form factor
  • 500 kB/s data transfer rate
  • EXB-8500c model features hardware data compression
  • 1992 -- EXB-8505
  • Half-Height form factor
  • 1994 -- EXB-8505XL
  • Half-Height form factor
  • 500 kB/s data transfer rate
  • 1995 -- EXB-8700
  • Tabletop (top-loading) form factor
  • 8700 model included generic backup software
  • 8700LT model included no software
  • 8700SW included Cheyenne backup software
  • 1998 -- Eliant 820
  • Half-Height form factor

Mammoth

These drives use Advanced Metal Evaporated (AME) tape, but could also read (but not write) MP tapes.
  • 1996 -- EXB-8900 Mammoth
  • 3 MB/s data transfer rate
  • LCD on drive displayed drive status
  • 1999 -- Mammoth-LT
  • No LCD

Mammoth-2 (M2)

These drives used Advanced Metal Evaporated (AME) tape with an 2 m integrated cleaning tape header called Smart Clean.
  • 1999 -- Mammoth-2
  • 12 MB/s data transfer rate
  • 4.6 cm/s tape speed during normal read/write operations
  • 1.6 m/s tape speed during search and rewind operations
  • 17 s load time, from insertion to ready
  • ALDC hardware data compression, 1 kB compression buffer

See also

External links

Standards

  •  • [ edit]  Magnetic tape data storage formats
Linear Helical-Scan
Three Quarter Inch
(~19 mm)		 LINCtape (1962) - DECtape (1963) Sony DIR (19xx) -
Ampex DST (1992)
Half Inch
(12.65 mm)		 UNISERVO (1951) - IBM 7 Track (1952) - 9 Track (1964) - IBM 3480 (1984) - DLT (1984) - IBM 3590 (1995) - T9840 (1998) - T9940 (2000) - LTO Ultrium (2000) - T10000 (2006) Redwood SD-3 (1995) - DTF (19xx) - SAIT (2003)
Eight Millimeter
(8 mm)		 Travan (1995) - IBM 3570 MP (1997) - ADR (1999) Data8 (1987) - Mammoth (1994) - AIT (1996) - VXA (1999)
Quarter Inch
(6.35 mm)		 QIC (1972) - SLR (1986) - Ditto (1992)
Eighth Inch
(3.81 mm)		 KC Standard, Compact Cassette (1975) - DC100 (1976) - Commodore Datassette (1977) - DECtapeII (1979) DDS/DAT (1989)
Stringy
(1.58 - 1.9 mm)		 Exatron Stringy floppy (1979) - ZX Microdrive (1983) - Rotronics Wafadrive (1984)
Magnetic tape has been used for data storage for over 50 years. In this time, many advances in tape formulation, packaging, and data density have been made. Modern magnetic tape is most commonly packaged in cartridges and cassettes.
..... Click the link for more information.
computer is a machine which manipulates data according to a list of instructions.

Computers take numerous physical forms. The first devices that resemble modern computers date to the mid-20th century (around 1940 - 1941), although the computer concept and various machines
..... Click the link for more information.
Exabyte Corp. was a manufacturer of magnetic tape data storage products headquarted in Boulder, Colorado. Exabyte Corp. is now defunct, but company's technology is sold by TANDBERG DATA under both brand names.
..... Click the link for more information.
8mm Video Cassette

A Video8 cassette
Media type: Magnetic tape
Encoding: Analog (Video8/Hi8)
Digital, DV codec (Digital8)
Capacity: Video8/Hi8:
180 minutes (PAL-SP)
180 minutes (NTSC-SP)
Digital8:
90 minutes (PAL-SP/NTSC-SP)
..... Click the link for more information.
A camcorder is a portable electronic device for recording video images and audio onto an internal storage device. The camcorder contains both a video camera and (traditionally) a videocassette recorder in one unit, hence its portmanteau name.
..... Click the link for more information.
Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) is a high-speed, high-capacity magnetic tape data storage format developed and controlled by Sony. It competes mainly against the DLT, LTO, DAT/DDS, and VXA formats. AIT uses a cassette similar to Video8.
..... Click the link for more information.
Unix (officially trademarked as UNIX®) is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie and Douglas McIlroy.
..... Click the link for more information.
Exabyte Corp. was a manufacturer of magnetic tape data storage products headquarted in Boulder, Colorado. Exabyte Corp. is now defunct, but company's technology is sold by TANDBERG DATA under both brand names.
..... Click the link for more information.
8mm Video Cassette

A Video8 cassette
Media type: Magnetic tape
Encoding: Analog (Video8/Hi8)
Digital, DV codec (Digital8)
Capacity: Video8/Hi8:
180 minutes (PAL-SP)
180 minutes (NTSC-SP)
Digital8:
90 minutes (PAL-SP/NTSC-SP)
..... Click the link for more information.
Magnetic tape has been used for data storage for over 50 years. In this time, many advances in tape formulation, packaging, and data density have been made. Modern magnetic tape is most commonly packaged in cartridges and cassettes.
..... Click the link for more information.
DECtape was a magnetic tape data storage medium used with many Digital Equipment Corporation computers, including the PDP-6, PDP-8, LINC-8, PDP-10, PDP-11, PDP-12, and the PDP-15. VAX/VMS support for it was implemented but did not become an official part of the product.
..... Click the link for more information.
Digital Instrumentation Recorder is a magnetic tape data storage format developed by Sony. It uses a 3/4" wide tape, in a cassette with two reels, which is written and read with a helical scan process.
..... Click the link for more information.
Data Storage Technology (DST) is a 19 mm (3/4") wide magnetic tape data storage format created by Ampex in 1992 and based on the D2 videotape cartridge format. It is relatively high capacity and high speed, especially compared to other tape technologies available in the
..... Click the link for more information.
The UNISERVO tape drive was the primary I/O device on the UNIVAC I computer. Its place in history is assured as it was the first tape drive for a commercially sold computer.
..... Click the link for more information.
7 track tape. The magnetic tape is 1/2" wide and there are 6 data tracks plus 1 parity track for a total of 7 parallel tracks that span the length of the tape. Data is stored as 6-bit characters, with each bit of the character and the additional the parity bit stored in a different
..... Click the link for more information.
9 track tape. The magnetic tape is 1/2 inch (12.65 mm) wide, with 8 data tracks and one parity track for a total of 9 parallel tracks. Data is stored as 8-bit characters, spanning the full width of the tape (including the parity bit).
..... Click the link for more information.
The 3480 tape format is a magnetic tape data storage format invented by IBM, and were available in tape head sizes of 18-track and 36-track. Its successor, the 3590, was known by the name Magstar, and it was available in 128, 256 and 384-track versions.
..... Click the link for more information.
Digital Linear Tape (DLT) (previously called CompacTape) is a magnetic tape data storage technology developed by Digital Equipment Corporation from 1984 onwards.
..... Click the link for more information.
The IBM 3590 family is a family of tape drives and corresponding magnetic tape data storage media formats developed by IBM. The first drive, having the IBM product number 3590, was introduced in 1995 under the nickname Magstar.
..... Click the link for more information.
Magnetic tape data storage formats
Linear Helical-Scan
Three Quarter Inch
(~19 mm) LINCtape (1962) - DECtape (1963) Sony DIR (19xx) -
Ampex DST (1992)
Half Inch
(12.
..... Click the link for more information.
Magnetic tape data storage formats
Linear Helical-Scan
Three Quarter Inch
(~19 mm) LINCtape (1962) - DECtape (1963) Sony DIR (19xx) -
Ampex DST (1992)
Half Inch
(12.
..... Click the link for more information.
Magnetic tape data storage formats
Linear Helical-Scan
Three Quarter Inch
(~19 mm) LINCtape (1962) - DECtape (1963) Sony DIR (19xx) -
Ampex DST (1992)
Half Inch
(12.
..... Click the link for more information.
Digital Tape Format is a magnetic tape data storage format developed by Sony. It uses a 1/2" wide tape, in a cassette with two reels, which is written and read with a helical scan process.
..... Click the link for more information.
Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) is a high-speed, high-capacity magnetic tape data storage format developed and controlled by Sony. It competes mainly against the DLT, LTO, DAT/DDS, and VXA formats. AIT uses a cassette similar to Video8.
..... Click the link for more information.
Travan is a 8 mm magnetic tape cartridge design developed by the 3M company, used for the storage of data in computer backups and mass storage. Over time, subsequent versions of Travan cartridges and drives have been developed that provide greater data capacity, while retaining the
..... Click the link for more information.
Advanced Digital Recording (ADR) is a magnetic tape data storage format developed by OnStream from 1998 to 2003. Since the demise of OnStream, the format has been orphaned. ADR is an 8-track, linear tape format.

Generations


Generation ADR 30 ADR 50 ADR 2.60 ADR 2.
..... Click the link for more information.
Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) is a high-speed, high-capacity magnetic tape data storage format developed and controlled by Sony. It competes mainly against the DLT, LTO, DAT/DDS, and VXA formats. AIT uses a cassette similar to Video8.
..... Click the link for more information.
VXA is a tape backup format originally created by Ecrix and now owned by TANDBERG DATA. After the merger between Ecrix and Exabyte, VXA was produced by Exabyte Corporation. On November 20, 2006, Exabyte was purchased by Tandberg Data.
..... Click the link for more information.
Quarter inch cartridge tape (abbreviated QIC, commonly pronounced "quick") is a magnetic tape data storage format introduced by 3M in 1972, with derivatives still in use as of 2007.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Ditto Drive series was a proprietary magnetic tape data storage system released by Iomega during the 1990s. It was marketed as a backup device for personal computers. The drives and cartridges were a dark red color.
..... Click the link for more information.


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