History 2001: SDLT Roadmap at 1TB Drive

Quantum has provided further details on the roadmap of its SuperDLT longitudinal recording tape drive.

From the current unit, SDLT 220 (native 110GB/11MB/s), we can expect to move on to SDLT 320 (160/16), backward read- and write-compatible with the previous 220 cartridge, but also with DLT 4000, 7000 and 8000 (no mention, however, of Benchmark’s DLT1), first shipments of which are expected before the end of the year.

The 3 subsequent gens are then expected at intervals of 18 months. The first to arrive will be the SDLT 640 (320/32), read-compatible only with the 320, since it will utilize new media. Next, the SDLT 1280 (640/50), just currently in development, also with a new media that is read-compatible only with the preceding model.

Finally, the SDLT 2400 should appear somewhere around 2006-2007, and should exceed native capacity of 1TB (specifically 1.2TB), with transfer rates of more than 100MB/s, still in native mode.

We’re waiting to learn the response of the LTO Consortium, which until now has not been terribly precise about the release dates of future gens of its products. Officially, the second step should jump from 100/10-to-20 to 200/20-to-40 within 18 to 24 months following the first.

Everything depends, however, on what you take for the start date of the first.

Quantum’s 3 major OEMs for SuperLT are Compaq, IBM, and most recently Dell for its PowerVault line of PCs.

This article is an abstract of news published on issue 164 on September 2001 from the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter.