IBM TS4300 Library Supports LTO-9

IBM TS4300 tape library supports Linear Tape-Open (LTO) 9 technology

IBM TS4300 Tape Library models L3A and E3A on machine type 3555 incorporate LTO-9 FH 8GB FC, FH 12Gb SAS, HH 12Gb SAS, and HH 8Gb FC tape drives, enhancing tape performance over the previous gen of LTO-8 tape drives with a native data transfer rate of up to 400Mb/s on the full-height version.

Ibm Ts4300 Library

Mixed LTO gens and attachment tape drive types are supported where drive space is available. LTO-9 tape drives for TS4300 tape libraries are only available as feature numbers.

LTO-9 tape drives support the LTO-9 media spec of 50% higher the compressed capacity of up to 45TB with 2.5 to 1 compression (up to 18TB native capacity) compared to previous LTO-8 compressed capacity of up to 30TB with 2.5 to 1 compression (up to 12TB native capacity) per tape cartridge. LTO-9 tape drives can read and write LTO 8 data cartridges.

Note: Actual degree of compression achieved is highly sensitive to the characteristics of the data being compressed.

The base module TS4300 tape library can accommodate either up to 3 LTO HH tape drives with either SAS or FC attachment, 1 LTO FH with FC attachment, or a combination of 1 LTO FH plus 1 LTO HH drive.

It can also hold up to 40 data cartridge slots in 2 removable magazines, including a standard 5-cartridge I/O station.

At its maximum configuration of 1 base module and 6 expansions, the TS4300 can accommodate up to 21 LTO HH drives, 7 LTO FH drives, or any combination of both based on the drive form factor (space needed for 1 FH drive equals 2 HH drives), and data cartridge slots.

The library incorporates path failover and LME for enhanced availability and security. LTO-9 SAS and FC tape drives are encryption capable. Other optional features available include a rackmount kit, additional attachment cables, additional drives, wrap tools, interposers, and power cords.

TS4300 leverages 3 IBM storage management software options:

Spectrum Archive for direct, intuitive, and graphical access to data stored in tape drives and libraries to create, manage, and optimize archives
Spectrum Protect
Security Guardium Key Lifecycle Manager (GKLM) for enhanced data security

Key requirements
Appropriate levels of host software are required to attach and support the library with LTO-9 tape drives to select Power Systems, System z, Linux, and Windows servers.

Prerequisites for using encryption
Certain hardware and software prerequisites must be met before using encryption with the TS4300. Eencryption is managed at the logical library level. All drives that are assigned to a logical library use the same method of encryption. The rules for setting up encryption differ whether you use LME or application-managed encryption (AME).

The following prerequisites apply: