History 2002: Tape Drive Maker Quantum in Tape-Less Backup!

If we needed further proof of that the trend is toward tape-less backup, what could be more convincing than seeing Quantum, primarily a tape drive and library manufacturer, now offer a backup device based on disks rather than tapes, despite the fact, moreover, that the manufacturer sold of its HDD activity to Maxtor scarcely a year ago?

While presenting the product at CeBIT, Chuck Daly, CTO of Quantum’s storage solutions group, described the future of tape heading more towards archiving and high-end computer systems that handle tremendous amounts of data.

For backup, however, the company is now launching its first system without tape, the DX30, a mid-range product, in contrast to NetApp’s high-end NearStore. In a rack unit that can get as small as 2U with dual-fan and dual power supply, Quantum has fitted no less than 30 low-cost IBM IDE 128GB HDDs, squeezed tightly together and mounted in removable brackets that can each hold 3 drives. User capacity is 3TB, but a data compression system, similar to that for tape, is expected this fall to double that figure.

Quantum has perfected a special patented RAID approach, specifically for this product, the first of its generation, called ADAM (Adaptive Disk Array Management) specially conceived to optimize large data transfers, and to manage disks that don’t all have to spin at once, in order to minimize power consumption. Compared to tape drives, transfer rates are faster, 40MB/s compared to 10-15MB/s, and best of all, access times to retrieve files will no longer be calculated in minutes, but in seconds, since the tape cartridge no longer has to be inserted in the library by a robot.

No price has been officially announced, but is expected in the neighborhood of $45,000 or $15/GB. The software emulates Quantum’s P1000 tape library, which is in turn supported by nearly all backup software on the market.

Two FC interfaces (QLogic) are available, along with a dual-redundant GbE port.

The DX30 should be available in 2Q02, and will be sold both in OEM and to Quantum’s current library channel.

This article is an abstract of news published on issue 171 on April 2002 from the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter.