The DAT 160 Tape Drive Features

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Important: The DAT 160 Tape Drive Features are no longer available.

This section describes the 7226 Model 1U3 Storage Device Enclosure Feature #5619 and #EU16, the DAT 160 Tape Drives. It describes operator controls and indicator LEDs, outlines instructions for loading and ejecting a tape cartridge, and tells how to clean the tape drive. The DAT 160 is a streaming tape storage device that uses Digital Data Storage (DDS) tape media.

The DAT 160 Tape Drive has the following features:

  • With the DAT 160 data cartridge, a native capacity of up to 160 gigabytes (GB) per cartridge (where one gigabyte equals 1 000 000 000 bytes).
    Note: The actual capacity varies depending on the application, the type of data, and the tape cartridge. 160GB is typical with the Data Compression setting activated. The default setting of Data Compression is controlled by the host system. The user and the application software can control the activation or deactivation of the data compression setting. The DAT 160 tape drive can optimally achieve a 2:1 compression ratio.
  • Sustained data transfer rate of 6.0 megabytes (MB) per second (where MB equals 1 000 000 bytes). A rate of 12MB per second is possible with the Data Compression setting activated.
  • Downward read and write compatibility with DDS-4 and DAT 72 data cartridges.
    Note: The DAT 160 only supports the use of DDS-4, DAT 72 and DAT 160 tape cartridges. If any other cartridge is inserted in the drive, it will be ejected.
  • A Media Recognition System that allows only DDS-4, DAT 72, and DAT 160 tape cartridges to be used. If a tape cartridge is used that is not of the DDS-4, DAT 72, and DAT 160 format it will be ejected. A cartridge may also be ejected if the DAT 160 Drive detects that the cartridge is damaged or excessively worn.
  • Can be used as an AIX bootable device, depending on the host system configuration.
    Note: Although the feature #5619 and #EU16 DAT 160 tape drives can give you high tape performance, other components of the system installation may limit the actual performance achieved. In addition, the compression technology used in the tape drive can typically double the amount of data that can be stored on the media; however, the actual degree of compression achieved is highly sensitive to the characteristics of the data that is being compressed.