Travan data storage technology: a strong future built on a proven heritage - DDS Replacement

Computer Technology Review, August, 2002 by Bob Hawkins, Robert Herman

The number of data storage options available to companies is seemingly endless and can be confusing for many businesses. As a result, today's small- and mid-sized businesses are faced with the ever-increasing challenge of choosing a backup solution that will meet the reliability and capacity needs of their business today and tomorrow.

Travan technology has been developed as an affordable, backward-compatible, tape-backup solution that meets the current data protection needs of IT in the small-to-medium business (SMB) environment. This technology addresses the backup requirements of computing environments from notebooks and PCs to entry-level servers (defined as servers priced less than $3,500, such as those found in small and medium businesses and departments of large companies).

Cost-Effective Storage Medium

Users require a backup solution that allows them to. make a snapshot of their full system. Today, those systems contain critical shortcuts, custom settings and preferences; an operating system registry full of links to peripheral devices; and installed software and program files, and business-critical data such as billing and accounting records, customer proposals, presentations, and databases. Travan tape drive solutions allow users to protect their entire system and vital information reliably on a single data cartridge.

Although the initial cost of a Travan drive may be higher than a CD-RW drive, for example, the cost of the media is comparable (one 20GB Travan data cartridge has approximately the same amount of storage as 29 to 31 recordable CDs). Manual intervention also becomes a consideration as the backup operation using tape would be initiated only once, versus 31 times using CDs or three to nine DVDs to back up the same amount of data. Tape data protection benefits include removability for off-site storage, lowest cost per megabyte, and highest possible capacities per removable medium.

Based on linear recording quarter-inch cartridge (QIC), Travan technology provides an efficient tape drive and data cartridge design that reduces media stress, ensures data integrity and optimizes drive reliability. Travan tape technology still maintains a favorable edge with considerations, including the price of the tape drive, data cartridges, ease-of-use, and the available backup window.

The data cartridge belt design and drive technology developed thirty years ago by Imation (as part of 3M) played a strong role in the development of Travan technology. In 1995, higher-capacity Travan drives and data cartridges based on this open-format technology made their debut from manufacturers such as Seagate, Imation, and others.

Designed from the beginning for data recording, linear recording technology is entirely self-contained--the tape never leaves the cartridge. A short and simple tape path extends the tape's life, reduces wear and tear, and enhances performance. Few drive guides and rollers reduce stress on the tape itself and the head-to-tape interface (HTI) frees the head gap of debris, resulting in increased data reliability. Since its introduction, Travan technology has established a solid heritage of affordability, reliability, scalability, and performance with over 12 million drives shipped.

Travan data cartridge capacity and tape drive transfer rates and reliability has increased to keep pace with the needs of the SMB environment. In the last five years, Travan data cartridge design has resulted in compressed capacities from up to 8GB per data cartridge (assumes 2:1 compression) to the current Travan 40 technology that can read and write up to 40GB of compressed system data--an increase of 400%.

The Travan tape drive manufacturers have focused on improved performance to enhance user productivity. Five years ago, transfer rates that were 4.3GB per hour are now 14.4GB per hour--an increase of over 325%. And reliability has kept pace moving from 250,000 hours MTBF (20% duty-cycle) to up to 370,000 hours MTBF in the new Travan40 tape drive-an increase of approximately 50%.

Since its introduction, the Travan form-factor remains the same compact size. This small, lightweight, one-inch-high tape drive can be installed in a 3.5inch drive bay or, with mounting rails, into a 5.25-inch by halfheight bay--and weighs-in at one pound.

Travan 40 Takes the Stage

The opportunity for Travan tape drives continues to grow. Once viewed as a desktop-workstation data-protection device, Travan tape drives now are installed in entry-servers and connected to notebook PCs and Apple Macintosh systems. This new system platform diversity is fueled by the cost of its drive and data cartridge, the broad interface support and the proven reliability of Travan technology.

Seagate and Imation recently launched the seventh generation of Travan products, Travan 40, designed to provide storage capacity of up to 40GB per cartridge (compressed 2:1) and a data transfer rate of up to 4MB/sec. The TapeStor Travan 40 tape drive products are positioned to support the needs of workstation and entry-level server users where reliability and price per gigabyte matter most The market's acceptance of the latest Travan innovation signals the technology's fortitude.