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

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

New Travan tape drive featires continue to be added to enhance use, reliability and productivity. A steel chassis for more durability, a soft-load mechanism to reduce normal wear and tear; a VR2 data channel device that enables higher densities; a park feature to ensure track alignment if the write-operation is paused or interrupted: and a thermal monitor that activates a firmware throttle-down feature when drive temperatures reach predetermined levels.

Travan data storage drives and tape cartridges have been hailed for providing excellent performance for backing up and restoring data quickly, for providing outstanding reliability thus ensuring the integrity of mission-critical data, and for providing a cost-effective solution to match the budgets typical for entry-level servers.

The breadth of new interface support and features has added to increased system platform support and user requirements. Internal Travan tape drives with ATAPI (IDE) or SCSI-2 interfaces are available today for installation inside of PCs, workstations and entry-level servers. Recently, Seagate introduced extemal Travan tape drives with a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface for users of notebook and desktop PCs, workstations and Apple Macintosh systems.

Web-enabled applications, rich media files, and electronic documents in addition to traditional applications including marketing collateral, human resources files, sales information, business transaction data, and financial records drive today's storage growth. Many users including mobile PC and workstation users want USB 2.0 connectivity and a plug-and-play, high-speed backup solution that allows protection of their entire system on a single data cartridge. With either 20GB or 40GB compressed data protection per cartridge, users have a choice in capacity for their business continuity protection and disaster avoidance needs.

In the years since its introduction, industry-leading OEMs have adopted Travan technology as one of their standard backup options for entry-level servers. This wide availability is good news for the small- and medium-sized businesses looking for cost-effective solutions for storing vital business data. The strong OEM support for Travan technology is a key indicator that this data storage success story is here to stay.

With a clear migration path based on the newest Travan 40 drives and data cartridges, and commitment from industry-leading OEMs, Travan technology is poised to continue to deliver the scalability and reliability the market demands.

www.imation.com

www.seagate.com

Bob Hawkins is director of product line management at Seagate (Scotts Valley Calif.) and Robert N. Herman is market development manager at Imation Corp. (Oakdale. Minn.)