Sony Offers New Branded DDS-4 and Advanced Intelligent Tape Storage Solutions

Business Wire, May 26, 1999

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 1999--

Sony Electronics today announced a new lineup of branded Digital Data Storage (DDS) and Advanced Intelligent Tape(TM) (AIT) storage solutions for workstation and network environments.

The PCBacker(TM) 10000i (internal) and PCBacker 10000e (external) DDS-4 models come bundled with Computer Associates' ARCserve(R) Workstation Solution for Windows NT(R), Cheyenne(R) Backup for Windows(R) 95/98, and Inoculan(R) anti-virus software.

For systems integrators and customers that already have a backup software solution, the SDT-10000/BM internal and SDT-S10000 external drives are basic drive packages for maximum configuration flexibility. The SDT-10000/BM comes pre-mounted with a 5.25" bezel for quick installation, 150m DDS-4 data cartridge, and a cleaning cartridge and the SDT-S10000/ME includes a 150m DDS-4 data cartridge, cleaning cartridge and power cord.

The compact size, exceptional speed (4.8MB/sec. compressed) and high capacity (up to 40 GB of compressed data) of DDS-4 makes it ideal for a variety of uses ranging from corporate servers and workstations to the Small Office Home Office (SOHO) environment. Fully backward compatible with earlier DDS drive generations, DDS-4 offers customers an excellent upgrade to higher capacity and speed, while protecting the investment in DDS technology.

"Considering the trend toward increased storage capacity of hard drives and the need for higher performance, Sony is in the best position to support these market changes by being first to market with DDS-4," said Nobu Kawasaki, marketing manager of value added products for Sony Electronics' Component Company. "Our research indicates that 50% of DDS customers surveyed prefer to upgrade to a higher capacity, higher performance DDS solution rather than convert to another tape format."

Sony's DDS-4 drive incorporates two unique features to enhance durability and performance. A new "Super Air Flow Environment" (SAFE) directs external airflow outside the drive and efficiently vents the tape path area, improving dust-prevention and cooling. This helps to extend the Mean-Time-Between-Failure of the drive to 250,000 power-on hours. A data throughput enhancement called "Look-Aside" compression management improves burst transfer rates to up to 40MB per second.

Sony's LANBacker(TM) tape storage solutions come bundled with Computer Associates' ARCserveIT(TM) Workgroup Edition for Windows NT and NetWare(R). The ARCserveIT Workgroup Edition supports one single server and unlimited client workstations on the Windows NT platform, and multiple servers and up to 25 client workstations per server on the NetWare platform. Each version comes with InoculateIT, a premier anti-virus software program, providing virus detection and protection in realtime.

"Our decision to feature Computer Associates' award-winning ARCserveIT software, enables us to support a wide range of applications from the workstation to the enterprise," Kawasaki said. "Sony strives to offer its resellers with a competitive advantage by providing high quality tape solutions at an exceptional value and backing them with strong nationwide field sales and top-notch technical support."

The LANBacker Advanced Intelligent Tape models are ideally suited for the single server/multiple server enterprise network environment. AIT-1 technology combines high capacity (50GB of compressed data), performance (6MB/s of compressed sustained transfer rate) and reliability (more than 50,000 hours average head life and 30,000 media uses) in a compact, 3.5-inch form factor.

The LANBacker solutions also include AIT and DDS-3 autoloaders to boost potential storage capacity to 200GB (AIT autoloader) and 192GB (DDS-3 autoloader) compressed, respectively.

The new branded tape bundles are shipping in June to resellers, VARs, distributors and system integrators at the suggested retail prices listed below:

DDS-4 Bundled Series:

SDT-10000/BM SDT-10000, 5.25" Internal 40 GB capacity (compressed) DDS-4 drive with

5.25" bezel pre-mounted 3.5" extra bezel 150m DDS-4 data cartridge Cleaning Cartridge 3-year limited warranty with 24-hour swap for the first year MSRP: $1,570

SDT-S10000/ME SDT-S10000 External 40 GB capacity (compressed) DDS-4 drive 150m DDS-4 data cartridge Cleaning cartridge Power cord 3-year limited warranty with 24-hour swap for the first year MSRP: $1,740

SDT-10000/N (PC Backer 10000i) SDT-10000 internal 40 GB capacity (compressed) DDS-4 drive with

5.25" bezel, pre-mounted 3.5" extra bezel 150m DDS-4 data cartridge Cleaning cartridge PCBacker CD Software 3-year limited warranty with 24-hour swap for the first year MSRP: $1,685

SDT-S10000/N (PCBacker 10000e) SDT-S10000 External 40 GB capacity (compressed) DDS-4 drive 150m DDS-4 data cartridge Cleaning cartridge Power cord Terminator PCBacker CD Software 3-year limited warranty with 24-hour swap for the first year MSRP: $1,855

LANBacker Series:

LANBacker 300Ci (SDX-300C/LB) SDX-300C internal 50GB capacity (compressed) AIT drive with 3.5" bezel