Small Tape Backup Drive Offers Big Capacity

Benchmark Storage Innovations has announced the first half-height digital linear tape backup drive, the ValuSmart Tape 80. It can handle data transfers at 6MB per second and accepts tape cartridges that hold approximately 80GB of compressed data.

The ValuSmart Tape 80 will be available in June for a list price of $1499. DLT1 media currently goes for about $50 to $80. Currently Dell, Hewlett-Packard, and Tandberg are offering the full-height versions of Benchmark's DLT1 tape drive.

Aside from its standard DLT1 tape cartridges, the ValuSmart Tape 80 drives will also read DLT4000 tapes. Also, Quantum's Super DLTtape drives can read data written by the ValuSmart Tape 80. That capability is attractive to companies that want to ensure their options for growth. It's particularly attractive because manufacturers do not plan to develop a further generation of higher-capacity DDS drives.

Nudging DAT Drives

The reduced external dimensions of the new drive should make it a prime competitor in the sizeable value tape segment of the small-office and enterprise markets. This market--which amounts to over 2,000,000 drives per year--has been dominated by DDS-4 (DAT) drives. However, the DAT drives' per-tape capacity of only about 40GB of compressed data falls short in data-gorged environments. Today, the hard disks of individual servers often hold in excess of what will fit a single DDS-4 tape.

The new form factor will allow the ValuSmart Tape 80 to accommodate customer needs better than its full-height predecessor, according to Benchmark's Steven Berens.

"Most servers today are offering only half-height internal bays," Berens says. So instead of buying a DLT1 external model, buyers will be able to use a space-saving internal drive.