8mm Helical Scan Tape Drive Technology

Quarter-Inch Cartridge (QIC) | O-MaSS | Minicartridge | DLTtape | Super DTLtape (SDLT) | Linear Tape-Open (LTO) | Half-Inch Cartridge | StorageTek 9840/T9840B/T9940 | Helical-Scan Technologies | 4-mm Helical Scan Digital Audio Tape/Digital Data Storage (DAT/DDS) | 8-mm Helical Scan Mammoth Technology | VXA Technology | Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) Technology | S-AIT

8-mm Helical Scan
Early adaptations of 8-mm tape drives were based on video camcorder technology with modifications for
storing computer data. Today's secondary storage manufacturers now design this class of product
specifically for computer data storage applications. All products in this category record data on 8-mm-wide
media.
There are two main 8-mm-based protocols that encompass all ongoing product development using this
platform. Exabyte was the driving force behind the use of standard 8-mm technology and has evolved the
technology through its proprietary Mammoth and Mammoth-2 developments. Sony and Seagate have
developed the Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT), which has since evolved into the second-generation AIT-2
format and the third-generation AIT-3 format. Although Mammoth and AIT are both 8-mm technologies,
the two formats are incompatible and cannot share media interchangeably.

AIT-3 8mm AIT-3 Data Cartridge, 230m, 100/260GB Data Capacity

AIT-4 SONY SDX-900V R 200 520GB AIT4 INTERNAL SCSI 68 PIN SE LVD TAPE DRIVE

AIT-5 AIT-5 technology comes with 400 GB of native capacity (up to 1.04 TB with 2.6:1 compression based on the ALDC algorithm) in a single 8mm media cartridge. AIT-5 drives are now read and write backward compatible with standard read/write as well as WORM AIT-4, AIT-3Ex and AIT-3 media, so users can migrate to the higher capacity of AIT-5 without sacrificing access or compatibility with earlier AIT versions.

AIT-5 drives are multi-functional and support Write Once, Read Many capability when using AIT WORM media. Both standard read/write and WORM media cartridges are also now shipping to all channels. A full range of both OEM and Sony-branded AIT-5 products are now available, including internal drives, external drives, as well as desktop and slim 1U and 2U rack-mountable automation products.

"The AIT format continues to evolve and coincide with the growing needs of both small to mid-sized business users, while scaling up to meet the ever-expanding needs of enterprise customers," said Sund. "AIT-5 is now the highest density tape drive in the world, allowing our customers to manage fewer tapes and conserve space. It also consumes up to 40 percent less power than competing formats, and can thus help conserve energy and significantly lower total costs of ownership while offering exceptional reliability and meeting real world performance requirements."

According to Sony, it has worked closely with independent software vendors to test and certify compatibility of AIT-5 based products to ensure wide support and full interoperability with industry-leading backup and archival applications.

AIT-5 technology is characterized by data density, high capacity, helical-scan recording, a new media formulation with Advanced Metal Evaporated III tape, a Remote-Memory-In-Cassette chip, advanced MR head technology, Dynamic Tracking and WORM functionality.

AIT-E Turbo
Sony's AIT-E Turbo drives, introduced in 2004, are based on the field-proven, high density, high performance AIT tape technology. AIT-E Turbo drives offer a new data capacity rate of up to 20GB (up to 52GB compressed) and a 6MB/s data transfer rate. AIT-E Turbo provides a low-cost entry point into the AIT family, providing an ideal migration path for DDS users.

AIT-1
The AIT-1 format, introduced in 1996, offered a data capacity rate of up to 25GB (up to 65GB compressed), and a 3MB/s data transfer rate. An extended length tape for the AIT-1 drive was introduced in 1999 to offer additional capacity of up to 35GB (up to 90GB compressed) and the data transfer rate was increased to 4MB/s in 2001. AIT-1 shipments have continued to increase and represent about 50% of total AIT unit shipments today and are a primary replacement product for the 4mm DDS tape market.

AIT-1 Turbo
Sony's AIT-1 Turbo drives, introduced in 2004, are based on the field-proven, high density, high performance AIT tape technology. AIT-1 Turbo drives offer a new data capacity rate of up to 40GB (up to 104GB compressed) and a 6MB/s data transfer rate. Performance and capacity improvements provide a supercharged tape drive for the low-end market, while providing aggressive lowered pricing to address cost-sensitive budgets. AIT-1 Turbo is available in a variety of interfaces, including SCSI, ATAPI, USB, FireWire, and SATA.

AIT-2
An important contributor to the past AIT technology growth has been the AIT-2 product line, introduced in March of 1999 and providing a capacity of up to 50GB (up to 130GB compressed) together with a 6MB/s data transfer rate. AIT-2 has also continued to increase and now accounts for about 30% of total AIT unit output. The AIT-2 has been enhanced to provide the Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) capability for selected applications and configurations. Similar to the AIT-1, the AIT-2 is market positioned to compete in the low-end tape market, specifically targeting the new generation of 4mm DDS products.

AIT-2 Turbo
Sony breaks new performance ground in the low end drive space with AIT-2 Turbo. Based on proven, standard AIT drives, this model doubles the native performance of AIT-2 (from 6MB/s to 12 MB/s), and increases native capacity an incredible 60% (from 50GB to up to 80 GB). AIT-2 Turbo also offers a number of unique features, including WORM. In addition, AIT-2 Turbo offers the ability to choose between media with the performance enhancing MIC chip, or lower cost media without the MIC chip. AIT-2 Turbo serves up three times the performance and twice the capacity of DAT72, and the flexibility of SCSI, ATAPI, USB, FireWire, and SATA versions.

AIT-3
AIT-3 is the third generation AIT technology implementation released in late 2001. AIT-3 offers a native capacity of up to 100GB (up to 260GB with compression) and a native data transfer rate of 12MB/s in a compact 3.5" form-factor. AIT-3 continues the AIT reputation of providing the best capacity and performance within a 3.5" form-factor. The AIT-3 also offers the Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) feature.

AIT-3Ex
Released in March 2006, AIT-3Ex provides up to 150GB native capacity (390GB compressed) and 18MB/s native data transfer rate. AIT-3Ex is another example of Sony improving on existing AIT formats. Implementing the latest technology advancements, Sony was able to enhance the existing AIT-3 format to provide users with higher capacity and performance solutions, while maintaining competitive pricing for budget conscious customers. AIT-3Ex also offers the Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) feature.

AIT-4
AIT-4 is the fourth generation of the AIT family released in Janurary 2005. AIT-4 offers a native capacity of up to 200GB (up to 520GB with compression), and a sustained data transfer rate of 24MB native (a synchronous burst transfer rate 160MB/s max). AIT-4 also offers the Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) feature.

AIT-5
AIT-5 began shipping in Q4 2006 and offers up to 400GB of native capacity (up to 1.04TB compressed) on a single 8mm cartridge at a sustained data transfer rate of 24MB native.
AIT-5 is backward compatible with AIT-3, AIT-3Ex, and AIT-4 media. AIT-5 also offers the Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) feature.

AIT-6
AIT-6 is in a research and advanced development stage necessary to prove key media and recording head technology implementation. In keeping with the overall AIT roadmap strategy, this drive is expected to offer up to 800GB of native capacity (up to 2.08TB compressed).

S-AIT