IBM i Series, Handbook

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Internal Magnetic Media
344
iSeries Handbook
25 GB ¼-Inch Internal Cartridge Tape Unit Technology
The 25 GB tape can be used for save/restore, Alternate IPL, program distribution, migration,
and ¼-inch Cartridge tape exchange.
Tape tensioning control improvements in the tape unit eliminate the need for an
auto-retension pass during the data cartridge load sequence. This is a major time saving
since the auto-retension pass on earlier QIC tape units can take up to five minutes. The Tape
Unit retensions the data cartridge only when a loss of tension is detected. For typical
operating conditions, this is expected to happen infrequently.
However, the tape compression used by the #6381/#6481 2.5 GB and
#4482/#4582/#6382/#6482 4 GB tape drives is not compatible with the compaction on the
#4486/#4586/#6386/#6486 25 GB tape drives. Uncompacted or uncompressed tapes are
compatible within each device’s format limitations.
This tape is not compatible with System/36 tape units. For read and write compatibility, refer
to internal tape read/write compatibilities table on page 339.
50 GB ¼-Inch Cartridge Tape Unit Technology
The 50 GB ¼-inch Cartridge Tape Unit that may be used for save/restore, Alternate IPL,
program distribution, migration, and ¼-inch cartridge tape exchange.
The 50 GB tape technology provide 50GB of storage capacity. With data compression, up to
100 GB can be stored per cartridge, providing unattended backup capability for a broad
range of medium sized iSeries servers.
These tape features are an iSeries specific implementation of Scalable Linear Recording
(SLR) technology, identified as SLR100. The unit can store data at a rate of 5 MB per second
(10 Mb per second with 2:1 compression). This data rate is twice the rate of previous ¼-inch
tape backup used on the iSeries. In addition to reading and writing on new SLR100 50 GB or
5 GB data cartridges, there is backward write and read compatibility with MLR3(SLR50) and
backward read compatibility with MLR1(DC 5010) tape formats.
This tape is not compatible with System/36 tape units. For read and write compatibility, refer
to internal tape read/write compatibilities table on page 339.
Individual Internal Tape Features
#4482 4 GB ¼-Inch Cartridge Tape Unit
Can be mounted in the system unit of Models 830 and 840, and in the #5074/#5079 PCI
Expansion Towers. The #4482 is a CIF.