Glossary
SuperLoader 3 Autoloader User’s Guide
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Q
QIC
Quarter Inch Cartridge. A tape storage subsystem that uses
0.25 inch (6.35 mm) wide media.
R
RAM
Random Access Memory. an integrated circuit memory chip that
allows information to be stored and retrieved by a
microprocessor or controller. The information can be stored or
accessed in any order, and all storage locations are equally
accessible.
RAIT
Redundant Array of Independent Tape Drives
random access
The ability to directly locate any piece of data without
having to read everything in memory or on disk.
read after write
A mode of operation that has the computer read back
each data block immediately after it is written on the tape,
checking that the data read back is the same as recorded.
read/write head
The mechanism by which data is recorded onto magnetic
media in a tape drive system. See read after write.
Reed-Solomon error correction
An error correction technique based on
research done by Irving reed and Gustave Solomon at MIT’s
lincoln Laboratory in the 1960s. First used to check the accuracy
of data received from the Voyager spacecraft.
restore
To replace data on the hard drive from another media source.
ROM
Read Only Memory. Integrated circuit chip containing programs
and data that can be accessed and read but cannot be modified.
S
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface. An American National
Standards Institute (ANSI) interface between the computer and
peripheral controllers. Apple MacIntosh systems and many
UNIX operating system workstations use the SCSI interface.
scalability
Refers to the capability provided by the DLT tape drive
family to read tapes from previous generations of drives. Allows
users to upgrade to a faster, higher capacity DLT drive, yet still
be able to read tape recorded on an older system. The term also
refers to the ability of DLT tape library systems to be upgraded
with a higher performance DLT drive and thus provide more
capacity and performance in the same footprint. See backward
compatibility.
seek
The movement of a read/write head to a specific data track.
