Table 5. Supported Functions of Compatible Media Types (continued)
LTO
cartridge
Gen
Tape
length
nominal
(m)
Data
capacity
native
1
(TB)
Data
capacity
compressed
2
(TB)
Power
®
Vault
Gen
LTO9
Power
Vault
Gen
LTO8
Power
Vault
Gen
LTO7
Power
Vault
Gen
LTO6
Power
Vault
Gen
LTO5
Power
Vault
Gen
LTO4
Power
Vault
Gen
LTO3
3 WORM 680
400
800 GB
No
No
No
No
RO
Yes
Yes
2
609
200 GB
400 GB
No
No
No
No
No
RO
Yes
1
609
100 GB
200 GB
No
No
No
No
No
No
RO
1
319
50 GB
100 GB
No
No
No
No
No
No
RO
1
203
30 GB
60 GB
No
No
No
No
No
No
RO
1
97
10 GB
20 GB
No
No
No
No
No
No
RO
* In any tape product with M8 cartridges, the minimum LTO8 tape drive firmware version is HB82.
1
1 GB = 1 000 000 000 bytes.
2
Compression Ratio
• 2.5:1 = LTO9, LTO8, LTO7, LTO6
• 2:1 = LTO5, LTO4, and LTO3
3
RO = Read Only
LTO Type M Cartridge (M8)
The LTO Program introduced a new capability with LTO8 tape drives: the ability to write 9 TB (native) on
a brand new LTO Ultrium 7 cartridge instead of 6 TB (native) as specified by the LTO7 format. Such a
cartridge is called an LTO7 initialized LTO Type M cartridge. These LTO Type M cartridges are identifiable
by using an automation bar code label that ends with the last 2 characters “M8”.
Table 6. LTO7 and LTO8 Cartridge Types
Cartridge/Density
type
Bar code label
Cartridge
Packaging/
Silkscreen
labeling
Native capacity
Tape Drive
compatibility
L9
xxxxxxL9
LTO Ultrium 9
18 TB
LTO9
L8
xxxxxxL8
LTO Ultrium 8
12 TB
LTO9, LTO8
M8
xxxxxxM8
LTO Ultrium 7
9 TB
LTO8
L7
xxxxxxL7
LTO Ultrium 7
6 TB
LTO7, LTO8
From now on, these cartridges are referred to as L9, L8, M8, and L7.
Only new, unused LTO Ultrium 7 cartridges can be initialized as M8 cartridges. When a cartridge is
initialized as M8, it cannot be changed back to L7. Initialized M8 cartridges can be written and read only in
an LTO8 tape drive. LTO7 tape drives cannot read initialized M8 cartridges.
22 Dell PowerVault LTO Tape Drive: User's Guide
