Understanding the Travan Tape Backup Technology!
Travan tape backup design is based on the Quarter-Inch Cartridge (QIC) technology proposed by 3M. QIC tape drives use media that is 0.25 inch or 0.315 inch wide with varying lengths. Data is recorded in a linear serpentine fashion along parallel tracks that run the length of the tape.
The mechanism that drives the reels as well as the tape guide path is internal to the removal cartridge.
This efficient cartridge design reduces tape stress, ensures data integrity and increases drive and cartridge reliability.
Imation Corp which is recognized as a worldwide leader in data storage and information management now owns this technology and have partnered with Seagate, the developer of the Seagate tape backup, in order to develop the Travan backup tape media drives based on the Travan standard. The Travan tape format has evolved into higher-capacity versions and the standards are backward compatible earlier versions. This meets the needs of business with cost efficient and dependable network tape storage.
Fundamental to the new technology is a new 3.5-inch shaped cartridge optimized for a maximum tape storage area. The drives use single-channel recording by including a static R/W head that records the data along the length of the tape. Data is recorded on parallel tracks which run the full length of the tape in a linear fashion. Both ends of the tape contain prerecorded servo patterns which the track-positioning system decodes and positions the head to an optimal location that is relative to the data tracks on the tape.
Once the read / write head gets correctly positioned at the beginning of the tape, the Travan tape drive head is locked in that position while the built in guidance system position the tape into the Travan data cartridge which prevents the tape from wandering off track as the tape moves, ensuring high data storage reliability.
The table below is intended to show the primary characteristics of the known Travan tape formats to date. The Incremental advancement of the technology to new capacities is largely because of widening and lengthening of the tape. All generations are compatible with their previous lower capacity version.
| General Characteristics | TR-1 | TR-2 | TR-3 | TR-4 | TR-5 | TR-6* |
|
Media
Capacity |
400MB |
800MB |
1.6GB |
4GB
|
10GB |
20GB |
| Max. Data Transfer (DTR) | 125KB/s | 125KB/s | 250KB/s | 1.16MB/s | 1.83MB/s | 4MB/s |
| Tracks | 36 | 50 | 56 | 72 | 108 | 144 |
| Data Density in ftpi | 14700 | 22125 | 44250 | 50800 | 50800 |
Travan tape cartridges are
economical and are widely available
in consumer-electronics stores. Among the leading manufactures of Travan
tape drive backup devices are companies like HP
, Seagate Technology, Compaq Computer Corp., IBM and Tecmar offering
their devices with IDE, SCSI, USB and parallel-port unit interfaces.
The data transfer rates are about 60 MB / minute in native mode for the
IDE and SCSI versions.
Travan is an excellent
desktop backup solution which meets the
growing data storage needs of the average small business as it provides
complete solution both in terms of data capacity and cost. If the user
buys a single stand-alone tape drive they will generally find that all
their data will fit onto a single tape.
Higher capacity tape
cartridge also give the users the
advantage as an option that they can do more than just backup their
data because the extra capacity could be used to off load files from
hard disk and free up extra space or it can alternatively be used to
create archive of downloaded Internet files.
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