Data Storage Institute Report Confirms Exabyte's VXA-2 Packet Drive Poised to Replace DDS.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 17, 2003 Independent Head-to-Head Tests Position VXA-2 Clearly Superior to DDS-4 in Speed and Capacity Exabyte Corporation (OTCBB OTCBB See OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). :EXBT), a performance and value leader in tape backup Using magnetic tape for storing duplicate copies of hard disk files. Users can add an internal or external tape drive to their desktop computers for backup purposes, and files are typically copied to the tapes using a backup utility that updates on a periodic schedule. systems, today announced the findings of the report by Data Storage Institute, an independent body based in Singapore involved in research and analysis of next generation data storage technologies. The findings reveal that the Exabyte VXA-2 Packet Tape Drive outperforms a DDS-4 tape drive in terms of data transfer rate and capacity across the board in all testing conditions. The report validates that the VXA-2 Packet Drive delivers at least twice the data rate and four times the storage capacity of DDS-4. "The advent of VXA See Exabyte. Packet Technology and its second-generation VXA-2 products was intended to pave the way for the next generation of tape drives to replace DDS (1) (Digital Data Storage) See DAT. (2) (Data Dictionary System) See QuickBuild and OpenDDS. (3) (Dataphone Digital S technology," stated the DSI (Dynamic Systems Initiative) An umbrella term for a suite of Microsoft products that help manage the Windows environment in large enterprises. DSI was introduced in 2003. report, entitled VXA-2 Versus DDS-4 Review. "VXA-2 delivers on its promises to provide higher capacity with improved performance." To compare the two technologies, the MCSA MCSA Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator MCSA Mountain Club of South Africa MCSA Motor Current Signature Analysis MCSA Methodist Church of Southern Africa MCSA Missouri Council of School Administrators MCSA Major County Sheriff's Association Group, the Network Storage Technology Division of the A*Star Data Storage Institute of Singapore, conducted back up testing in a variety of environments, using different software, platforms, block sizes and utilities. To simulate a real-world situation, a mix of document files ranging from text files, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, images, portable document formats, and web pages totaling more than 10GB of data was used for backup. The report found that the VXA-2 Packet Tape Drive provides twice the data transfer rate and four times the capacity of DDS-4 at a lower price, based on prices published on the Internet. (For details, please see Tables 1 and 2.) These results hold true on all tested platforms and operating systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. . Table 1 SCSI DDS-4 Speed (MB/s) VXA-2 (MB/s) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tar - 64KB Block Size 3.66 6.12 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tar - Default Block Size 3.63 5.88 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- NetVault 2.95 5.41 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Backup 2.91 5.43 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ARCserve 3.00 6.88 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- HyperSCSI DDS-4 Speed (MB/s) VXA-2 (MB/s) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- tar - 64KB Block Size (MB/s) 3.35 4.65 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 2
Price ($ in US) Native Capacity (GBs)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
VXA-2 999.00 80
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DDS-4 1,023.00 20
----------------------------------------------------------------------
DAT72 (DDS-5) 1,159.00 36
----------------------------------------------------------------------
According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the DSI report: "VXA-2 offers more capacity in a single media cartridge than DDS-4. Plus it makes no sense to upgrade to the newer DAT (1) (Dynamic Address Translator) A hardware circuit that converts a virtual memory address into a real address. See also DAT file. (2) (Digital Audio Tape) A magnetic tape technology used for backing up data. 72 (fifth generation DDS) from DDS-4 for less than 50 percent growth in capacity for the same rated performance when one can choose VXA-2 for more capacity and more speed." "DSI conducted a thorough examination of VXA-2," said Tom Ward, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Exabyte, "and the results validate its clear superiority over DDS-4. Third-party reports such as this one from DSI and nine OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) The rebranding of equipment and selling it. The term initially referred to the company that made the products (the "original" manufacturer), but eventually became widely used to refer to the organization that buys the products and adoptions in less than a year confirm VXA's greater capacity, speed and reliability at a lower price, making it a proven market winner." The report arrived at the following conclusion: "In the industry today, having a short backup window is critical and VXA-2 has shown to be able to prove its mantle by reducing by almost half the backup time as compared to DDS-4. While this test does not compare against the newer DAT72 (DDS-5) technology, indications are that DAT72 does not address such problems either. Therefore, the DAT72 upgrade is only sensible for backward compatibility See backward compatible. (jargon) backward compatibility - Able to share data or commands with older versions of itself, or sometimes other older systems, particularly systems it intends to supplant. with DDS, while VXA-2 is the choice for users who need to reduce backup window times while simultaneously increasing capacity." The VXA-2 Packet Drive maintains full read and write compatibility with the first generation VXA-1 tape drive from Exabyte as well as all VXA packet tape drives, including those available from HP, IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Fujitsu, and Apple. The drive's SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. Ultra 2 Low Voltage Differential (hardware) Low Voltage Differential - (LVD) A method of driving SCSI cables that will be formalised in the SCSI-3 specifications. LVD uses less power than the current differential drive (HVD), is less expensive and will allow the higher speeds of Ultra-2 SCSI. LVD requires 3. (LVD See LVDS. LVD - Low Voltage Differential ) interface, the standard in peripheral connection, attaches to either LVD or single-ended SCSI host interfaces. In addition, several lengths of VXA tape cartridges and a cleaning cartridge are also available, allowing customers to select a cartridge native capacity from 20GB to 80GB. This cartridge capacity range allows users to select a cartridge to meet their exact storage needs for better control over their cost of ownership. To review DSI's full report, visit http://www.exabyte.com/products/reviews and click on the "product reviews" link. About VXA Tape Technology Exabyte's award-winning VXA Packet Technology is the most significant advancement in tape storage technology in the last decade. VXA Packet Tape products offer a unique combination of greater capacity, faster data transfer rates and dramatically superior data reliability than DDS and other tape formats in its class, all at comparable prices. VXA Packet Technology offers far superior data reliability than any other tape technology, enabled by its innovative read/write "packet" architecture -- "extreme" tested to provide 100 percent data restore. VXA Packet Technology provides a digital solution to the long-standing mechanical problem of head-to-tape alignment -- a common issue which causes conventional tape storage products to trade off costly mechanical complexity with data restore integrity. VXA Packet Drives avoid this issue with its "packet" architecture. With VXA's award-winning Packet Technology, VXA Packet Drives write and read data in individually addressed "packets," accomplished by the heads sweeping the entire face of the tape rather than the conventional method of sequentially tracing every tiny track embedded on the tape. During a read operation, discrete data packets are dynamically gathered and reassembled in the VXA buffer, similar to the manner in which data is transferred and reassembled via the Internet, resulting in 180x better data restore integrity with reduced cost. VXA Packet Technology eliminates the need for expensive, complex mechanisms to maintain the tight tolerances required for tracking resulting in much greater capacity, speed and data reliability at a much lower cost. Also, the published VXA roadmap currently extends through four successive generations, consistently doubling capacity and speed every two years while holding pricing level and maintaining backward compatibility, thus ensuring long-term protection of users' investments in drives and media. VXA Packet Drives are also available in Exabyte's rugged and robust autoloaders and 430 library, designed to meet customers' growing need for the efficiency and convenience of automation. VXA Packet Drives have now been selected by many OEMs, including IBM for all three of its popular, business-class eServer lines -- iSeries, pSeries and xSeries -- providing a definitive endorsement of VXA Packet solutions as the new standard for tape storage in its class. About Exabyte Corporation Exabyte Corporation (OTCBB:EXBT) provides innovative tape storage solutions to customers whose top buying criteria is value: capacity/price, speed, data reliability and ease-of-use. Exabyte, an industry innovator since 1987, is the recognized value-leader in tape storage and automation solutions for servers, workstations, LANs and SANs. With groundbreaking VXA Packet Technology, the most significant advancement in tape in the last decade, Exabyte's VXA-2 solutions provide SMB (1) (Small to Medium-sized Business) Also called "SME" (small to medium-sized enterprise), it refers to companies that are larger than the small office/home office (SOHO), but not huge. and departmental users dramatically higher capacity, speed and data reliability at competitive prices. Exabyte's drives and automation products are rugged, robust and reliable solutions for users of VXAtape(TM), LTO (Linear Tape Open) A family of open magnetic tape standards developed by HP, IBM and Quantum (formerly the Certance subsidiary of Seagate) that are licensed to third-party vendors. LTO cartridges contain a memory that stores historical usage data. (TM) (Ultrium(TM)) and MammothTape(TM). Exabyte has a worldwide network of OEMs, distributors and resellers that share the company's commitment to value and customer service, including partners such as IBM, HP, Fujitsu Siemens Computers Fujitsu Siemens Computers is a Japanese and German IT vendor, selling consumer and business computing products in the markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (products marketed elsewhere are sold under the Fujitsu brand). , Bull, Toshiba, Logitec, Apple Computer, Kontron, Tech Data, Ingram Micro Ingram Micro, Inc. NYSE: IM a Fortune 100 company founded in 1979 and based in Santa Ana, California. It is the world’s largest technology distributor and a leading technology sales, marketing and logistics company. , CDW CDW - data warehouse and Arrow Electronics. For additional information, call 1-800-EXABYTE or visit www.exabyte.com. For investor relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. inquiries, contact Kelly Beavers at investor@exabyte.com. Data capacities and transfer rates for VXA Packet Drives assume a compression ratio of two-to-one. Actual compression will vary depending on the nature of the data and the drive and media quality. Exabyte, VXA and M2 are registered trademarks, and MammothTape is a trademark of Exabyte Corp. All other trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion