StorageTek announces TimberLine 9490, world's fastest 36-track cartridge subsystem; introduces NearlinePlus strategy.LOUISVILLE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 1995--Storage Technology Corp. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :STK), the world leader in tape storage solutions, today announced the TimberLine timberline, elevation above which trees cannot grow. Its location is influenced by the various factors that determine temperature, including latitude, prevailing wind directions, and exposure to sunlight. (TM) 9490 Cartridge (1) See phono cartridge. (2) A removable storage module that contains magnetic disks, optical discs, magnetic tape or memory chips. Cartridges are inserted into slots in the drive, printer or computer. Subsystem A unit or device that is part of a larger system. For example, a disk subsystem is a part of a computer system. A bus is a part of the computer. A subsystem usually refers to hardware, but it may be used to describe software. with immediate availability. It is the first 36-track tape subsystem to combine ultra-high performance tape transport technologies with a unique, totally parallel 1 x 1 controller/transport architecture. "Some early customers have reported that batch windows The time available for an intensive batch processing operation such as a disk backup. have been reduced by as much as 50 percent," said Rob Nieboer, StorageTek director for Nearline(R) product marketing. "In addition to legacy-application improvements, this revolutionary product also provides fast, random-access performance from tape, opening up a spectrum of new applications." More than 2,100 TimberLine tape transports have been shipped to customers, and first-quarter manufacturing capacity of the TimberLine subsystem is sold out. The TimberLine subsystem is a key component of StorageTek's new NearlinePlus(TM) performance-based tape library strategy. The NearlinePlus strategy integrates transports that have ultra-high capacity (RedWood(TM)) and ultra-high performance (both TimberLine and RedWood) with the fast library robotics robotics, science and technology of general purpose, programmable machine systems. Contrary to the popular fiction image of robots as ambulatory machines of human appearance capable of performing almost any task, most robotic systems are anchored to fixed positions of the StorageTek PowderHorn(TM) 9310 and WolfCreek(TM) 9360 automated au·to·mate v. au·to·mat·ed, au·to·mat·ing, au·to·mates v.tr. 1. To convert to automatic operation: automate a factory. 2. tape libraries. When the TimberLine subsystem is combined with a StorageTek library and applications-enabling software, the NearlinePlus integrated tape strategy delivers a new level of information-retrieval power. Utilizing a new architecture in which each drive has its own controller, the TimberLine subsystem allows for simultaneous reads and writes with all controller transport units (CTUs). This architecture virtually eliminates controller contention and dramatically reduces processing times. As a result, the TimberLine subsystem can handle increased batch/backup work loads. The ability to do more work in the same time -- or the same work in less time -- is increasingly important to customers who face heavier work loads due to consolidation of data centers and rapid growth. The TimberLine 9490 incorporates a leap forward in performance over traditional architectures. Customers can expect "direct access storage device" performance from tape, such as sub-30 second response times, when combined with the ultra-high performance NearlinePlus tape robotics. Legacy batch and backup, archival and remote-vaulting applications, and disaster-recovery applications are all improved with the TimberLine subsystem's new level of performance. When executing full-volume disk dumps A printout of disk contents byte for byte without any report formatting. with the TimberLine subsystem, customers can dump up to 3.5 times more volumes in the same time as they can with traditional tape drives. The TimberLine subsystem is the first tape drive to fully exploit 17 megabytes (MB) per second native ESCON (Enterprise Systems CONnection) An IBM S/390 fiber-optic channel that transfers 17 Mbytes/sec over distances up to 60 km depending on connection type. ESCON allows peripheral devices to be located across large campuses and metropolitan areas. fiber-optic channel technology. With ESCON connectivity, TimberLine control units are more than twice as fast as traditional tape subsystems. Support for the 20 MB per second SCSI-2 Fast and Wide channel is targeted for mid-1995. Compared to traditional 18-track and 36-track subsystems, the TimberLine subsystem offers cost-of-ownership benefits such as lower maintenance costs, improved environmental costs and a reduction in data center floor space. It also continues StorageTek's long-held compatibility strategy that allows NearlinePlus tape transports (TimberLine and RedWood SD-3), as well as Silverton and 18-track transports) to attach to any NearlinePlus automated tape library without modifications. Some 78,000 StorageTek tape transports and about 7,200 StorageTek automated cartridge libraries are installed worldwide. For the first time, new applications, such as storing and accessing microfiche Pronounced "micro-feesh." A 4x6" sheet of film that holds several hundred miniaturized document pages. See micrographics. or paper output directly from tape, are made practical with the TimberLine subsystem's sub-30-second response times. Enabling software for such applications is available from several suppliers. U.S. list pricing for two controller transport units with ESCON attachment is $110,933. Storage Technology Corp. designs, manufactures, markets and services, worldwide, information storage and retrieval information storage and retrieval, the systematic process of collecting and cataloging data so that they can be located and displayed on request. Computers and data processing techniques have made possible the high-speed, selective retrieval of large amounts of subsystems for enterprisewide computer systems and networks. The company reported revenue of $1.62 billion in its fiscal year ended Dec. 30, 1994. CONTACT: Storage Technology Corp., Louisville David Reid David Reid may refer to:
Judith Hargrave, (303) 673-5559 |
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