VXA-2 takes its bite of the DDS $ pie. (First in/First out).

The DDS $ pie is both big and luscious. Naturally it attracts plenty of hungry eaters; among them, Exabyte Corporation's Ecrix-architected VXA-2.

As Exabyte puts it, VXA-2 delivers four times more capacity and two times more speed than DDS-4, at a similar price. As Mark Ferelli, editor-in-chief, put it in the August 2002 issue of Computer Technology Review, "VXA is the first tape technology to read and write data in packets. Packetizing opens up new modes of operation that lead to improved reliability and performance Additionally, VXA can operate at variable speed. In effect, this eliminates the need for backhitching. No backhitching means higher effective throughput and less wear and tear on drives and media. VXA also offers overscan, in which the heads can read data from any physical location on the tape without having to follow tracks from beginning to end. This capability gives a boost to reliability, data retrieval and interchange."

When Mark wrote that piece, the industry believed there would be no DDS-5. The fact that DDS-5 is alive and kicking makes for "interesting times" as the Chinese anciently put it. Computer Technology Review plans another look at this market and its players at all levels in the near future. We solicit input from avid eaters

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