Data 8 Article Index for
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The 8 mm Backup Format is a Magnetic Tape Data Storage format used in Computer systems, pioneered by Exabyte Corporation . It is also known as '''Data8'''. Such systems can backup up to 40 GB of data depending on configuration. The tapes used are mechanically the same as the tapes used in 8 Mm Video Format recorders and Camcorders .

Until the advent of AIT , Exabyte were the sole vendor of 8 mm format tape drives. The company was formed with the aim of taking the 8 mm video format and make it suitable for data storage. They did so by building a reliable mechanism and data format that used the common 8 mm video tape technology that was available then. This was the first form of helical-scan tape used commercially for data storage.

Exabyte's first 8 mm tape drive was available in 1987. This was followed up with their Mammoth tape drive in 1996, and the Mammoth-2 (M2) in 1999.

Exabyte's drive mechanisms were frequently rebranded and integrated into UNIX systems.


GENERATIONS

''NOTE: The AIT and VXA formats and some other less common formats also use 8 mm wide tape, but are completely incompatible.''


Compatibility between tapes and drives and native capacities (GB)


Legend:
  • RO - The tape drive can read this tape, but not write. (Read Only)

  • Y - The tape drive can read and write this tape, but size is not known.

  • Numbered entries indicate the native storage capacity (in GB) for this combination of tape and drive.



Exabyte 8 mm

These drives use Metal Particle (MP) tape.

  • 1987 -- EXB-8200

  • --- Full-Height form factor

  • --- 246 kB/s data transfer rate

  • --- EXB-8200SX model features high-speed search


  • 1990 -- EXB-8500

  • --- Full-Height form factor

  • --- 500 kB/s data transfer rate

  • --- EXB-8500c model features hardware data compression


  • 1992 -- EXB-8505

  • --- Half-Height form factor


  • 1994 -- EXB-8505XL

  • --- Half-Height form factor

  • --- 500 kB/s data transfer rate


  • 1995 -- EXB-8700

  • --- Tabletop (top-loading) form factor

  • --- 8700 model included generic backup software

  • --- 8700LT model included no software

  • --- 8700SW included Cheyenne backup software


  • 1998 -- Eliant 820

  • --- Half-Height form factor



Mammoth

These drives use Advanced Metal Evaporated (AME) tape, but could also read (but not write) MP tapes.

  • 1996 -- EXB-8900 Mammoth

  • --- 3 MB/s data transfer rate

  • --- LCD on drive displayed drive status


  • 1999 -- Mammoth-LT

  • --- No LCD



Mammoth-2 (M2)

These drives used Advanced Metal Evaporated (AME) tape with an 2 m integrated cleaning tape header called ''Smart Clean''.
  • 1999 -- Mammoth-2

  • --- 12 MB/s data transfer rate

  • --- 4.6 cm/s tape speed during normal read/write operations

  • --- 1.6 m/s tape speed during search and rewind operations

  • --- 17 s load time, from insertion to ready

  • --- ALDC hardware data compression, 1 kB compression buffer



SEE ALSO



EXTERNAL LINKS


  • ECMA-145 ''ISO/IEC 11319:1991'' First specification for 8 mm tape data storage. [http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ecma-st/ECMA-145.pdf]

  • ECMA-169 ''ISO/IEC 12246:1993'', Specification of DA-1 (dual azimuth extension). [http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ecma-st/ECMA-169.pdf]

  • ECMA-249 ''ISO/IEC 15757'', Specification of DA-2 (MammothTape). [http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ecma-st/ECMA-249.pdf]

  • ECMA-293 ''ISO/IEC 18836'', Specification of MammothTape-2. [http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/files/ecma-st/ECMA-293.pdf]