Why DAT?

DDS – Open for Business
Unlike AIT, VXA, ADR, SLR, DLT, SDLT and DLT-VS, DAT is based on an open standard DDS format for data interchange. The DAT manufacturers group presides over this open standard with verification processes that ensure compliance. With multiple manufacturers developing and shipping DAT drives and media, customers benefit from increased competition, which leads to better prices, faster development and more choice.

Reliably informed
Reliability is the first and foremost requirement in any data protection solution and DAT drives have developed a legacy of reliability. DAT uses proven tape media and helical scanning for recording. There are two read heads and two write heads. The read heads verify the data that has been written (recorded) and if errors are present the write heads rewrite the data. Advanced levels of Error Correction Code (ECC) provide further protection for the data on the tape.

Capacity to cope
Everyone likes to have the best, but the best for specific circumstances is not always the fastest or indeed the biggest. In a value conscious environment ‘enough’ is often the best!

The latest generation DAT tape drive is able to store a full 160GB of compressed data in around 3 hours making it an ideal solution for storage-hungry applications for entry-level to mid-range servers and high-end workstations. That’s a backup performance of up to 50 GB/hour, optimizing the backup window required.

Exceptional value
The purchase price of a tape drive is only the first part of the overall cost of an on-going backup solution. Annual purchasing of tape cartridges can quickly overtake the initial outlay and give the true cost of ownership. Studies have shown that in the low-end server market, each tape drive will use an average of 8 new cartridge tapes per year. With cartridge prices at between $5 and $100 these ongoing costs are very significant.

The good news is that with both sensibly priced drives and low cost media, DAT continues to provide one of the lowest cost backup solutions available today.

Protected investment
DDS-compliant tape drives ensure backwards read and write compatibility with previous generations of DAT providing a painless upgrade path for installed base customers. For example the DAT 160 is able to read and write DDS-4 and DAT 72 media, and DAT 320 drives (when available), will be able to read and write DAT 160 media.

Bright future
The robust DAT roadmap has been in existence since 1989 with multiple generations of the technology delivered since then. The published roadmap from the DAT manufacturers Group confidently scopes out future generations of the technology indicating that seven generations will have been delivered by the end of the decade with an eighth generation still to follow early in the next. The latest DAT 320 format has now been announced and drives are already under development and on target for launch in 2009, as shown in the roadmap.

 
     With close to 19 million
     drives shipped, DAT is one
     of the most successful tape
     technologies of all time