probst@iiic.ethz.ch (Probst) (06/04/91)
I'm about to buy a DAT-drive for a Sun 4/75, but I am not yet decided which one. Do you know something about the following drives? Archive Python, Model 4330XT in a case from Artecon Inc. (Artecon Model TD-4100 DAT Drive) or Wangtek, (1.3 GB), I don't know the model number. They both cost around $2000 US. Thanks for any advice. Urs Probst, probst@iiic.ethz.ch, Zurich, Switzerland
caserta@athena.mit.edu (Francesco Caserta) (06/05/91)
I'm also in the market for a DAT drive for my IPC. Unfortunately, it's a new technology and very little information is available. As far as I know, there exist two formats: DDS and Data/DAT. The former does not allow random writing, while the latter does; this allows to mount a filesystem on a DAT tape. It's in this latter format that I'm interested in for near-line access. (I know the speed is slow.) Gigatrend seems to be one of the companies more involved in this technology, but I don't know how to contact them. January's issue of SunExpert contains an article titled "Backup Strategies" which ends with a six-page survey of all (?) products available (Exabyte and DAT) which I was thinking to start from. So, I'm very interested in hearing from people that are using DAT drives not just as backup alternative, but as an ordinary storage-access medium, although slow. Thanks, Francesco Caserta
dwells@fits.cx.nrao.edu (Don Wells) (06/05/91)
In article <29162@neptune.inf.ethz.ch> probst@iiic.ethz.ch (Probst) writes: Wangtek, (1.3 GB), I don't know the model number. ^^^^^^ They both cost around $2000 US. ^^^^^^^^ Kimberley Electronics in New Jersey is currently offering Wangtek DAT drives, with the firmware which supports the 90-meter tapes which have a capacity of 2.0_GB, and their price is US$1500 for a drive in a box with power supply and connectors. You can get a half-height unit from them for US$1300. -- Donald C. Wells Associate Scientist dwells@nrao.edu National Radio Astronomy Observatory +1-804-296-0277 Edgemont Road Fax= +1-804-296-0278 Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-2475 USA 78:31.1W, 38:02.2N
kev@hpcpbla.HP.COM (Kevin Jones) (06/05/91)
WARNING: The following statements may be unintentionally biased
since I am involved in HP's DDS DAT program:
> As far as I know, there exist two formats: DDS and Data/DAT.
Correct
> The former does not allow random writing, while the latter does;
> this allows to mount a filesystem on a DAT tape.
Also correct.
> It's in this latter format that I'm interested in for
> near-line access.
"DDS versus DATA/DAT" WAS a format war which started over 2 years
ago. Companies scrambled into either the DDS camp or the DATA/DAT camp
according to their preferances. The main difference between formats
is that DATA/DAT supports a random write ability whereas DDS does not.
(DDS does support partitioning where a tape may be split into two
logical volumes).
It was fairly obvious from the outset that 2 different formats were
not going to co-exist => One of them had to die.
The one that is about to die is DATA/DAT.
(Actually I thought it had died until Francesco mentioned it :-)
But I would say that since I work in HP's lab on DDS!!!!
So don't take my word for it. Look at the DAT marketplace and see
how many DDS compatible drives there are as opposed to DATA/DAT drives.
To the best of my knowledge the only company manufacturing DATA/DAT is
Gigatrend. I think that they have a machine out which can do both
formats (at what price ???). Other companies: Hitachi, Alps, ?JVC?
are "supporters" of DATA/DAT but I have not seen any products from
them yet.
Companies manufacturing DDS include: HP, ARCHIVE,
WANGDAT, SONY, WANGTEK.
There are other companies OEM'ing and selling DDS. I am not aware of
any DATA/DAT OEM sales.
In summary: Anyone buying a DATA/DAT drive should be aware that
(IMHO) DATA/DAT technology is on the verge of extinction.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
There have been debates as to why DDS won over DATA/DAT. The main
factor seems to be complexity. DATA/DAT was an amazingly complex
tape format. This had 3 effects:
1. The end-product cost more than a DDS product. This didn't benefit
DATA/DAT when a large percentage of "tape customers" did not want
to use its random write ability.
2. DATA/DAT products development times were excessive. The result was
DDS drives hit the market well ahead of DATA/DAT (apart from
Gigatrend's product - but they were out there on their lonesome).
3. Develpment costs of DATA/DAT were prohibitive.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Jones. | Hewlett Packard Ltd,
| Computer Peripherals Bristol,
kev%hpcpbla@hplb.hpl.hp.com | Filton Road,
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Tel: 011 44 272 799910 (ext 22351) | Bristol. BS12 6QZ.
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This response does not represent the official position of, or
statement by, the Hewlett-Packard Company. The above data is
provided for informational purposes only. It is supplied
without warranty of any kind.dtb@adpplz.UUCP (Tom Beach) (06/05/91)
In article <29162@neptune.inf.ethz.ch>, probst@iiic.ethz.ch (Probst) writes: > I'm about to buy a DAT-drive for a Sun 4/75, but I am > not yet decided which one. Do you know something about the following > drives? > > Archive Python, Model 4330XT in a case from Artecon Inc. > (Artecon Model TD-4100 DAT Drive) > or > > Wangtek, (1.3 GB), I don't know the model number. > Actually they're both 1.3 GB, or 2 GB denpending upon which tape you use. I had an opportunity to evaluate both of these drives on a Motorola 88000 platform. I did a cpio copy of a large file system to tape. This was a dedicated machine. e.g. no other users so the processor was able to keep the drives streaming. i don't have a record of the size of the filesystem but here are the test results: Archive 2060 Tape : 11:00 min Archive 2150 Tape : 9:30 Archive 2525 Tape : 6:16 Wangtek 525MB Tape: 6:00 Archive DAT : 5:25 Wangtek DAT : 10:40 Exabyte 8mm : 5:25 I was surprised to find so much difference between the 2 DAT drives but repeating the tests didn't change the results. Granted that the Motorola drivers weren't optimized for either drive. Motorola does not support a DAT at this time. With software drivers tuned for the particular drive you have these results might change. Still, it's real data! Tom B Standard disclaimer: These results do not represent the official position of either ADP or Motorola. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | Tom Beach : Sr Project Engineer : Mass Storage Technology | | phone : (503) 294-1541 | | email : uunet : dtb@adpplz.uucp | | ADP Dealer Services, ADP Plaza, 2525 S.W. 1st Ave, Portland OR, 97201 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------