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LTO Ultrium
Technology
Linear Tape-Open technology was developed by three leaders in the storage industry - HP, IBM,
and Certance (now Quantum) - who brought together their combined expertise in tape technology
to develop an entirely new format based on the best of existing technologies. Because LTO
Ultrium technology was a new format, it required no cumbersome support of legacy formats, so it
could be designed without compromising on reliability or performance. The LTO Program, a
consortium of the three technology provider companies, has developed a well-defined six-
generation roadmap, which has been executed right on schedule, with the first generation of
Ultrium drives and media released in 2000, the second generation in 2002, and the third
generation in 2004.
Ultrium 1 tape drive technology uses a linear format of 384 tracks, writing eight tracks
simultaneously. Ultrium 2 tape drive technology uses a linear format of 512 tracks, writing eight
tracks simultaneously. The data is written in a serpentine pattern; the tape reverses direction after
each set of eight tracks is written. This provides higher density recording, enabling customers to
lower costs and increase efficiency by storing more data on a single tape in an industry standard
format.
The LTO standard for backward compatibility is to write back one generation and read back two
generations; therefore:
First-generation Ultrium drives, such as HP Ultrium 232, read and write LTO 1 media
Second-generation Ultrium drives, such as HP Ultrium 460 and Ultrium 448, read and write
LTO 1 and LTO 2 media.
Third-generation Ultrium drives, such as the new Ultrium 960, read and write LTO 2 and
LTO 3 media and also read LTO 1 media.
As part of the LTO open standard, all HP tape drives and media offer the same standards of
compatibility with tape drives and media manufactured by other LTO vendors.
LTO data compression (LTO-DC) is an enhanced version of Advanced Lossless Data
Compression (ALDC) hardware compression. Compression is automatically turned off if the
compressed data would cause an overall expansion in data size, hence optimizing the available
capacity on the media. This system is used in Ultrium generation 1, 2, and 3 products.
The decision about what next technology you should buy into should be based on your future, not
your past, investment. Choose the Ultrium format when you need the following advantages:
Maximum reliability, capacity and performance
Compatibility with a broad range of operating systems and servers (e.g., a mixed system
environment)
A legacy-free technology that uses the best attributes from a wide range of tape
technologies without any compromises for backward compatibility requirements
A solid roadmap for future generations of the technology
An open format available from multiple vendors
Lowest media cost of any 'superdrive' tape technology
Data Rate Matching
An exclusive feature of HP Ultrium tape drives, data rate matching allows the tape drive to adjust
its transfer rate to the speed of host dynamically and continuously. This feature, coupled with the
Ultrium buffer management technology within the data path, ensures that the tape drive continues
to stream data, reducing the need to rewind the tape back and forth to wait for the host. This
feature brings two big advantages:
It optimizes performance, getting the best performance possible for the environment,
regardless of the speed of the host or the network.
It reduces wear and tear on drive and media, thus increasing reliability.
QuickSpecs
HP StorageWorks Ultrium Half-Height Tape Drives
Product Highlights
DA - 12128 Worldwide QuickSpecs — Version 7 — 3/17/2006
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