StorageTek tape formats

These are commonly used with large computer systems, typically in conjunction with a robotic tape library.

It is very common for the tape cartridge to be identified by an external label or sticker, which is normally both in human readable characters such as AB1023 and also in bar code, to be read by devices in an automated library.

This process could be repeated many times, laying down several track sets on the tape media in a serpentine recording mode.

The tape advanced steadily, and data was recorded (or read) by a cylindrical head rotating at high speed and inclined at a small angle to the direction of tape motion, laying down (or reading back) a series of short data tracks very closely spaced together, helical scan.

Three different capacities of tape cartridge were offered: 10, 25 and 50 GB, differing only in the length of tape wound on the reels and in the external media identification character, A, B or C, which was designed to be read by the Wolfcreek and Powderhorn automated libraries' bar-code reader system.

Although somewhat difficult to maintain, it won popularity among some users due to the relatively low cost of the media per Gigabyte.

The T10000 is the latest Oracle/Sun StorageTek tape drive and cartridge product line for mainframe and open systems.