»»About DLT tape racks, DLT tape storage DLT tape fireproof safes, DLT tapes, DLT IV tapes, DLT III tapes, DLT IIIXT tapes, Super DLT tapes, SDLT, VS1 tapes DLT, III, IIIXT, IV SuperDLT, SDLT, VS1 Super DLT cleaning cartridges

DLT Tape

DLT IV TK88 Tape 40/80 GB Tape
DLT VS1 Tape VS160, 80/160GB
Super DLT I Tape SDLT 220 -110/220GB, SDLT 320 - 160/320GB
Super DLT II Tape 300/600GB
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SDLT-I Super, 110/220GB Learn more about SDLT tape

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  Digital Linear Tape

A Super DLT I tape cartridgeDigital Linear Tape (DLT) is considered a de facto standard for magnetic tape technology used for computer data storage. It was invented by Digital Equipment Corporation in 1984, and was purchased by Quantum Corporation in 1994, who currently manufactures drives and licenses the technology and trademark.

A variant with higher capacity is called Super DLT (SDLT). The lower cost "value line" was initially manufacured by Benchmark Storage Innovations. Quantum acquired Benchmark in 2002.

DLT uses linear serpentine recording with multiple tracks on half-inch (12.6 mm) wide tape. SDLT adds an optical servo system that reads servo patterns on the back of the tape. DLT7000 and 8000 tilt the head forward and backward to reduce crosstalk between adjacent tracks through azimuth; this is called Symmetric Phase Recording.

The cartridges contain a single reel and the tape is pulled out of the cartridge by means of a leader tape attached to the takeup reel inside the drive. The drive leader tape is buckled to the cartridge leader during the load process. Tape speed and tension are controlled electronically via the reel motors; there is no capstan. The tape is guided by 4 to 6 rollers that touch only the back side of the tape. Tape material is metal particle tape (MP/AMP.)

Media are guaranteed for 30 years of data retention under specified environmental conditions; however, they are easily damaged by mishandling (dropping or improper packaging during shipment.)

Current manufacturers of cartridges for the DLT/SDLT market are Fujifilm, Hitachi/Maxell and Imation. VStape is made by Sony. All other companies/brands (even Quantum) are contractors and/or resellers of these companies.

All (S)DLT drive support hardware data compression. The often-used compression factor of 2:1 is optimistic and generally only achievable for text data; a more realistic factor across a file system is 1.3:1 to 1.5:1.

A new naming convention took effect in 2005, calling the performance line DLT-S and the value line DLT-V.

Standard Capacity (GB) Interface Data Rate (MB/s) Date Media
TK50/TZ30 0.1 proprietary/SCSI 0.045 1984 CT I
TK70 0.3 proprietary 0.045 1987 CT II
THZ01/DLT260/Tx85 2.6 DSSI/SCSI 0.8 1989 DLT III
THZ02/DLT600/Tx86 6 DSSI/SCSI 0.8 1991 DLT III
DLT2000/Tx87 10 Fast SCSI-2 1.25 1993 DLT III
DLT2000XT 15 Fast SCSI-2 1.25 1995 DLT IIIXT
DLT4000/Tx88 20 Fast CSI-2 1.5 1994 DLT IV
DLT7000/Tx89 35 Fast/Wide SCSI-2 5 1996 DLT IV
DLT8000 40 Fast/Wide SCSI-2 6 1999 DLT IV
SDLT 220 110 Ultra-2 10 1998 SDLT I
SDLT 320 160 Ultra-2 16 2002 SDLT I
SDLT 600 300 Ultra-160/FC 2Gb 36 2004 SDLT II
SDLT 600A 300 GbE FTP, HTTP) 36 2005 SDLT II
DLT-S4 800 Ultra-320/FC 4Gb/SAS 60 2006 S4
DLT-S5 1500?   100?    
Value line
DLT1 40 Fast/Wide SCSI-2 3 1999 DLT IV
DLT-VS80 40 Fast/Wide SCSI-2 3 2001 DLT IV
DLT-VS160 80 Ultra-2 8 2003 VS1
DLT-V4 160 Ultra-160/SATA 10 2005 VS1
DLT-V5 250?   18?    

Media:

Name Formats Color Supported by
CompacTape I 0.1 Gray TK50/70
CompacTape II 0.3 Gray TK70
DLTtape III 2.6, 6, 10 Light brown DLT260/600, DLT2000/2000XT/4000/7000
DLTtape IIIXT 15 White DLT2000XT/4000/7000
DLTtape IV 20, 35, 40 Dark brown DLT4000/7000/8000, SDLT220/320 (ro)
Cleaning Tape III 20 cleans Beige DLT2000/2000XT/4000/7000/8000
SDLTtape I 110, 160 Dark green SDLT220/320, SDLT600 (ro), DLT-S4 (ro)
SDLTtape II 300 Dark blue SDLT600, DLT-S4 (ro)
DLTtape S4 800 Dark purple DLT-S4
SDLT Cleaning Tape 20 cleans Light gray SDLT220/320/600, DLT-S4
DLTtape VS1 80, 160 Ivory/Black VS160, DLT-V4, SDLT600 (ro)
DLT VS Cleaning Tape 20 cleans Brown DLT1, DLT-VS80
DLT VS160 Cleaning Tape 20 cleans Light gray DLT-VS160, DLT-V4
 












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DLT IV TK88 Tape 40/80 GB Tape
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Super DLT I Tape SDLT 220 -110/220GB, SDLT 320 - 160/320GB
Super DLT II Tape 300/600GB
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SDLT-I Super, 110/220GB Learn more about SDLT tape
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