High-capacity feature reduces costs, provides greater storage consolidation and an exceptional ROIT by reducing the number of required data cartridges.
What are the primary differences between the HP Ultrium 460 and HP Ultrium 960 tape drives?
A1.
Capacity, performance, SCSI interface, and support for WORM media represent the primary differences between the Ultrium 460 and Ultrium 960 tape drives. The compressed capacity of the Ultrium 960 tape drive is 800 GB per data cartridge, a 100% increase in capacity over the Ultrium 460 tape drive. Using an Ultra320 SCSI interface as compared to the Ultra160 SCSI interface for the Ultrium 460, the Ultrium 960 tape drive increases the maximum compressed transfer rate for Ultrium tape drives from 60 MB/s to 160 MB/s. Additionally, the Ultrium 960 tape drive supports HP’s new Ultrium 800GB WORM data cartridge.
Q2.
How was HP able to achieve its new performance benchmark of 160 MB/s with the Ultrium 960 tape drive?
A2.
The native performance specification for the Ultrium 960 is 80 MB/s. Using 2:1 data compression, customers can sustain a data transfer rate of 160 MB/s or faster. The tremendous increase in data performance is due to HP’s use of an innovative 16-channel recording head in combination with an Ultra320 SCSI interface, while increasing both media tracks and bit density. With small increases in tape speed and tape length, the Ultrium 960 tape drive is simply able to write and read more data per inch of tape as compared to other tape technologies.
Q3.
How can I take full advantage of the Ultrium 960 data transfer rate?
A3.
To achieve the best transfer rate, customers should comply with the best practices listed within the HP Tape Storage Performance Whitepapers and on the Ultrium tape drive Performance Training Poster included with each tape drive. These detail a number of strategies to obtaining the best performance for your environment and typically include: (1) Careful use of network topology for across the network backups and for directly attached use of tape devices as network bandwidth can limit performance; (2) Using data sources that can deliver good streaming performance – for example, groups of disks with a reasonable number of disk spindles employing RAID. More disk spindles enable higher transfer rates. Single disk spindle sources will not deliver full capability performance even when used in image mode with high disk RPM rates; (3) When directly attaching your Ultrium 960 tape drive to clients, use of staging technology between the backup server and tape devices to provide a data aggregation point that can then be streamed more effectively.
Q4.
How does the Ultrium 960’s support for WORM technology compare to and differ from other tape drive formats that offer similar technology?
A4.
All tape formats that support WORM storage use a single tape drive to support both WORM and rewriteable tape media. However, there are three distinctive advantages to using the HP Ultrium 960 tape drive for WORM storage. First, the LTO Ultrium WORM solution uses a separate and easily distinguishable data cartridge for WORM storage. This allows customers to more easily and quickly identify the type of data cartridge and helps to prevent accidental usage of a WORM cartridge in non-WORM applications and vice versa. Second, LTO WORM fail-safe features are integrated into both the hardware and software features of the drive and media. This significantly reduces the chances that data on WORM media can be intentionally or accidentally overwritten when compared to similar tape-based WORM technologies. And last, HP’s Ultrium WORM technology is supported by the most comprehensive list backup and archiving software providers, providing customers with the easiest of all tape-based WORM solutions to integrate into their existing storage configurations.
Q5.
What advantages does HP’s Ultrium-based WORM technology offer customers needing to create data retention policies that are compliant with requirements from regulatory agencies such as the SEC and HIPPA?
A5.
The advantages of using the HP Ultrium 960 tape drive to meet compliant data storage guidelines are: (1) A secure method for storing compliant records with fail-safe features integrated into the drive firmware, cartridge memory, media formatting, and software; (2) An easy to deploy solution requiring only a single drive for both backup and archiving needs; (3) Low-cost media that can store 800 GB of compressed WORM storage capacity per single cartridge; (4) Comprehensive support of backup and archiving software which requires few changes to implement the HP Ultrium 960 tape drive into your current environment; (5) The LTO roadmap which ensures a long-term, stable Ultrium roadmap with 4+ generations of tape products. The LTO open standard also ensures compatibility between tape drive generations, easing the transition to next generation Ultrium solutions.
Q6.
Do the backup software applications (HP Data Protector Express) that ships with the Ultrium 960 tape drive support HP’s WORM technology?
A6.
Yes. HP Data Protector Express software supports HP Ultrium 960 WORM technology. Additionally, the HP Ultrium 960 tape drive also features WORM support for other leading backup and archive software vendors. Please visit http://www.hp.com/go/connect for a complete list of supported software vendors.
Q7.
Is the HP Ultrium 960 tape drive only compatible with HP servers?
A7.
No. The Ultrium 960 tape drive is also tested and supported on other leading server platforms from manufacturers such as Dell, IBM, and Sun. Please visit http://www.hp.com/go/connect for the latest hardware compatibility information.
Q8.
Why should I buy the HP Ultrium 960 tape drive as opposed to Ultrium drives from other vendors?
A8.
HP offers the advantages of advanced technology and a complete solution in the box. As compared to other third-generation Ultrium drive manufacturers, HP offers exclusive advanced design features including a soft load mechanism, radiused rollers, and reverse winding T-reel, making the HP Ultrium 960 tape drive the most reliable Ultrium drive in the industry. The HP Ultrium 960 tape drive supports One-Button Disaster Recovery (OBDR), another HP exclusive tape drive feature that provides simple and fast disaster recovery for your operating system, software applications, and data using a single data cartridge. The HP Ultrium 960 tape drive also includes HP StorageWorks Library and Tape Tools, a diagnostic and management tool for your tape drive that is unsurpassed in the storage industry.
Unlike other Ultrium tape drive vendors, each HP Ultrium 960 tape drive ships with a choice of backup software in the box. A single-server license for HP Data Protector Express Software is included which provides support for HP’s OBDR and WORM storage features. Each Ultrium 960 tape drive option also includes all required mounting hardware and SCSI cables, making installation quick and easy.
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