Seagate Introduces the Scorpion 40 DAT Tape Drive
DDS-4 Drive Offers Up to 40 Gbytes of Capacity, and 50 Percent Better
Reliability Than Previous Generation
COSTA MESA, Calif., March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Seagate Technology, Inc. (NYSE: SEG - news), a leading manufacturer of computer tape drive products, today announced the latest addition to its extensive DAT (Digital Audio Tape) line with the introduction of the Scorpion 40 DAT drive and the TapeStor DAT 40 bundled solution based on Digital Data Storage-4 (DDS-4) technology. Scorpion 40 drives store up to 40 Gbytes (20 Gbytes native) on a single DDS-4 cartridge and offer several enhancements that give the drive improved reliability over previous generation drives.
''Our design team implemented several innovations to enhance performance and reliability, including improved read/write heads, a sapphire cleaning blade and a capstan cleaner housed in our Environmentally Sealed Chamber,'' said Kevin Perry, senior director of Marketing and Business Development for Seagate Removable Storage Solutions. ''With data transfer rates of up to 5.5 Mbytes per second and an MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) rating of greater than 400,000 hours, the Seagate Scorpion 40 offers twice the speed and 51 percent better reliability than previous generation DDS drives, while maintaining backward compatibility. We've ensured that DDS users can confidently and quickly backup and restore the data they rely on every day.''
The Seagate Scorpion 40 is the first DDS-4 drive announced that uses an Ultra-2 Wide SCSI LVD interface. The drive uses a ''look-aside'' technique in which the SCSI interface is isolated from the data compression engine by a large SDRAM buffer. This frees the SCSI bus to operate at up to 80 megabytes per second without being affected by the compression process, and enhances the ability of the drive to keep streaming even when the SCSI bus is busy with another device. The Scorpion 40 is fully backward read-and-write-compatible with all previous DDS format tapes. Scorpion 40 drives are available in 3.5-inch, 5.25-inch and external form factors for easy integration into workstations and servers. All Seagate DAT drives are backed by a three-year warranty and Seagate's innovative REACT rapid replacement program.
''The new Seagate Scorpion 40 DDS-4 tape drive employs innovative feature sets such as a sealed tape-to-head interface chamber and a sapphire cleaning blade which will offer improved reliability from earlier generations of DDS drives,'' said Robert Amatruda, senior research analyst, International Data Corp. ''These improvements will allow Seagate to add value and solidify its OEM and distribution partnerships.''
''Seagate's introduction of DDS-4 is timely and strategic,'' said Bob Abraham, vice president of Freeman Associates, management consultants located in Santa Barbara, Calif. ''Seagate is evolving one of its strategic core tape technologies in a timely and competitive fashion, positioning itself to capitalize on the eventual migration of the installed base of more than six million DDS drives to DDS-4.''
The TapeStor DAT 40 value bundle includes the Scorpion 40 DAT drive and Seagate Backup Exec software, which provides full-featured single server support for Windows NT Server and Novell NetWare. Also included are media, cables, a cleaning cartridge, software utilities and easy-to-follow multi-language instructions.
Currently commanding the second-largest share of the worldwide DAT market with its Scorpion line according to Dataquest, Seagate is a leading producer of internal and external DAT drives sold to OEMs and through distributors to resellers and VARs for integration into servers, workstations and libraries.
Seagate Tape Drives -- Travan, DDS, AIT and LTO
With over nine million tape drives installed, Seagate is a market leader in tape backup solutions. Seagate produces an extensive range of products designed to meet the backup needs of virtually every platform from high-performance workstations to midrange servers. To meet the backup requirements of small servers and NT workstations, Seagate's Hornet® Travan drives have capacities of up to 20GB. Scorpion® Digital Audio Tape (DAT) drives and autoloaders with capacities of up to 96GB are suited for a wide range of platforms including large PC servers and Unix workstations. The company also offers TapeStor® Travan and TapeStor DAT bundled solutions that include backup software, media and other accessories. Seagate's Sidewinder® Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) drives and autoloaders with capacities of up to 200GB protect data in larger servers and tape libraries.
Seagate, along with fellow technology providers Hewlett-Packard and IBM, created Linear Tape-Open (LTO) technology, a new powerful, scaleable, open tape architecture that will meet the growing storage demands of midrange to enterprise-class servers with up to 200 Gbytes of data per cartridge.
The Scorpion 40 and TapeStor DAT 40 are expected to be available in third quarter 1999. For additional sales information, customers can call 800-626-6637 or 714-641-2500. Photos of the Scorpion 40 are available on the World Wide Web at seagate.com.
Seagate Technology, Inc., is a leading provider of technology and products enabling people to store, access and manage information. The Company is committed to providing best-in-class products to help people get information when, where and how they want it. Seagate is the world's largest manufacturer of disc drives, magnetic discs and read-write heads, an innovator in tape drives, and a leading developer of Enterprise Information Management software. Seagate can be found around the globe and on the World Wide Web at seagate.com. For automated news, stock and financial information by phone, dial toll-free 877-SEG-NYSE. Outside the U.S. and Canada, dial 760-704-4368.
SOURCE: Seagate Technology, Inc. |
