History (1985): IBM 3480 Model A22 Control and Model B22 Tape Unit
Multiple data stream fault tolerance, two out of 18 heads could fail.
This is a Press Release edited by StorageNewsletter.com on August 22, 2018 at 2:13 pmThis article is originated from WikiFoundry.
1985: IBM 3480 Model A22 Control Unit & Model B22 Tape Unit
Multiple data stream fault tolerance – two out of 18 heads could fail.
Why it’s important
The 3480 new error correction code significantly improved reliability over previous drives. The level of redundancy is equivalent to what later was named RAID-6.
Discussion
Since the introduction of magnetic tape in 1951, the majority of high-end tape systems used a 10.5″ round tape reel. The IBM 3480 introduced a new cartridge form factor measuring 4″x5″ which was about one-fourth the size of a round reel.
The number of recording tracks was doubled to 18-tracks with a linear density of 38Kbpi – six times the previous density of 9-track technology.
The 3480 used the first thin-film recording head for storage devices.
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