IBM TS4500 Tape Library Supports LTO-8 Single-Mode FC Tape Drives

IBM TS4500 Tape Library supports LTO Ultrium 8 single-mode fiber tape drives for applications that require high bandwidth over long distances

IBM TS1080 tape drive model F8S is an LTO Ultrium 8 tape drive enabled with single mode fiber, designed, the heavy demands of backup and archive tape storage applications that require high bandwidth over long distances.

TS1080 Model F8S can be installed in a TS4500 tape library delivers a native data transfer of up to 360MB/s.

Unlike the conventional multi-mode fiber optics, the single mode fiber optics permits only one mode or ray of light to be transmitted. The small core and the single light wave virtually eliminate any distortion that could result from overlapping light pulses, providing the least signal attenuation and the highest transmission speeds of any fiber cable type. These benefits make it suitable for long distance, higher bandwidth applications such as those in hyperscaled environments, to reach distances up to 50 times farther than multimode fiber applications.

TS1080 support the LTO-8 media specification of over double the compressed capacity of up to 30TB with 2.5 to 1 compression (up to 12TB native capacity) as compared to previous LTO-7 compressed capacity of up to 15TB with 2.5 to 1 compression (up to 6TB native capacity) per tape cartridge. LTO-8 tape drives can read and write LTO-7. TS1080 has an 8Gb FC dual-ported interface for connection to a spectrum of open system servers and hyperscaled environments.

Key prerequisites
Appropriate levels of host and drive software are required to attach TS1080 Model F8S to a range of environments, including select Power Systems, System p, and other servers running Linux and Windows OS environments that support FC interfaces.

Planned availability date: December 7, 2018