LTO Tape Drives

LTO Tape Drives from Sunstar Company, Inc. These drives are also known as Ultrium Drives.
Four generations to date from numerous manufacturers:
IBM, HP, Quantum, Tandberg, Seagate, Certance

Linear Tape-Open (LTO) technology was developed jointly by HP, IBM and Quantum to provide a clear and viable choice in an increasingly complex array of tape storage options.

Generation 4
Delivering 1.6TB (2:1 compression) and up to 800 GB native per cartridge, Ultrium format Generation 4 provides data transfer rates of up to 240 MB/second (2:1 compression).

Generation 3
Featuring capacities of 800 GB (2:1 compression) and up to 400 GB native per cartridge, Ultrium format Generation 3 provides data transfer rates of up to 160 MB/second (2:1 compression) for the third generation of the 8-channel version.

Generation 2
With a cartridge capacity of up to 400 GB (2:1 compression) and up to 200 GB native, Ultrium format Generation 2 provides data transfer rates of up to 80 MB/second (2:1 compression).

Generation 1
First licensed in 1998, with product appearing in 2000, Ultrium format Generation 1 provides cartridge capacities of up to 200 GB (2:1 compression) and up to 100 GB native with data transfer rates of up to 40 MB/ second (2:1 compression).

Generation 5 to follow in the near future.
Capacity: 3.2 TB (assuming a 2:1 compression)Data transfer speed: up to 360 MB/s (assuming a 2:1 compression)

These drives are available as:

• Single internal or external
• For tape libraries
• Full Height or Half Height Format
• Connectivity: SCSI, Fibre or SAS

Sunstar Company Drive Comparison Chart.

LTO Tape Libraries that we recommend.

Backward Compatibility

Generally speaking - an LTO tape drive will be able to read and write to the previous generation drive and read data only from the generation prior. LTO4's media is different from the prior generation's so this might change in the future.

LTO1, 2 and 3 drives are unable to read or recognize LTO4 media. LTO4 media can only be used in LTO4 drives.

LTO 4 format is backwards compatible with LTO 2 and 3 data cartridges only. This means LTO 2 and LTO 3 media may be both read in an LTO 4 drive, but backwards write compatibility is limited to LTO3 media.

Lastly, LTO 4 WORM cartridge can only be used in an LTO4 drive equipped with WORM functionality.

Take your time reading the last couple of points above. It can be confusing.

In conclusion the LTO format seems to be the clear leader in terms of archiving of data on to tape.

For further information contact Sunstar Company at:

info@sunstarco.com 800.663.5523

Many Thanks

Gavin