Cartridge memory chip (LTO-CM)

All generations of the IBM® LTO™ Ultrium™ Data Cartridges include a Linear Tape-Open™ Cartridge Memory (LTO-CM) chip.

The Linear Tape-Open Cartridge Memory (LTO-CM) chip (1 in Figure 1) holds information about that specific cartridge, the media in the cartridge and the data on the media. The LTO-CM enhances the efficiency of the cartridge. For example, the LTO-CM stores the end-of-data location. When the cartridge is inserted and the Write command is entered, the drive can quickly locate the recording area and begin recording. The LTO-CM also aids in determining the reliability of the cartridge by storing data about its age, how many times it was loaded, and how many errors it accumulated. When you unload a tape cartridge, the tape drive writes any pertinent information to the cartridge memory.

The storage capacity of the Generation 9, and 10 LTO-CM is 32640 bytes. This capacity is double that of Generations 6, 7, and 8 LTO-CM (16320 bytes), and four times the capacity of Generations 5 and 4 LTO-CM, which is 8160 bytes. LTO Generations 1, 2, and 3 have an LTO-CM capacity of 4096 bytes.