Supported tape drives and media

Edit online

Tape drives and tape media that are supported by the IBM Storage Archive Library Edition.

Supported tape drives and media compatibility

Table 1 lists the tape drives and media that are supported by , and the drive and media compatibility.
Note: Ensure that all tape drives are at the latest firmware level to fully utilize IBM Storage Archive functions. Consult the documentation that is supplied with your tape drives and media for the most current compatibility information. Go to the IBM®® Fix Central website for the most current information about fixes and updates for your system's software, hardware, and operating system.
Table 1. Tape drives and tape media
Drive type Media generation and type 2, 3 Format density 4 Allowed operation
IBM TS1170 tape drive (models 70F and 70S) 3592 Type F (JF) 70F Read/write
IBM TS1160 tape drive (models 60E, 60F, 60G, and 60S) 3592 Type C (JC and JK) E07 Read only 7
EO8 Read/write
3592 Type D (JD and JL) E08 Read/write
55F Read/write
3592 Tape E (JE and JM) 60F Read/write
IBM TS1155 tape drive (Models 55F and 55G)1 3592 Type C (JC and JK) E08 Read only 7
3592 Type D (JD and JL) E08 Read/write
55F Read/write
IBM TS1150 tape drive 3592 Type C (JC and JK) E07 Read/write
E08 Read/write
3592 Type D (JD and JL) E08 Read/write
IBM TS1140 tape drive 3592 Type B (JB) E07 Read/write
3592 Type C (JC and JK) E07 Read/write
IBM LTO Ultrium 9 tape drive L9 Read/write
L8 Read/write
IBM LTO Ultrium 8 tape drive 6 L8 Read/write
M8 5 Read/write
L7 Read/write
IBM LTO Ultrium 7 tape drive L7 Read/write
L6 Read/write
L5 Read only 7
IBM LTO Ultrium 6 tape drive L6 Read/write
L5 Read/write
IBM LTO Ultrium 5 tape drive L5 Read/write
Notes:
  1. Fibre Channel interface model only.
  2. The media type can be identified as the last two characters of volume serial number on the bar code label.
  3. WORM media is not supported.
  4. IBM 3592 Jx tape media can be formatted with a higher recording density by using newer-generation tape drives, for more capacity. For WORM media, the recording density can be selected only at the first use of the media. Media that is formatted with a higher recording density for newer-generation tape drives cannot be read with older-generation tape drives.
  5. IBM Storage Archive LE supports pre-initialized M8 tape media, and uninitialized M8 tape that uses the appropriate tape library firmware on supported tape libraries. See the library documentation about its M8 support and firmware requirements.
  6. Requires firmware version HB81 or later.
  7. See Intermix of tape drives and media.

Tape capacity and format type

Table 2 lists the raw capacity of the tape media when it is partitioned with the LTFS format, and the usable capacity (without compression), where the data partition stores the user data and metadata.
Note: IBM Storage Archive utilizes the data compression function of tape drives by default, and the actual usable capacity might be greater when the data is compressed. The compression ratio depends on the data pattern that is written, and also on the tape drive capability. For example, if the data occurs in an already-compressed format such as JPEG or MPEG, it is unlikely that more compression can be achieved. See the tape drive hardware documentation for more detail.
Table 2. Supported tape media and data partition sizes
Media generation Media type 1 Format density Raw capacity 2 Usable capacity 2, 3
3592 Type B JB E07 1.6 TB (1490 GiB) 1.46 TB (1357 GiB)
3592 Type C JC E07 4 TB (3725 GiB) 3.65 TB (3399 GiB) 4
E08 7 TB (6519 GiB) 6.76 TB (6293 GiB)
JK E07 500 GB (466 GiB) 456 GB (425 GiB)
E08 900 GB (838 GiB) 869 GB (809 GiB)
3592 Type D JD E08 10 TB (9313 GiB) 9.69 TB (9022 GiB)
55F 15 TB (13970 GiB) 14.56 TB (13,562 GiB)
JL E08 2 TB (1863 GiB) 1.94 TB (1804 GiB)
55F 3 TB (2794 GiB) 2.91 TB (2712 GiB)
3592 Type E JE 60F 20TB (18626 GiB) 19.49 TB (18147 GiB)
JM 60F 5TB (4657 GiB) 4.87 TB (4537 GiB)
3592 Type F JF 70F 50 TB (46566 GiB) 48.90 TB (45544 GiB)
L9 18TB (16764GiB) 17.55TB (16344GiB)
L8 12 TB (11176 GiB) 11.71 GB (10907 GiB)
M8 5 9 TB (8382 GiB) 8.73 TB (8132 GiB)
L7 6 TB (5588 GiB) 5.73 TB (5338 GiB)
L6 2.5 TB (2328 GiB) 2.41 TB (2243 GiB)
L5 1.5 TB (1416 GiB) 1.43 TB (1327 GiB)
Notes:
  1. Write-once, read-many (WORM) media are not supported.
  2. See the topic Data storage values.
  3. Values that are listed are the default size of the LTFS data partition, unless otherwise indicated.
  4. Requires firmware level D3I3_694 or later for TS1140 tape drives.
  5. IBM Storage Archive LE supports pre-initialized M8 tape media, and uninitialized M8 tape that uses the appropriate tape library firmware on supported tape libraries. See the library documentation about its M8 support and firmware requirements.

Data compression

With LTFS, the actual usable capacity is greater when compression is used. For example:
  • With the LTO 5 compression ratio of 2:1, the capacity of the L5 tape media is 2850 GB (2650.5 GiB).
  • With LTO 6 and LTO 7, the compression ratio is 2.5:1. The L6 tape media capacity is 6020 GB (5607 GiB), and the L7 tape media capacity is 15 TB (13.64 TiB).
  • The 3592 compression ratio is 3:1. The capacity of the JC tape media that are formatted on TS1140 with enhanced partitioning is 11 TB (10 TiB).
The compression ratio depends on the nature and format of the data to be compressed. If the data occurs in an already compressed format such as JPEG or MPEG, it is unlikely that more compression can be achieved.

Intermix of tape drives and media

IBM Storage Archive Library Edition supports a logical tape library with multiple tape drive generations, media types, and media densities in the same library. The following are suggested configurations for your library:
  • If your logical tape library has L5 tape media, configure the tape library with one or more LTO 5 drives or LTO 6 drives.
  • If your logical tape library has L6 tape media, configure the tape library with one or more LTO 6 drives or LTO 7 drives.
  • If your logical tape library has L7 tape media, configure the tape library with one or more LTO 7 drives or LTO 8 drives.
  • If your logical tape library has L8 or M8 tape media, configure the tape library with one or more LTO 8 drives.
When a file system request for a tape is made, IBM Storage Archive LE selects a tape drive that can both read from and write to the medium, and mounts the tape on that drive. If no such drive is configured in the system (for example, L5 tape media in a library with only LTO 7 tape drives), IBM Storage Archive LE loads and mounts the media on a drive capable of reading but not writing. In this case, write access to the media results in an error. The following list shows the priority of the drive selection:
  1. The drive that already has the target tape loaded.
  2. An empty drive with write capability.
  3. A drive with write capability that contains another tape, but the tape is not yet loaded (in the lock position).
  4. A drive with write capability that loads a least recently used tape.
  5. An empty drive with read-only capability.
  6. A drive with read-only capability that contains another tape, but the tape is not yet loaded (in the lock position).
  7. A drive with read-only capability that loads a least recently used tape.