Data cartridges

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The generations of IBM® Ultrium data cartridges are identified by color.

Table 1. Cartridge types and colors
Type Color
Ultrium 9 Teal
Ultrium 9 WORM Teal and Silvery gray
Ultrium 8 Burgundy
Ultrium 8 WORM Burgundy and Silvery gray
LTO M8 Purple
Ultrium 7 Purple
Ultrium 7 WORM Purple and Silvery gray
Ultrium 6 Black
Ultrium 6 WORM Black and Silvery gray
Ultrium 5 Burgundy
Ultrium 5 WORM Burgundy and Silvery gray
Ultrium 4 Green
Ultrium 4 WORM Green and Silvery gray
Ultrium 3 Slate Blue
Ultrium 3 WORM Slate Blue and Silvery gray
Ultrium 2 Purple
Ultrium 1 Black
All generations contain 1/2-inch, dual-coat, magnetic tape.

You can order tape cartridges with the bar code labels included, or you can order custom labels.

When tape is processed in the cartridges, Ultrium tape drives use a linear, serpentine recording format. The native data capacity and recording format of Ultrium data cartridges is as follows:
Table 2. Cartridge data capacity and recording formats
Type Native Data Capacity Recording Format
Ultrium 9 18 TB (45 TB at 2.5:1 compression) Reads and writes data on 8960 tracks, 32 tracks at a time.
Ultrium 8 12 TB (30 TB at 2.5:1 compression) Reads and writes data on 6656 tracks, 32 tracks at a time.
LTO M8 9 TB (22.5 TB at 2.5:1 compression)* Reads and writes data on 3584 tracks, 32 tracks at a time.
Ultrium 7 6 TB (15 TB at 2.5:1 compression) Reads and writes data on 3584 tracks, 32 tracks at a time.
Ultrium 6 2.5 TB (6.25 TB at 2.5:1 compression) Reads and writes data on 2176 tracks, 16 tracks at a time.
Ultrium 5 1.5 TB (3 TB at 2:1 compression) Reads and writes data on 1280 tracks, 16 tracks at a time.
Ultrium 4 800 GB (1.6 TB at 2:1 compression) Reads and writes data on 896 tracks, 16 tracks at a time.
Ultrium 3 400 GB (800 GB at 2:1 compression) Reads and writes data on 704 tracks, 16 tracks at a time.
Ultrium 2 200 GB (400 GB at 2:1 compression) Reads and writes data on 512 tracks, 8 tracks at a time.
Ultrium 1 100 GB (200 GB at 2:1 compression) Reads and writes data on 384 tracks, 8 tracks at a time.
*In any tape product with M8 cartridges, the minimum LTO8 tape drive firmware version is HB82.

The first set of tracks is written from near the beginning of the tape almost to the end of the tape. The head then repositions to the next set of tracks for the return pass. This process continues until all tracks are written and the cartridge is full, or until all data is written.

The cartridge door ( 2  in Figure 1) protects the tape from contamination when the cartridge is out of the drive. The tape is attached to a leader pin ( 3  in Figure 1) behind the door. When the cartridge is inserted into the drive, a threading mechanism pulls the pin (and tape) out of the cartridge, across the drive head, and onto a non-removable take-up reel. The head can then read or write data from or to the tape.

The write-protect switch ( 4  in Figure 1) prevents data from being written to the tape cartridge. For more information, see Write-Protect switch.

The label area ( 5  in Figure 1) provides a location to place a label. For more information, see Bar code label.

The insertion guide ( 6  in Figure 1) is a large, notched area that prevents the cartridge from being inserted incorrectly.

Table 3. Nominal cartridge life: Load/unload cycles
Type Load/Unload Cycles
Ultrium 9 100,000 (100k)
Ultrium 8 100,000 (100k)
LTO M8 20,000 (20k)
Ultrium 7 20,000 (20k)
Ultrium 6 20,000 (20k)
Ultrium 5 20,000 (20k)
Ultrium 4 20,000 (20k)
Ultrium 3 20,000 (20k)
Ultrium 2 10,000 (10k)
Ultrium 1 5000 (5k)