The modular design enables users to increase cartridge and drive capacity as needed. Built around a 3U-high, modular base library, TS4300 can scale vertically with up to sixteen modules, with expansion for Linear Tape-Open (LTO) Ultrium 9, 8, 7 and 6 cartridges, drives and redundant power supplies. A single robot manages all modules in the stack. In a sixteen-module configuration, TS4300 offers a capacity of 640 LTO cartridges.

Supports WORM cartridges to enhance data protection and provides library-managed encryption with IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager.

The TS4300 base library contains all of the necessary robotics and intelligence to manage the base library system, with a maximum of 40 slots of LTO cartridge capacity per module, five input/output (I/O) slots, and support for three combinations of full- and/or half-height (FH or HH) LTO drives per module. The TS4300 base library is rack or tabletop mountable. Module expansions are only rack mountable.

TS4300 leverages IBM Storage Archive™ for direct, intuitive and graphical access to data stored in IBM tape drives and libraries by incorporating the IBM Linear Tape File System™ (LTFS) format standard. LTFS compatibility allows tape-stored data to be accessed as if it were on disk or flash storage.

The embedded, open-source software architecture helps speed deployment and simplify management. Best-in-class error recovery and reporting, library health monitoring and alerting, and auto-recovery features help to speed diagnostics and resolution. An automation drive interface significantly increases drive communication speed for faster code updates and log downloads.

This tape library supports generation 9 of Linear Tape-Open (LTO) technology, offering up to 45 TB of data storage per cartridge (18 TB native),  50% higher compressed capacity of the previous LTO Ultrium 8 cartridges.

TS4300 Tape Library at a glance:

• Tape drives: 18 TB native/45 TB compressed (Ultrium 9); 12 TB native/30 TB compressed (Ultrium 8)
• Hot-swap components: power supplies, tape drives
• Systems management: Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) enabled
• Limited warranty: Three-year in-warranty coverage of select parts
• Weight: Base unit maximum 28 kg (61.5 lb); Expansion unit maximum 22.6 kg (49.6 lb)
• Dimensions (H x W x D) 114 mm (4.48 in.) x 446 mm (17.56 in.) x 873 mm (34.37 in.)

Management software options include:

• IBM Storage Archive™
• IBM Storage Protect™

IBM TS4300 Tape Library configurations for base model and with 6 expansion modules:

• Maximum LTO Ultrium cartridges 40/640
• Maximum LTO Ultrium I/O slots 5/80
• Max tape drives (base model) 1 FH LTO, 3 HH LTO, or 1 FH and 1 HH LTO
• Max tape drives (w/15 expansion modules) 16 FH LTO or 48 HH LTO HH/FH drive mixture range 46/1 or 16/16
• Total physical capacity 720 TB/11.52 PB
• Maximum logical libraries 1/48