The IBM System Storage Tape System 3592 consists of one or more 3592 Model J tape drives and uses these IBM System Storage family of tape media:

• MEDIA5 - The IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Tape Cartridge (MEDIA5) physical media provides 300 GB of uncompressed capacity and 900 GB (assuming a 3:1 compression ratio) of compressed capacity depending on the type of data written.
• MEDIA6 - The IBM TotalStorage Enterprise WORM Tape Cartridge (MEDIA6) physical media provides 300 GB of uncompressed capacity and 900 GB (assuming a 3:1 compression ratio) of compressed capacity depending on the type of data written.
• MEDIA7 - The IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Economy Tape Cartridge (MEDIA7) physical media provides 60 GB of uncompressed capacity and 180 GB (assuming a 3:1 compression ratio) of compressed capacity depending on the type of data written.
• MEDIA8 - The IBM TotalStorage Enterprise Economy WORM Tape Cartridge (MEDIA8) physical media provides 60 GB of uncompressed capacity and 180 GB (assuming a 3:1 compression ratio) of compressed capacity depending on the type of data written.

The IBM System Storage Tape System 3592 Model J tape drive reduces data storage costs by increasing media capacity. In this information, the term 'J' refers to the Model J1A. You can use the 3592 Model J tape drive in the stand-alone environment or the tape library environment (automated or manual). Currently, the 3592 Model J tape drive does not have a cartridge loader.

The 3592 Model J tape drive offers these features:

• The 3592 Model J reads and writes EFMT1 (enterprise format 1) recording technology.
• The 3592 Model J uses the IBM System Storage family of tape media.
• The 3592 drives manufactured before the general availability of WORM capability and economy cartridges must have a microcode update to be able to read/write the WORM and economy cartridges. Drives without the updated microcode will reject the WORM and economy cartridges.
• The 3592 Model J optionally provides performance scaling by using only the first 60 GB of physical tape. The default is to use the full 300 GB capacity. This option is available on MEDIA5 tapes and is not available on MEDIA6, MEDIA7, or MEDIA8 tape cartridge media.
• The 3592 Model J emulates 3590 Model B1x tape drives (all 3592 tape cartridge media supported in this emulation mode) or 3490E tape drives with MEDIA5 tape cartridge media only. In a system-managed tape library environment (manual or automated), only 3590 Model B1x emulation is supported.
• The 3592 Model J coexists with 3490E and 3590 devices in the 3494 automated tape library.
• The 3592 Model J coexists with 3490, 3490E, and 3590 devices in a manual tape library.