Tape-Library

A tape library (also tape robot, tape silo, tape jukebox or German tape library ) is a device in which there are one or more tape drives and multiple magnetic tapes, which automatically inserts the device into the one or more tape drives.

Small tape libraries (also called autoloaders ) have only one drive, and 5 to 17 slots ( compartments ) for each tape, which is moved by means of an exchange mechanism to the drive. Such libraries have to interrupt usually operating when tapes are to be (often in a magazine ) changed. In larger tape libraries assume Purpose-designed robot ( Picker or hand - bots ), which run on rails, transportation from the slot to the drives. The bands have to uniquely identify a bar code label that is read by the picker. The changing tapes on the fly allow special slots for inserting or ejecting tapes.

Large tape libraries can be expanded to a capacity of several thousand slots and dozens of drives. Examples are the IBM 3584 with 192 drives and 6260 slots and the SUN / STK SL 8500 with 64 drives and 10,080 slots, such as the (now Quantum Corporation ), originally developed in Germany by GRAU Storage Systems from Boehmenkirch ABBA / 2 (or AML / 2), which can hold about 400 drives and over 76,000 media, called (each with full installation, as of end of 2006).

To give an example of the data capacity of such a device: the StorageTek Powderhorn 9310 Tape Library ( the last picture bottom right) stores ( in full configuration ) at each 6000 slots in 24 LSMs (library storage module) totaling up to 28,800 terabytes of data. The maximum capacity of large tape libraries has exceeded the limit Exabyte in 2011.

With tape libraries large amounts of data can be backed up. The change of the tapes is controlled by the backup software. The barcodes of the tapes are also passed on to the software, which then takes over the media management. In an internal database records which backup object ( such as a file or a disk image ) was secured on which tapes.

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