Travan

Last updated September 05, 2019

Travan is an 8 mm magnetic tape cartridge design developed by the 3M company, used for the storage of data in computer backups and mass storage.^[1] Over time, subsequent versions of Travan cartridges and drives have been developed that provide greater data capacity, while retaining the standard 8 mm width and 750' length. Travan is standardized under the QIC body. HP Colorado, Iomega DittoMax and AIWA Bolt are proprietary versions of the Travan format.^[2]

Magnetic tape medium for magnetic recording

Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders respectively. A device that stores computer data on magnetic tape is known as a tape drive.

A computer is a machine that can be instructed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations automatically via computer programming. Modern computers have the ability to follow generalized sets of operations, called programs. These programs enable computers to perform an extremely wide range of tasks. A "complete" computer including the hardware, the operating system, and peripheral equipment required and used for "full" operation can be referred to as a computer system. This term may as well be used for a group of computers that are connected and work together, in particular a computer network or computer cluster.

In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", whereas the noun and adjective form is "backup". Backups can be used to recover data after its loss from data deletion or corruption, or to recover data from an earlier time. Backups provide a simple form of disaster recovery; however not all backup systems are able to reconstitute a computer system or other complex configuration such as a computer cluster, active directory server, or database server.

Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) is a discontinued high-speed, high-capacity magnetic tape data storage format developed and controlled by Sony. It competed mainly against the DLT, LTO, DAT/DDS, and VXA formats. AIT uses a cassette similar to Video8. Super AIT (SAIT) is a higher capacity variant using wider tape in a larger, single-spool cartridge. Both AIT and SAIT use the helical scan method of reading and writing the tape.

VXA is a tape backup format originally created by Ecrix and now owned by Tandberg Data. After the merger between Ecrix and Exabyte, VXA was produced by Exabyte Corporation. On November 20, 2006, Exabyte was purchased by Tandberg Data who has since stopped further development of the format.

Generations

Generation	TR-1	TR-3	TR-4	TR-5/NS20	TR-7
Release date	1995	1995	1997	1998	2002
Data capacity	400 MB	1.6 GB	4 GB	10 GB	20 GB
Max speed (MB/s)	0.25	0.5	1.2	2	4
Media format	QIC-80	QIC-3020	QIC-3095	QIC-3220-MC	Travan 640
Min tape length (ft)	750	750	740	740	750
Tape tracks	36	50	72	108	108
Encoding	MFM	MFM	RLL(1,7)	RLL(1,7)	VR² (PRML)
Tape type	Co-γFe₂O₃	Co-γFe₂O₃	Co-γFe₂O₃	Metal Particle	Metal Particle
Coercivity (Oe)	550	900	900	1650	1650
Recording density (ftpi)	14,700	44,250	50,800	79,800	96,000
Data density (bpi)	14,700	44,250	67,733	106,400	192,000^[3]

TR-1

Travan TR-1 cartridges offer a 400 MB native capacity with a 0.25 MB/s transfer rate using the QIC-80 media format.

In computing, Native capacity refers to the uncompressed storage capacity of any medium that is usually spoken of in compressed sizes. For example, tape cartridges are rated in compressed capacity, which usually assumes 2:1 compression ratio over the native capacity.

TR-2

TR-2 was designed by 3M, but they never marketed it.
TR-2 cartridges were designed to have an 800 MB native capacity with a 0.25 MB/s transfer rate using the QIC-3010 media format.
The spec called for 50 tracks across the tape, with a recording density of 22,125 flux transitions per inch (ftpi).

TR-3

Travan TR-3 cartridges offer a 1.6 GB native capacity with a 0.5 MB/s transfer rate using the QIC-3020 media format.

TR-4

Travan TR-4 cartridges offer a 4 GB native capacity using the QIC-3095 media format.
Travan 8 GB cartridges offer a 4 GB native capacity with a 1.2 MB/s transfer rate.
Travan NS8 cartridges offer a 4 GB native capacity with a 1.2 MB/s transfer rate.
Imation HP Colorado 5 GB is a 460 ft (140 m) variation on the TR-4 standard. It offered 2.5 GB native capacity, 1 MB/s transfer rate.

TR-5

An external, USB, NS20 Travan tape drive. External Travan Drive.jpg — An external, USB, NS20 Travan tape drive.

Travan NS20 cartridges offer a 10 GB native capacity with a 2 MB/s transfer rate.
Travan 20 GB cartridges offer a 10 GB native capacity with a 2 MB/s transfer rate.

TR-7

Travan 40 GB cartridges offer a 20 GB native capacity with a 4 MB/s transfer rate.

Technology

Travan uses a linear track technology, with data written onto individual tracks over several successive passes. Fully reading or writing a tape to full capacity may require moving the tape from reel to reel many times. The tape is not attached to the hubs, but is wrapped and held by friction. The tape is prevented from coming off at the ends using small holes punched in the tape, which are detected by optical sensors in the tape drive using a 45-degree mirror inside and a window on the side the cartridge.

It also uses an indirect tension-band drive system, consisting of an elastic band that presses on the exterior of both reels, and also over an idler wheel on the edge of the case. A motor in the drive contacts the idler to move the tape. Because the reels wind and unwind at unequal speeds there is always some slippage occurring when the tape is in motion; frequent retensioning of the tape (achieved by winding the tape fully forwards and then backwards at high speed) is required to prevent this problem. Old tapes used many times tend to have a visibly marked stripe down the center of the tape where the band has pressed into the tape.

Unlike some competing technologies such as Digital Linear Tape (DLT) and Linear Tape-Open (LTO), Travan technology does not automatically verify data after writing. Data verification must be done separately by the computer operator, to verify data was written successfully. If a separate verify operation is not performed after each backup, it is possible for backups to be found to be corrupt and unusable when the tapes need to be used.

Digital Linear Tape is a magnetic tape data storage technology developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) from 1984 onwards. In 1994, the technology was purchased by Quantum Corporation, who manufactured drives and licensed the technology and trademark. A variant with higher capacity is called Super DLT (SDLT). The lower cost "value line" was initially manufactured by Benchmark Storage Innovations under license from Quantum. Quantum acquired Benchmark in 2002.

Linear Tape-Open Magnetic tape data storage technology

Linear Tape-Open (LTO) is a magnetic tape data storage technology originally developed in the late 1990s as an open standards alternative to the proprietary magnetic tape formats that were available at the time. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, and Quantum control the LTO Consortium, which directs development and manages licensing and certification of media and mechanism manufacturers.

Related Research Articles

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Magneto-optical drive a rotating storage medium

A magneto-optical drive is a kind of optical disc drive capable of writing and rewriting data upon a magneto-optical disc. Both 130 mm (5.25 in) and 90 mm (3.5 in) form factors exist. In 1983, just a year after the introduction of the Compact Disc, Kees Schouhamer Immink and Joseph Braat presented the first experiments with erasable magneto-optical Compact Discs during the 73rd AES Convention in Eindhoven. The technology was introduced commercially in 1985. Although optical, they appear as hard disk drives to the operating system and can be formatted with any file system. Magneto-optical drives were common in some countries, such as Japan, but have fallen into disuse.

Quantum Corporation is a manufacturer of data storage devices and systems, including tape drive and disk-based systems. The company's headquarters is in San Jose, California.

REV is a removable hard disk storage system from Iomega.

Quarter inch cartridge tape is a magnetic tape data storage format introduced by 3M in 1972, with derivatives still in use as of 2016. QIC comes in a rugged enclosed package of aluminum and plastic that holds two tape reels driven by a single belt in direct contact with the tape. The tape was originally ¹⁄₄-inch (6.35 mm) wide and anywhere from 300 to 1,500 feet long. Data is written linearly along the length of the tape in one track, or it is serialized and written "serpentine" one track at a time, the drive reversing direction at the end of the tape, each track's data written in the opposite direction to its neighbor. Since the introduction of QIC, it has been widely used and many variations exist. There is a QIC trade association that publishes QIC standards which include interfaces and logical formats. To a very large extent it was the efficiency and openness of this organization which encouraged hardware and software developers to use this type of drive and media.

The 8 mm Backup Format is a magnetic tape data storage format used in computer systems, pioneered by Exabyte Corporation. It is also known as Data8, often abbreviated to D8 and is written as D-Eight on some Sony branded media. Such systems can back up up to 60 GB of data depending on configuration. The tapes used are mechanically the same as the tapes used in 8 mm video format recorders and camcorders.

The Ditto drive series was a proprietary magnetic tape data storage system released by Iomega during the 1990s. It was marketed as a backup device for personal computers.

Ultra Density Optical (UDO) is an optical disc format designed for high-density storage of high-definition video and data.

Storage Technology Corporation created several magnetic tape data storage formats. These are commonly used with large computer systems, typically in conjunction with a robotic tape library. The most recent format is the T10000. StorageTek primarily competed with IBM in this market, and continued to do so after its acquisition by Sun Microsystems in 2005 and as part of the Sun Microsystems acquisition by Oracle in 2009.

Magnetic tape data storage is a system for storing digital information on magnetic tape using digital recording. Modern magnetic tape is most commonly packaged in cartridges and cassettes. The device that performs writing or reading of data is a tape drive. Autoloaders and tape libraries automate cartridge handling. For example, a common cassette-based format is Linear Tape-Open, which comes in a variety of densities and is manufactured by several companies.

IBM 3590 series of tape drives and corresponding magnetic tape data storage media formats developed by IBM

The IBM 3590 is a series of tape drives and corresponding magnetic tape data storage media formats developed by IBM. The first drive, having the IBM product number 3590, was introduced in 1995 under the nickname Magstar. The 3590 series of tape drives and media are not compatible with the IBM 3592 line of drives that replaced it. They can store up to 60 GB of data (uncompressed). This family superseded the IBM 3480 Family of tape drives popular in 1980s and 1990s.

The IBM 3592 is a series of tape drives and corresponding magnetic tape data storage media formats developed by IBM. The first drive, having the IBM product number 3592, was introduced under the nickname Jaguar. The next drive was the TS1120, also having the nickname Jaguar. As of November 2018, the latest and current drive is the TS1160 Gen 6. The 3592 line of tape drives and media is not compatible with the IBM 3590 series of drives, which it superseded. This series can store up to 20 TB of data (uncompressed) on a cartridge and has a native data transfer rate of up to 400 MB/s.

RDX is a disk-based removable storage format developed by ProStor Systems Incorporated in 2004. In May 2011, Tandberg Data GmbH acquired the RDX business from ProStor Systems including intellectual property and key members of ProStor’s RDX engineering team. RDX is intended as a replacement of tape storage. RDX removable disk technology consists of portable disk cartridges and an RDX dock. RDX cartridges are shock-proof 2.5-inch Serial ATA hard disk drives and are advertised to sustain a 1 meter (39 in) drop onto a concrete floor and to offer an archival lifetime up to 30 years and transfer up to 650GB/hr.

The IBM 3570 is a series of tape drives and corresponding magnetic tape data storage media formats developed by IBM. The storage technology and media were introduced using the name Magstar MP, combining the IBM storage brand name Magstar with MP for MultiPurpose. The IBM product number 3570 was associated with the tape drives and libraries that used the Magstar MP media.

The Apple Tape Backup 40SC is an external, SCSI-interfaced, ¹⁄₄-inch (6.35 mm) QIC, mini-cartridge tape drive. It was first introduced by Apple, Inc. in 1987 and discontinued in 1994. The drive came bundled with Retrospect backup software. The drive is also compatible with the tape software included with A/UX.

References

↑ Scott Mueller (2004). Upgrading and Repairing PCs. p. 683. ISBN 0789731738.
↑ Scott Mueller (2003). Upgrading and Repairing PCs. Que. p. 684. ISBN 0789729741.
↑ Seagate Travan 40 Product Manual(PDF)|format= requires |url= (help). Seagate Removable Storage Solutions LLC. 2002. p. 5.

External links

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[1] Scott Mueller (2004). Upgrading and Repairing PCs. p. 683. ISBN 0789731738.

[2] Scott Mueller (2003). Upgrading and Repairing PCs. Que. p. 684. ISBN 0789729741.

[3] Seagate Travan 40 Product Manual(PDF)|format= requires |url= (help). Seagate Removable Storage Solutions LLC. 2002. p. 5.