Sony Debuts Industry’s Slimmest AIT Library

Sony Electronics today introduced a new StorStation. Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) library that, at one rack-unit (1.75″) high, is the slimmest tape library on the market today, and features the industry’s highest tape storage density per cubic foot.

The newest member of the Sony StorStation family of storage solutions (model LIB-81), houses one AIT-1, AIT-2 or AIT-3 drive, and up to eight media cartridges, in an internal carousel design. All three drives feature backward read/write AIT media compatibility. Easily rack-mountable, the new library features a storage capacity of up to 2.08 TB and data transfer rates of up to 112.3 GB per hour (using 2.6:1 compression with ALDC).

Sony achieved the StorStation LIB-81 tape drive system’s cubic foot density by leveraging the 3.5-inch AIT drive form-factor, as well as by designing a unique internal carousel that stores the tape cartridges horizontally, and a mechanism that quickly loads and unloads tapes diagonally.

“The slim-line design of the new AIT library has industry-leading storage density and future scalability,” said Steve Baker, vice president of tape storage solutions for Sony Electronics’ Core Technology Solutions Company. “As an automated solution at just 1U high, it’s optimized for entry level users who desire the ease, scalability and investment protection that can be realized by automating the back-up process.”

The StorStation LIB-81 library is designed for automation-focused users, particularly those who may be migrating from a Digital Data Storage (DDS) storage solution and looking for advanced sophistication and future scalability for their small to midrange business data storage needs.

“As automated tape solutions continue to proliferate, they are quickly becoming more attractive to even small businesses,” said Fara Yale, chief analyst, Computer Storage Service at Gartner Dataquest. “An affordable library that can accommodate over two terabytes of storage in a small package will likely pique the interest of many companies looking to upgrade from a standalone storage solution to one that can provide over a week’s worth of unattended backup.”

The LIB-81 library incorporates a Web-based remote monitoring and diagnostic system for simplified management, and offers as an optional barcode reader for virtually instant media verification and inventory. AIT-1 and AIT-2 tape cartridges and respective versions of the library also come equipped with Memory-in-Cassette (MIC), a “smart chip” that speeds access to files, cartridge data and log information. The AIT-3 version features Remote MIC (R-MIC), which allows users to access the same data without loading the cartridge.

Also included with the library is a complimentary version of NovaStor Corporation’s TapeCopy v2.0 Library Edition tape conversion and duplication software, which enables users to transfer data from any other tape format to AIT.