Exabyte 8500 and 8500c 8mm Tape Drives
Both the EXB-8500 and EXB-8500c are enhanced 8mm digital helical-scan cartridge tape subsystems. Packaged in the industry standard 5.25-inch form factor and combined with an integral Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) controller (either single-ended or differential configurations), the EXB-8500 and EXB-8500c are the easily integrated solution to your journaling, archiving, data interchange, software distribution, imaging, data acquisition, and backup/restore needs.
Data Transfer Rates
Sustained Transfer Rates
The sustained transfer rates depend on the tape format, as follows:
In EXB-8200 format: up to 262.5 KBytes/second
In EXB-8500 format: up to 500 KBytes/second
In EXB-8200c format: up to 500 KBytes/second, assuming an average compression ratio of 2:1 (EXB-8500c only)
In EXB-8500c format: up to 1 MByte/second, assuming an average compression ratio of 2:1 (EXB-8500c only)
Burst Transfer Rates
The burst transfer rates are limited by the performance of the SCSI host bus adapter, the SCSI bus interface controller, and the EXB-8500’s or EXB-8500c’s buffer control hardware.
For the EXB-8500, the burst transfer rates are as follows:
Asynchronous: up to 1.5 MBytes/second
Synchronous: up to 4.0 MBytes/second
For the EXB-8500c, the burst transfer rates are as follows:
Asynchronous: up to 2.5 MBytes/second
Synchronous: up to 5.0 MBytes/second
EXB-8500 and EXB-8500c Specifications
These specifications are for the EXB-8500 and EXB-8500c 8mm tape drives.
About the EXB-8500 and EXB-8500c
The EXB-8500 and EXB-8500c 8mm tape drives use helical-scan recording technology and read-and-write head pairs to achieve an uncompressed data transfer rate of 500 KB/sec. The EXB-8500c extends the performance of the EXB-8500 to a 10 GB capacity at a 1 MB/sec transfer rate (compressed). The EXB-8500 reads and writes 8200 and 8500 formats; the EXB-8500c writes 8200, 8200c, 8500, and 8500c data formats. The tape drives are designed to perform onboard error correction and error recovery, along with full read-after-write verification to ensure data integrity.
The tape drives are available in two configurations: as internal tape drives and as external drives that provide the convenience of a standalone peripheral.
Data handling
| Capacity: (8mm EXATAPE, 112m) |
EXB-8500: 5 GB EXB-8500c: 10 GB (compressed)* |
| Recording method: | Helical-scan |
| Compression method: | Improved Data Recording Capability compression algorithm |
| Data transfer rate: | 500 KB/sec, uncompressed 1 MB/sec, compressed* |
| Device reliability (mean time between failures): | MTBF: 40,000 hours |
| Data integrity: | BER: <1 in 1017 bits Reed Solomon ECC |
Tape Control
| Search rate: | 37.5 MB/sec, uncompressed 75 MB/sec, compressed* |
| Rewind speed: | 32.7 IPS (75 times nominal) |
* Compressed capacity based on typical 2:1 compression ratio. Ratio depends on type of data.
Interface
| Host interface: | SCSI-1 and SCSI-2 |
Environment
| Operating temperature: | +41°F to +104°F (+5°C to +40°C) |
| Non-operating temperature: | -40°F to +140°F (-40°C to +60°C) |
| Relative humidity: | 20% to 80% (noncondensing) |
Power
| Power requirements: | +5 VDC, +12 VDC 15 watts typical |
Size and Weight
| Dimensions: | 3.25 in. (h) x 5.75 in. (w) x 8 in. (d) (8.26 cm x 14.61 cm x 20.32 cm) |
| Weight: | 4.5 lbs. (2.04 kg) |