HP demonstrates leadership in LTO-6
backup and archive reliability
HP LTO-6 technology reaches critical milestone in performance with
1,500 new tape cartridges run continuously on a single drive with no
head failure.
HP has released the results of an extensive reliability
performance testing program for
HP LTO-6 drives. The testing, run on
multiple HP LTO-6 drives, represents a significant improvement in reliability
performance with over 163 million meters of media run over a single head. After
using 1,500 new cartridges of HP branded media, the HP LTO-6 drive was operating
at full written capacity and transfer rate on LTO-6 media from every LTO-6 media
manufacturer. This testing has been equally successful on both HP branded MP
(Metal Particle) and BaFe (Barium Ferrite) types of media.
New (or ‘green’) media cartridges are unburnished, meaning
they have higher abrasivity than a tape that has been used several times. In a
typical archive environment, media cartridges are loaded and filled to capacity
as fast as the drive can handle.
The many pieces of green/new media that run across the
tape drive head in a short amount of time can lead to excessive wear on the head
if it is not properly protected.
The new head technology used exclusively in LTO by the
HP LTO-6 tape family of branded and OEM
drives is a remarkable advancement in surface engineering design. It utilizes
tribological-grade materials integrated into the head construction which fully
addresses the interactive forces responsible for head wear. HP R&D engineers
analyzed, in extreme detail, the reasons and fundamental science behind failures
and the factors causing head wear. Like rust and erosion in nature, there can be
many interacting forces responsible for this wear. The dominant factors for wear
are abrasivity, chemical interactions, environment and contact force.
The enormous improvement in reliability
performance on HP’s LTO-6 drive is believed to be unmatched in the industry and
is a direct result of the dedication of HP to improving the user experience when
archiving and backing up data. These results also demonstrate the equivalent
performance of
HP branded MP and BaFe media in a HP
LTO-6 drive.