SONY DELIVERS 1.3TB SAIT DRIVES TO OEM CUSTOMERS
First Tape Drive to Break 1TB Capacity Barrier
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 20, 2003 — Expanding upon its successful mid-range Advanced Intelligent Tape ™ technology family, Sony Electronics is now shipping production units of its first-generation SAIT drives and media to tape library automation OEMs.
With the ability to store up to 1.3 terabytes (TB) of compressed data (500 gigabytes native) on a half-inch tape cartridge, SAIT-1 is staking its claim as the industry's highest capacity tape drive and the first available product to break the 1TB capacity barrier. The enterprise-class drive also features a sustained transfer rate of up to 78 megabytes (MB) per second (30 MB/sec native) for efficient data recording and fast data recovery.
Sony expects that its OEM partners and Sony's internal business units will offer automated SAIT-1 solutions for sale beginning this spring. Leading tape library manufacturers, such as ADIC, Qualstar and Spectra Logic, have expressed their interest to support the integration of SAIT drives and media into half-inch tape automation solutions. Later this year, Sony is also expected to introduce an SAIT version of its PetaSite ® tape library system.
SAIT-1 libraries will be available in a number of configurations, with a 1,000-cartridge library capable of storing up to 1.3 petabytes of data. With the number of companies managing a petabyte or more of data, which is expected to multiply in the next two years, an ultra-scalable, cost-effective storage solution is a necessity.
According to Steve Baker, vice president for Tape Storage Solutions at Sony Electronics' Business Systems and Solutions Company, SAIT technology enables Sony and its OEM partners the ability to offer storage solutions not feasible with today's half-inch tape technologies.
"SAIT represents a new level of high-capacity, high-performance tape backup with scalability limits that surpass previous industry achievements, which help maintain tape's cost per gigabyte advantage over disk technology," Baker said. "Customers working with large databases, video production and broadcast applications, e-commerce transaction processing and storage, and medical imaging, have eagerly awaited a product like SAIT, which combines high data throughput with unparalleled capacity and low cost of ownership."
SAIT drives leverage Sony's reliable AIT architecture in a 5.25-inch extended drive footprint. They combine the data density advantages of helical-scan recording with the longer and wider tape usually associated with linear tape drives to achieve a much higher data storage capacity. For connectivity with a variety of networks, SAIT-1 drives come equipped with either an Ultra-SCSI or Fibre Channel interface. The Fibre Channel port supports up to 2Gbps, so SAIT drives can provide high-speed backup functions within a storage area network (SAN).
As one of the largest recording media manufacturers in the world, Sony is also producing SAIT-1 tape cartridges for the industry. SAIT-1 media is based on Advanced Metal Evaporated (AME) tape technology. Through the AME process, nearly 100 percent active magnetic material is evaporated onto a substrate and then coated for exceptional durability and results in exceptional data integrity.
"The magnetic properties, storage density and durability of AME tape technology make it a natural choice for SAIT media," Baker added. "We've been able to leverage existing manufacturing capabilities to develop SAIT-1 media, and we're confident it will be of the highest quality and durability."
In addition to Sony, Matsushita Kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd. (MKE) and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI), known for Panasonic-brand products, will provide the market with alternative manufacturing sources for SAIT drives and media, respectively.
Plotting the SAIT Roadmap
In 2001, Sony set the record for tape storage density by demonstrating 11.5 Gbits of data on a square inch of tape. By 2010, Baker said that Sony will be able to scale SAIT technology up to 10 TB (native) on a single half-inch tape cartridge. Currently, the company's SAIT roadmap extends to a fourth-generation, with the aim of doubling capacity and performance from generation to generation. SAIT-4 technology is expected to feature up to 4 TB of native capacity in a single cartridge (10.4 TB compressed). Sony also intends to maintain backward read/write media compatibility with at least the previous generation of SAIT drives.
SAIT-1 Drives Incorporate the Following Specifications:
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500GB Native, 1.3TB Compressed (2.6:1)
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30MB/sec Native, 78MB/sec Compressed (2.6:1)
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SCSI Ultra 160 or 2Gbps Fibre Channel
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5.25" Full Height Extended (5.8" W x 3.3" H x 12" D)
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600m AME, Half-inch Width Tape, One-reel Cartridge, R-MIC
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Super Laminated (read) / Hyper Metal Trimmed (write)
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Choice of SCSI or Fibre Channel Interface - SAIT-1 drives are available with either a SCSI or Fibre Channel interface for simple and flexible network connectivity. The Fibre Channel port can accommodate network speeds up to 2 Gbps to address the fast-paced storage needs of network environments.
Helical Scan Recording Technology - Helical-scan recording technologies, based on a very stable rotating drum/head platform, permit accurate and reliable data recording at very high track densities. This efficient packing density, typically up to five times greater than most linear-serpentine recording technologies, provides industry leading space-efficient solutions.
Advanced Metal Evaporated (AME) tape - SAIT media is based on AME technology, which represents a culmination of over 50 years of Sony innovation and experience in magnetic tape technology. The AME tape formulation, with diamond-like carbon coating, offers extraordinary durability and reliability, up to 30,000 media uses and an estimated media archival life of up to 30 years.
Head Technology - HyperMetal, Super Laminate Head Technology provides SAIT drives with higher signal output than conventional heads, thereby promoting a higher level of data integrity. Based on announced Sony R&D results, future SAIT products may utilize MR and GMR head technology to achieve capacities of up to 10 TB (native) per cartridge.
Remote Memory in Cassette (R-MIC) - The non-volatile R-MIC chip built into the data cartridge provides quick media loads and allows fast searches to data. The R-MIC chip contains the tape's system log, search map and user-definable information, allowing the drive to advance at high speed directly to any file on the tape.
Reliability - The reliability of SAIT drive systems will result, in part, from innovative features, such as; an automatic head cleaning system and an effective "leader block" tape threading system with a simplified tape load path. The drive cooling system is isolated from the sealed tape mechanism thereby limiting airborne contaminants from entering the tape path and affecting sensitive components.
"The super drive segment is expected to comprise nearly 80 percent of compact tape drive revenue by 2007. Sony's SAIT strategy and roadmap enable them to participate in the fast-paced high-capacity backup and network connectivity market segments. SAIT-1 launches Sony into a leadership position in the high-end tape market and offers a compelling blend of capacity and performance for the automation market."
- Robert Abraham, President
"For capacity-hungry applications such video, document or medical images, large databases, and even seismic or aerospace applications, high-capacity, high-performance tape products, especially when integrated in tape libraries, provide a attractive solution for storing or backing up vast amounts of data. Likewise they also provide an excellent solution for archiving large amounts of data and appeal to applications that utilize hierarchical storage management (HSM) tools."
- Fara Yale, Chief Analyst
International Data Corporation (IDC)
"Sony's introduction of its SAIT tape technology provides customers the highest capacity tape solution commercially available today. SAIT will enable midrange tape customers to have enterprise-class capacity at very competitive price-points."
- Robert Amatruda, Research Manager
Matsushita Kotobuki Electronics Industries, Ltd. (MKE)
"Sony has achieved unparalleled density with its first-generation SAIT line of drives. Relying on the same type of helical-scan recording technology employed by Matsushita, SAIT is truly capable of handling the intense storage needs of the enterprise."
- Takao Kanamura, Senior Managing Director
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI)
"Based on superior Advanced Metal Evaporated tape technology, SAIT is inherently durable and maintains the highest data integrity. We're prepared to offer the highest quality SAIT-1 media to the market to satisfy the demand for high-density backup."
- Hiroshi Yokomizo, Director of AVC Media Business Unit
Advanced Digital Information Corporation (ADIC)
"With the new SAIT drives, Sony has again demonstrated its ability to both develop advanced technology and turn it into products designed to help IT departments keep up with the ongoing rapid growth of critical data. At ADIC, we look forward to continuing our integration of Sony's advanced drives into our industry-leading family of intelligent storage libraries, and we are now engaged in evaluations of SAIT."
- Bill Britts, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing
"Sony's new SAIT-1 drive is a welcome answer for our customers who are faced with constantly shrinking backup windows and relentless increases in the amount of corporate-critical data that they must protect. We are pleased to expand our long-standing relationship with Sony, combining the benefits of our simply reliable automated tape library designs and the industry-leading SAIT technology."
- William J. Gervais, President and Chief Executive Officer
Spectra Logic Corporation
"Spectra Logic has followed and matched Sony's tape drive roadmap since we started collaborating in 1996. Today, Spectra Logic is a leading Sony AIT tape library vendor and is prepared to support and integrate both SAIT and AIT-4 tape technologies into our tape libraries. As a natural extension of its tape technology expertise, Spectra Logic congratulates Sony's initiative to deliver high-capacity SAIT drives to market and expand its already impressive and proven roadmap."
- Nick Harper, Vice President of Business Development
Based in San Jose, Calif., the Tape Storage Solutions Division of Sony Electronics' Business Systems and Solutions Company markets storage solutions through OEM, commercial and industrial distributors, retailers and resellers. For additional information about Sony storage, visit Sony's World Wide Web site at http://www.sony.com/news or http://www.storagebysony.com. For information specific to The AIT Forum or SAIT, please visit http://www.saittape.com.
