DDS tape drive. Above, from right hand side: microdisk 3.5", DC tape (250 MB, 6 mm, 1020 ft), DL tape (8 mm, 367 ft), DDS 4 tape (20 GB uncompressed, 4 mm, 492 ft)

A tape drive, also known as a streamer, is a peripheral device that reads and writes data stored on a magnetic tape or a punched tape. It is typically used for archival storage of data stored on hard drives. Tape drives are sequential-access, and must wind past all preceding data to read any one particular piece of data. They are not the fastest form of data storage, as they are sequential, but are long lasting and cost efficient. Modern LTO drives can reach burst transfer rates of over 160 MB/s, with average transfer rates in the 80 MB/s range. Tape drives can be connected with SCSI (most common), parallel port, IDE, USB, FireWire or optical fibre. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 95 KB) Pl: napęd taśmowy DDS, na nim od prawej: dyskietka 3,5, taśma DC (250 MB, 6 mm, 310,9 mb), taśma DL (20 GB nieskompresowane, 8 mm, 112 mb), taśma DDS (20 GB... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 95 KB) Pl: napęd taśmowy DDS, na nim od prawej: dyskietka 3,5, taśma DC (250 MB, 6 mm, 310,9 mb), taśma DL (20 GB nieskompresowane, 8 mm, 112 mb), taśma DDS (20 GB... Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry, as distinguished from the computer software that executes within the hardware. ... Compact audio cassette Magnetic tape is a non-volatile storage medium consisting of a magnetic coating on a thin plastic strip. ... A roll of punched tape Punched tape is an old-fashioned form of data storage, consisting of a long strip of paper in which holes are punched to store data. ... Typical hard drives of the mid-1990s. ... A 200GB LTO tape and external drive Linear Tape-Open (or LTO) is a computer storage magnetic tape format developed as an open alternative to the proprietary Digital Linear Tape (DLT). ... SCSI stands for Small Computer System Interface, and is a standard interface and command set for transferring data between devices on both internal and external computer buses. ... In computing, a parallel port is an interface from a computer system where data are transferred in or out in parallel, that is, on more than one wire. ... See Integrated Development Environment (IDE) Integrated_development_environment Binomial name Leuciscus idus Linnaeus, 1758 The ide or orfe, Leuciscus idus, is a freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae found across northern Europe and Asia. ... Note: USB may also mean upper sideband in radio. ... The FireWire color logo FireWire (also known as i. ... Fiber Optic strands An optical fiber in American English or fibre in British English is a transparent thin fiber for transmitting light. ...

Tape drives can range in capacity from a few megabytes to upwards of 800 GB compressed. Tape drive storage is usually referred to with the assumption of 2:1 compression; the raw storage capacity is known as the native capacity. In computer science, data compression or source coding is the process of encoding information using fewer bits (or other information-bearing units) than a more obvious representation would use, through use of specific encoding schemes. ... Native capacity referrers to the uncompressed storage capacity of any medium that is usually spoken of in compressed sizes. ...

Tapes and drives come in various formats. These formats include:

• Digital Data Storage (DDS),
• Digital Linear Tape (DLT),
• Linear Tape-Open (LTO),
• Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT), and
• Quarter Inch Cartridge (QIC), also known as Scalable Linear Recording (SLR)

Tape drives can be found inside autoloaders and tape libraries. Digital Data Storage (DDS) is a format for storing and backing up computer data on magnetic tape that evolved from Digital Audio Tape (DAT) technology, which was originally created for CD-quality audio recording. ... A Super DLT I tape cartridge This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... A 200GB LTO tape and external drive Linear Tape-Open (or LTO) is a computer storage magnetic tape format developed as an open alternative to the proprietary Digital Linear Tape (DLT). ... Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) is a computer storage magnetic tape format developed by Sony. ... Quarter Inch Cartridge (or QIC) tape was a computer storage magnetic tape format from the 1970s to the present. ... Scalable Linear Recording is the name used by Tandberg Data for its line of QIC based tape drives. ... An Autoloader is a data storage device consisting of at least one tape drive (the drive), a method of loading tapes into the drive (the robot), and a storage area for tapes (the magazine). ... A tape silo being loaded. ...

In the 1980s some forms of tape drives were used as inexpensive alternatives to disk drives, examples include the ZX Microdrive and Rotronics Wafadrive. Disk Drive is the afternoon show on CBC Radio Two. ... The ZX Microdrive was a tape-loop storage system from the 1980s, used in Sinclair Researchs ZX Spectrum and Sinclair QL home computers. ... The Rotronics Wafadrive was a peripheral for the ZX Spectrum, primarily incorporating an endless loop tape storage system. ...

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