Maxell 3590E 60GB Manual

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Maxell Enterprise 3590E Tape™
White Paper
Critical business information needs to be protected yet accessible quickly and reliably around the clock and
from anywhere in the world. As tape backup technology continues to propel forward and evolve rapidly in
speed and density, Enterprise Series Tape Cartridges have become the ideal choice for high volume archiving
with outstanding performance and reliability.
What is Enterprise 3590E Tape?
Enterprise 3590E (Extended High Performance) Tape is a single reel ½ inch advanced metal particle, multi-
track, recording technology owned and licensed by IBM Corporation. Designed for the IBM 3590B, 3590E, and
3590H drives, the recording density is 128, 256, and 384-tracks respectively (drive dependent).
With 3:1 compression and fast data transfer rates of 14MB/s native, the cartridges are capable of holding up to
180GB each (60GB without compression).
This system has mainly been used at mainframe sites and in large corporations. The read-after-write capability
of the format makes for a very safe back-up device where data is "mission critical".
The cartridge format makes mechanical handling very easy and standalone drives can be supplied with
autoloader systems which automate the processing of several cartridges for data transfer or unattended back-up.
These drives form the basis of many of today's robotic tape library systems with multiple devices providing a
near-line storage capability of several Tera-bytes.
Features of Enterprise Technology
●Factory written servo tracks help improve data integrity
●Cartridge capacities up to 60GB (uncompressed)
●Custom labeling and initialization services are available for autoloaders and libraries
Drive Features
Enterprise hardware provides several key advances in technology as compared to other linear tape technologies.
Enterprise drives offer enhancements in head design and recording channel technologies resulting in greater
reliability between drive and media and faster data transfer rates.
Linear recording technologies feature read/write heads that remain stationary while the data is written to tracks
running along the length of the tape. After one track is fully written, the head drops to the next track and writes
in the opposite direction. The distinctive characteristics of this type of recording is called "linear serpentine"
recording for the "S-shaped" path it creates to record to the media.

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Tape Technology
Figure 1
Features such as factory written servo tracks (see
figure 1), keep heads aligned for precise data
reading/writing to ensure proper tracking for all
128, 256, or 384 tracks for the entire length of the
tape. Because linear serpentine recording
technologies require many back-and-forth
traversals of the tape, this shoe shining process
often results in high heat build-up of the record
heads and stress to the tape's coated surface. Under
these extreme conditions, the tape has a life
expectancy that depends on the number of passes
and the speed used to record and playback.
Maxell Enterprise tape is manufactured with an
additional layer (optimized back coat) to control
friction and static charges during the tape running
mode (figure 2). This optimized back coat also
serves to protect the base film against mechanical
tape transport scratches by improving the tape's
runability and reliability.
Additionally, the back-coating of the tape has anti-
static and surface sealing properties that protects the
recording side from dropouts and reduces errors and
damage to the tape caused by dirt and dust.
Figure 2
Maxell Enterprise cartridges are not only designed to perform error free but also have an archival life in excess
of 30 years to preserve valuable data for the long term.
Low Error Rate
The Maxell Enterprise media employs our proprietary Ceramic Armor Metal magnetic particles. Combining it
with Maxell’s unique multi-orientation technology to effectively utilize its high magnetic energy, Maxell has
achieved a remarkable high output low noise tape. Low error rate is also reached by achieving superior low
noise characteristics.
As figure 3 (below) illustrates, Maxell's tape media cartridges are designed to be error free even when used up
to 40,000 read-forward cycles. Thanks to the superior, reliable and resilient qualities of the Ceramic Armor
Metal Particle formulation, Maxell's media is proven to contain fewer Read Permanent and Read ECC Errors
than the competition.

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Read Permanent Errors
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Read Passes
Read Permanent Errors
Read ECC Errors
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No Permanent Error
Figure 3 – Maxell Tape Testing
Enhanced durability
Magnetic coating layer strength is remarkably
improved by the ultra fine Ceramic Armor Metal
particles and high performance three-dimensional
cross-linking binder system (figure 4). This has
enabled high reliability and durability of the tape in
extreme read-write usage. The low error rate
characteristic is maintained under various extreme
operation conditions.
Figure 4
Storage stability
The combination of Maxell’s proprietary ultra fine Ceramic Armor Metal particles and high performance binder
systems allow superior anti-heat resistance and anti-oxidation characteristics. The addition of yet another unique
Maxell process of minimizing tape shrinkage achieves added stability suitable for long term storage such as data
archiving.
Cartridge
Maxell employs a highly durable and rugged cartridge to optimize smooth tape travel and to ensure consistent,
stable and reliable performance to protect valuable data under continued use.