Magstar
A high-performance magnetic tape technology from IBM. The Magstar is the latest model in the half-inch, single-hub cartridge line that comprises the 3480, 3490 and 3490e. Designated the 3590, the Magstar boosts capacity to 20GB and provides ESCON and SCSI connectivity to IBM mainframes and midrange systems. Tape libraries are available that hold from a handful to thousands of cartridges. See Magstar MP and magnetic tape.
Raw Raw tfr
Type Year Tracks Length Capacity Rate
3480 1984 18 160 m 200MB 3MB/sec
3490 1989 18 160 m 400MB 3MB/sec
3490e 1991 36 300 m 800MB 3MB/sec
3590 B11 1995 128 300 m 10GB 9MB/sec
3590 E11 1999 256 300 m 20GB 14MB/sec
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| Magstar Cartridges |
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| Magstar and Magstar MP are very different tape technologies. Magstar uses a half-inch, single-hub cartridge, while Magstar MP uses an 8mm cassette-style cartridge that starts in the middle for faster retrieval. Both use linear recording. |
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| L490E Tape Library |
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| This tape library from Overland Data reads and writes 3480, 3490 and 3490e cartridges. Overland Data's tape drives were the first to support multiple cartridge formats. (Image courtesy of Overland Data Inc.) |