DDS-3 released in Australia

Hewlett-Packard has announced the fully functional 24GB DAT drive based on the new Digital Data Storage-3 (DDS-3) format, which effectively offers three times the capacity and double the data-transfer rates of current DDS-2 drives.

The drive is designed to provide reliable high-performance backup for medium to large networks at a lower price than 8mm or digital linear tape products with similar capabilities.

The drive stores 24GB of data on a single 125m tape at a rate of 2MB/s using built-in hardware data compression, providing a substantial unattended backup.

This significant jump in capacity and performance is the result of an increased data density on DDS-3 media made possible by an optimisation of the head-tape interface.

It also incorporates the use of a partial response maximum likelihood data-channel detection scheme that allows the tape's read head to differentiate between bits of data picked up simultaneously.

The drive also offers a 300,000-hour mean time between failures rating, Read-and-Write data verification and a special new, intelligent error-recovery feature.

The DDS-3 drive offers full read and write compatibility with all DDS-2 and DDS drives.

The HP C1554A DDS-3 drive retails for $2770 and is available from Lynx Technologies. Call 02 9313 4433 for information.