Spectra Keeps Tapes Healthy

February 6, 2009: Spectra Logic has introduced a new portable Media Lifecycle Management (MLM) Reader, extending the technology outside the library and enabling the health of tapes to be checked on any computer via USB.

The reader allows tapes to be checked without having to load them into a library, enabling faulty tape media to be identified before it is required for a data restore.

Because a cartridge’s media quality can’t be determined visually, MLM accesses the media’s health statistics which are stored in each individual tape cartridge. MLM analyses each tape’s health, and indicates when to proactively migrate data from an at-risk cartridge onto new media and avoid data loss.

“Spectra’s MLM technology provides advanced media tracking and reporting for the life of a tape to proactively identify and avoid potential media failures, and therefore help eliminate data loss,” said Matt Starr, CTO of Spectra Logic.

“The new MLM Reader extends these benefits outside the library and will particularly interest large enterprises and supercomputing users that export large numbers of tapes from their libraries for offsite storage.”

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