Maxell DAT 160 Ups Data Cartridge Capacity to 160GB

Units begin shipping this month

• By James E. Powell
• 05/01/2007

Maxell Corporation of America says the sixth generation of DDS media -- DAT 160 -- has increased storage capacity and new security features for regulatory compliance. Maxell’s DAT 160 media can handle up up to 160GB of storage (in compressed format) and supports a data transfer rate of up to 49.3GB/hour (also compressed). The increased capacity is made possible by using wider physical tape and a re-designed cartridge. The wider tape still offers the benefits of a compact DDS size.

New to DDS technology is support for WORM (write once, read many), providing secure backup and storage of critical data for legal and regulatory compliance (including Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA). WORM cartridges can be recognized by its two-tone, black and light gray color cartridge. A wide-tape cleaning cartridge (DAT/CL2) is also available for head cleaning of the DAT 160 drive.

The DAT 160 is compatible with earlier DAT 72 and DDS-4 formats, allowing small and mid-size businesses to upgrade while maintaining access to their older data.

According to Robert Amatruda, IDC Research Director, Tape and Removable Storage, in a recent IDC report on drive shipments (IDC Tape QView, Q4 2006), DDS tape technology accounted for about 73 percent of the worldwide low-end tape drive unit shipments in 2006. Additional information on Maxell and its products are available at http://www.maxell.com.