Overland
Data
L490E
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Features |
The L490E: 18-Track for
Interchange, 36-Track for Backup,
All in One Drive
In the past, having compatibility
with all IBM formats required
buying two drives: one for reading
and writing 18-track tapes, and
another for reading and writing
36-track tapes. This created an
extra cost burden, not only when
the drives were purchased, but
also during their operational
life, because both of them had
to be maintained.
That's all changed with the introduction
of the L490E. For the first time,
one drive reads and writes all
three industry-standard half-inch
cartridge formats: IBM 18-track
3480/3490, and IBM 36-track 3490E.
The L490E reads and writes both
native and compressed modes, featuring
IBM IDRC-compatible data compression.
The 18-track tapes written by
the L490E can be read by any IBM
3480/3490-compatible 18-track
drive. This capability comes at
no additional cost.
Advancing the State of
the Art
The L490E MiniLibrary incorporate
many significant improvements
in half-inch tape drive design.
Both drives feature the very latest
technology in read/write electronics,
tape guidance, cartridge loading,
serviceability and reliability.
L490E's Exclusive 18-track
Write with a 36-Track Head
The L490E only needs one tape
head to write both 18-track and
36-track tapes. To ensure the
highest possible data integrity
when writing 18-track data with
the tape head's narrower tracks,
the drive uses an AC erase bar
located in front of the tape head.
Old data on a tape is magnetically
erased by the bar before new data
is written. Extraneous signal
is eliminated, improving the signal-to-noise
ratio when the data is written
and later read by any IBM 3480/3490-compatible
drive.
Innovative Tape Path Protects
Tape and Data
Gentle, Reliable Tape
Guidance System
The L490E's tape guidance system
minimizes tape wear and offers
improved reliability by employing
hydrodynamic tape chutes in the
tape path.
As tape is accelerated to full
speed, it draws in air underneath
it,
lifting it from the tape chute
surface and allowing it to stream
freely.
Nothing touches the moving tape
but the edge guides, ensuring
precise
alignment for accurate reading
and writing. Tape wear is substantially
reduced, and long term data integrity
is preserved.
Because the L490E use hydrodynamic
tape chutes, no air bearings are
required. This eliminates the
need for one of the most failure-prone
tape drive components, the air
compressor.
The surface of the tape chutes
is made of an advanced ceramic-blend
material. This material is very
hard and low-friction, providing
superior
protection from tape wear over
time. This has been proven by
extensive tape life testing.
In fact, the L490E's hydrodynamic
tape chutes have been proven to
protect tapes well beyond ANSI
requirements. The L490E offer
this superior tape handling without
requiring the complex arrangement
of parts used by other designs.
Advanced Tape Loading
System
10-Cartridge Autoloader
is Already Built-In
The L490E's 10-cartridge automatic
cartridge loader (ACL) is
integrated inside the drive enclosure,
not an external add-on. Instead
of using a cartridge stacker that
moves a magazine, the L490 and
L490E use a robotic loader to
select, load and replace cartridges
in stationary slots.
This design offers two important
benefits over external stacker
loaders.
First, since the auto-loading
system is completely integrated
with the
drive, the total assembly fits
into a 24 inch (61 cm) deep cabinet.
No
extra space is required outside
the cabinet for a moving magazine.
Second, the robotic ACL sets a
new standard for loading system
reliability. Its design is a model
of simplicity and durability.
All movement of the loader is
accomplished with two sturdy lead
screws.
Radial-Arm Reduces Tape
Threading to a Simple Operation
While other cartridge drives accomplish
tape threading with complex
mechanisms, the L490E thread tape
in one sweeping motion, with only
a radial swinging arm and one
small motor. This elegant design
is more dependable than other
tape threading systems.
Built-In Cleaning Cartridge
The L490E feature a built-in cleaning
cartridge hidden away in an 11th
slot. No more trying to find the
mis-placed cleaning cartridge.
It’s always available. Just initiate
a cleaning cycle from the front
panel
controls and the drive will automatically
retrieve the cleaning cartridge,
clean the heads and return the
cartridge to it’s hidden slot.
Designed for Ease of Use
and Integration
The L490E were designed from the
beginning to be user-friendly
and easy to integrate into the
workplace.
Drive Status is Instantly
Available at a Glance
The L490E's clear, bright 16-character
LCD displays current drive status
at all times, showing which cartridge
is loaded and its format, when
the drive is unloaded, and when
the drive door is open.
See-Through, Locking Drive
Door
The drive door is made of grey-tinted
polycarbonate, letting the user
see the cartridges inside. As
an added convenience, the drive
door features a locking latch
should the user wish to restrict
access to the cartridges.
Easy-To-Use Control Panel
Three large, clearly-marked buttons
handle all tape functions. Two
LED
indicator lights and the 16- character
LCD display guide the user through
all operations. The LED's are
bright enough to be read from
across a room for quick status
verification.
Quiet Operation
Because the L490E don't require
an air compressor, the drives
runs very quietly, making them
ideally suited for the office
as well as the computer room.
Three Configurations to
Choose From
The L490E comes in either a floor-standing
tower, a horizontal
desktop, or a standard 19-inch
rackmount configuration, allowing
them to be used in all types of
work environments and applications.
Low Power
The L490E is economical to operate,
consuming only 150 Watts. It's
autoranging power supply adjusts
to all standard line voltages,
allowing them to be operated anywhere
in the world without modification.
Fast Performance on Numerous
Computing Platforms
The L490E comes with a single-ended
SCSI-2 or differential Fast SCSI-2
interface. With Fast SCSI-2, the
L490E burst data at up to 10 MB
per second. The SCSI interface,
coupled with the L490 and L490E's
standard 4 MB buffer, offers the
user excellent data transfer performance
in a variety of applications.
Compatible with Popular
Hardware and Software
The L490E connect to numerous
hardware platforms. Both drives
are also supported by many popular
backup and Hierarchical Storage
Management (HSM) software packages.
Contact Overland Data for the
most current compatibility listing.
No Drive Has Ever Been
Easier to Service
All of the L490E's parts and assemblies
are easy to access,
service, and replace. In most
cases, a simple screwdriver is
all that's
needed to perform service.
The side access panel can be detached
from the drive by removing just
two screws. Two thumb screws then
release the three hinged main
circuit boards, which swing out
of the drive for easy access to
both sides of each board. Rotating
all three boards forward exposes
the cooling fan and power supply.
Remove three more screws, and
a protective plate slides out
to reveal the deckplate and tape
path, including the tape guides,
tape head and take-up reel.
A New Standard for Reliability
The L490E is designed to deliver
years of trouble-free service
at an unrestricted duty cycle.
Modern electro-mechanical design
is used throughout. The tape path
and loading system feature simplified
designs, and all mechanical assemblies
boast significantly reduced parts
counts. In addition, loading and
transport power electronics are
integrated into one board, as
are read and write electronics,
reducing the number of interconnects
required.
All of these measures contribute
to making the L490 and L490E two
of the most reliable IBM-compatible
half-inch cartridge drives available. |
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Features |
High-Performance Data Interchange and
Backup
* Full 18-track and 36-track Read/Write
capability
* 3 MB/second data transfer standard
* Tremendous acceptance by library system
integrators
Exceptional Reliability
* Industry-Standard Fast/Wide SCSI interface
* Advanced Data Integrity (ADI) features
* Backed by a worldwide service organization
Advanced Design Features
* Major operating system and platform
connectivity
* Field-proven tape path
* "Percentage-of-tape-remaining"
display
How do you quickly and economically transport
800 MB - or more - of data from one computer
site to another? How do you rapidly restore
large data sets stored off-line? How can
data from corporate centers be used at
various sites or consolidated from these
sites to the center? The TapeXpress cartridge
tape drives are logical and economical
solutions for your data interchange and
backup needs.
Now full 18/36-track read and write performance
is available in a single
tape drive for lower performance and mid-range
systems. Whether you use 3480/3490 18-track
for interchange (3480 hold 200 MB and
3490 holds 600 MB), or 3490E 36-track
for high-performance back-up (3490E hold
up to 2.4GB), the compact, versatile T490E
is ideal for PC's or workstations in office
environments.
Built upon Overland Data's very successful
L490E MiniLibrary and L60E Data Vault
products, the T490E tape drive offers
3 MB/second performance (20 MB/second
burst max.) in a proven product design.
The T490E is ideally suited for both single
cartridge interchange, and for times when
fast backup of critical files is imperative.
Its compact design makes it equally useful
in a desktop application or stored unobtrusively
in a busy data center. Taking advantage
of system connectivity already designed
into the TapeXpress product line, the
T490E drive easily connects to numerous
hardware platforms, and is supported by
many popular backup and HSM software packages.
Known for high-performance and reliability,
Overland Data has over 15 years of providing
business-critical tape storage solutions.
We manufacture mainframe class data interchange,
backup and archival tape solutions. With
both leading edge and standard products
designed to protect the customer's investment,
Overland Data serves end users, distributors
and OEMs worldwide. .
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