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Spectra Logic Tape Libraries Double in Capacity with Support of Sony Electronics' New AIT-3 Tape Drives

BOULDER, Colo. - September 11, 2000 - Spectra Logic Corp., the industry's leading manufacturer of AIT tape libraries, today announced that its complete line of tape libraries will support Sony's newly announced AIT-3 tape drive technology. With the integration of Sony's new AIT-3 drives, Spectra Logic's product line doubles in storage capacity and performance without any change in footprint. Spectra Logic's tape libraries deliver unsurpassed capacities and drive counts in the industry's smallest form factors. Ranging from the mid-range Spectra 10000, offering 10.4 Terabytes in only 7" of rackmount space (4U) to the enterprise class Spectra 64000, with a storage capacity of 166 Terabytes and up to 32 tape drives in a single 19" rackmount enclosure (40U), Spectra Logic delivers unrivaled storage density.

"AIT-3 offers our tape library customers 'drop in' solutions which effectively double capacity and transfer rates over the prior AIT generations, while maintaining backwards read/write capability," said Matt Starr, the chief technology officer of Spectra Logic. "We are delighted that Sony has been able to use its AIT-2 media formulation for this new drive, eliminating the risks of introducing a new media coinciding with the drive availability. With AIT-1 through AIT-3, Spectra Logic is able to deliver an interchangeable, compatible line of tape libraries starting at a cost of less than $5,000 for the SOHO market, to units in excess of $400,000 for enterprise accounts," continued Starr.

Sony's AIT-3 drives provide a native capacity of 100 Gigabytes (GB), with sustained native data transfer rates of 11 MB/sec compared to 50 GB and 6 MB/sec for AIT-2. Like previous generations of AIT tape drives, AIT-3 is fully read and write backward compatible with AIT-1 and AIT-2 media, enabling users to seamlessly migrate to the higher capacity of AIT-3 without losing access to previously backed-up data.

"AIT technology and next generation tape library solutions from vendors like Spectra Logic are essential to meet explosive market demands for archival data storage," said John Woelbern, the senior marketing manager of tape streamer products for Sony Electronics' Component Company. "The combination of Spectra Logic's innovative product line with our new AIT-3 technology offers a cost-effective storage solution for the growing backup and archival needs for the data storage market."

As storage needs continue to grow exponentially, the need to backup/restore data becomes vital, making tape systems a critical element for data protection. Increased IS expectations for 24x7 availability, capacity, and performance require innovative and high-performance tape technologies that meet those requirements," said Fara Yale, chief analyst at Dataquest. "A tape technology that meets the challenge of delivering the highest level of capacity, performance and reliability while meeting the demands of tomorrow's data intensive applications is a valued proposition."

Spectra Logic's Automated AIT-3 Tape Libraries
Spectra Logic's entry-level library, the Spectra 2000, utilizes the TreeFrog® architecture for robotic tape libraries. With a storage capacity of 7.8 Terabytes and an aggregate transfer rate of 57.2 Megabytes per second, the Spectra 2000 can be configured with 15 or 30 cartridges and one or two AIT-3 tape drives while requiring only 8.5 inches of rackmount space. It supports both SCSI-2 (Single-Ended, HVD, and LVD) and Fibre Channel interfaces. The cornerstones of the Spectra 2000 are the integrated picker and the uni-body robotic chassis.

Spectra Logic's mid-range library, the Spectra 10000, utilizes the BullFrogTM architecture for robotic tape libraries. The Spectra 10000, configured with 20 or 40 cartridges and up to four AIT-3 tape drives, has an aggregate transfer rate of 114.4 Megabytes per second and a storage capacity of 10.4 Terabytes in 7 inches of rackmount space (4U). It supports both SCSI-2 (Single-Ended, HVD, and LVD) and Fibre Channel interfaces. Users can split a single Spectra 10000 into two logical libraries, thus allowing the sharing of storage resources between different servers, operating systems and software applications. The Spectra 10000 provides an LCD touchscreen user interface that allows access to status information, configuration parameters, and diagnostics.

Both the Spectra 12000 and Spectra 64000 enterprise-level tape libraries utilize the GatorTM architecture for robotic tape libraries developed by Spectra Logic. The Spectra 12000, configured with 60 to 120 cartridges and with two to eight AIT-3 tape drives has an aggregate transfer rate of 228.8 Megabytes per second and a storage capacity of 31.2 Terabytes in only 24 inches of rackmount space (14U) - representing the industry's highest storage density. The Spectra 64000, with a storage capacity of 166.4 Terabytes and an aggregate transfer rate of 915.2 Megabytes per second, can be configured with up to 640 cartridges and 32 tape drives in a single 70-inch rackmount enclosure (40U). Each library also includes Spectra Logic's Shared Library ServicesTM feature, which allows users to allocate the library's resources across various platforms, software applications and tape drives. The Gator interface architecture is based on hot-swappable Quad Interface Processor (OIP) boards (S-QIP for HVD SCSI, and F-QIP for Fibre Channel). An LCD touchscreen user interface provides access to status information, configuration parameters, and diagnostics.

Availability and Upgrades
Spectra Logic tape libraries equipped with Sony's new AIT-3 tape drives will be available in Q3 of 2001. Spectra Logic offers an AIT Upgrade Program to enable existing AIT customers to take advantage of the new drives. Contact Spectra Logic Technical Support for additional information.

About Spectra Logic Corporation

Spectra Logic Corporation, now in its 28th year, is a leading designer and manufacturer of innovative data protection for companies worldwide. Spectra Logic products make it easy for organizations to store and protect rapidly growing data by offering libraries with capacities ranging from 60 gigabytes to multiple petabytes. Today, the company has tens of thousands of libraries installed worldwide with customers that include NASA, LSU Medical, and Verizon Wireless. Spectra Logic's data protection products are available through a global network of resellers and OEMs. Spectra Logic has introduced many industry first products including: first to automate AIT in a library; first with all-native Fibre Channel and iSCSI libraries; first to integrate tape and disk in a single-frame library; first to offer hardware-based, encryption-enabled libraries. For more information, contact Spectra Logic by phone at (800) 833-1132, or visit the company's Web site at http://www.SpectraLogic.com.

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