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With the backing of its new entry-level Magnum 224 LTO tape library unveiled on April 10, Exabyte is targeting SMB (small and midsize business) and large enterprise remote branch office customers who traditionally have lacked the funds or manpower to invest in tape libraries to streamline their backup data.
Customers can expect the Magnum 224 LTO library to arrive in two drive configurations: a single LTO-2 half-height drive and empty for a second LTO-2 drive, or with a single LTO-3 drive.
The hardware will be available with LTO-2 and LTO-3 drives in May of 2006, according to Kerry Brock, vice president of marketing for Exabyte in Boulder, Colo.
Brock said that by the end of 2006, when LTO-3 is available in half-height form factor—such as LTO-2—Exabyte will roll out advancements in Magnum 224 to support the necessary adjustments to fit two LTO-3 drives inside a tighter rack fitting.
At its maximum of full height, the LTO-3 maximum in one drive can scale from 12 slots to 24.
The Magnum 224 offers the drive, a SCSI interface, and one or two 12-cartridge magazines which can scale from 4.8TB with speeds of 172GB per hour for an LTO-2 drive configuration with a single media magazine.
For an LTO-3 drive setup, configurations change to 19.2TB and speeds of 576GB per hour. Other components as part of the Magnum 224 package include a bar-code reader, rack kit and remote management tools.
As part of an OEM agreement, Fujitsu Siemens Computers is selling the Magnum 224 from Exabyte as the FibreCAT TX24.
Pricing for the Magnum 224 LTO tape library starts at $4,600 for the base configuration with one LTO-2 drive and one 12-cartridge magazine. For an LTO-3 one 12-cartridge magazine, the cost jumps to $6,000.
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