Travan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Travan is an 8 mm magnetic tape cartridge design developed by the 3M company, used for the storage of data in computer backups and mass storage.[1] Over time, subsequent versions of Travan cartridges and drives have been developed that provide greater data capacity, while retaining the standard 8 mm width and 750' length. Travan is standardized under the QIC body. HP Colorado, Iomega DittoMax and AIWA Bolt are proprietary versions of the Travan format.[2]
The Travan format competed mainly against the DDS, AIT, and VXA formats.
TR-1
| Generation | TR-1 | TR-3 | TR-4 | TR-5/NS20 | TR-7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Release date | 1995 | 1995 | 1997 | 1998 | 2002 |
| Data capacity | 400 MB | 1.6 GB | 4 GB | 10 GB | 20 GB |
| Max speed (MB/s) | 0.25 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 2 | 4 |
| Media format | QIC-80 | QIC-3020 | QIC-3095 | QIC-3220-MC | Travan 640 |
| Min tape length (ft) | 750 | 750 | 740 | 740 | 750 |
| Tape tracks | 36 | 50 | 72 | 108 | 108 |
| Encoding | MFM | MFM | RLL(1,7) | RLL(1,7) | VR2 (PRML) |
| Tape type | Co-γFe2O3 | Co-γFe2O3 | Co-γFe2O3 | Metal Particle | Metal Particle |
| Coercivity (Oe) | 550 | 900 | 900 | 1650 | 1650 |
| Recording density (ftpi) | 14,700 | 44,250 | 50,800 | 79,800 | 96,000 |
| Data density (bpi) | 14,700 | 44,250 | 67,733 | 106,400 | 192,000[3] |
- Travan TR-1 cartridges offer a 400 MB native capacity with a 0.25 MB/s transfer rate using the QIC-80 media format.
TR-2
- TR-2 was designed by 3M, but they never marketed it.
- TR-2 cartridges were designed to have an 800 MB native capacity with a 0.25 MB/s transfer rate using the QIC-3010 media format.
- The spec called for 50 tracks across the tape, with a recording density of 22,125 flux transitions per inch (ftpi).
TR-3
- Travan TR-3 cartridges offer a 1.6 GB native capacity with a 0.5 MB/s transfer rate using the QIC-3020 media format.
TR-4
- Travan TR-4 cartridges offer a 4 GB native capacity using the QIC-3095 media format.
- Travan 8 GB cartridges offer a 4 GB native capacity with a 1.2 MB/s transfer rate.
- Travan NS8 cartridges offer a 4 GB native capacity with a 1.2 MB/s transfer rate.
- Imation HP Colorado 5 GB is a 460 ft (140 m) variation on the TR-4 standard. It offered 2.5 GB native capacity, 1 MB/s transfer rate.
TR-5
- Travan NS20 cartridges offer a 10 GB native capacity with a 2 MB/s transfer rate.
- Travan 20 GB cartridges offer a 10 GB native capacity with a 2 MB/s transfer rate.
TR-7
- Travan 40 GB cartridges offer a 20 GB native capacity with a 4 MB/s transfer rate.