|
| Home :: Media Products :: DDS |
DDS |
|
| Digital Data Storage (DDS) is a format for storing and backing up computer data on magnetic tape that evolved from Digital Audio Tape (DAT) technology, which was originally created for CD-quality audio recording. In 1989, Sony and Hewlett Packard defined the DDS format for data storage using DAT tape cartridges. Tapes conforming to the initial DDS format can be read by either DAT or DDS tape machines. However, most DDS tape drives cannot retrieve the audio stored on a DAT cartridge.
DDS uses 3.8 millimeter wide tape. Initially, the tape was 60 or 90 meters long, although advancements in materials technology have allowed the length to be increased significantly in successive versions. A DDS tape drive uses helical scanning for recording, the same process used by a video cassette recorder (VCR). There are two read heads and two write heads. The read heads verify the data that has been written (recorded). If errors are present, the write heads rewrite the data.
A DDS cartridge needs to be retired after 2,000 passes or 100 full backups. Tape drives should be cleaned regularly to be kept in good working order. DDS tapes have an expected life of at least 10 years.
Backward compatibility between newer drives and older tapes is not assured. See HP's compatibility matrix: Compatibility Matrix
Notice in HP's article that newer tape standards do not simply consist of longer tapes. For example, the track is narrower in DDS2 than in DDS1.
The DDS format competes mainly against the LTO, AIT, VXA, and Travan formats. |
|
|
|
| Who's Online |
|
There currently is 1 guest online. |
|
|
