The San Diego-based Cipher Data Products division of Archive Corp has come out with a 6Gb half-inch cartridge drive, the Cipher T860, based on Digital Linear Tape hardware: the 6Gb capacity is a 20% compared with the highest non-compressed capacity 8mm drive currently available, and data throughput is claimed to be double that of 8mm products: the T860 product is a result of an alliance with Digital Equipment Corp, and follows Cipher’s introduction of the 2.6Gb T826 drive last year; T860 is $3,500 in OEM quantities; Cipher also has a high-end extension to its automated tape-handling line with the L7A-42 MiniLibrary system, which provides 42Gb of random-access, unattended back-up using the new T860 drive, coupled with a seven-cartridge automated changer giving full random access to any tape; no price given.
