Anaheim, California-based system-managed storage specialist Micro Technology Inc has come out with a line of 8mm tape library products with new system software for Digital Equipment Corp VAX machines. The new Virtual Tape Library 50 and 600, combined with the new Virtual Archive Manager and Virtual Media Manager are designed to automate archival, back-up and retrieval to provide VAX users with a fully integrated 500Gb of system-managed storage for the first time. The Virtual Tape Library Series attaches to DEC’s Hierarchical Storage Controller and KDM70 controller and is 100%-compatible with VMS, Micro Technology says. The VTL-50 Library features up to 50Gb 8mm tape storage in a rack-mountable jukebox that contains one STI-compatible 5Gb 8mm tape drive and 10 5Gb cartridges housed in a removable bin pack. The VTL-600 is a stand-alone jukebox that stores 500Gb and consists of four STI-compatible 5Gb drives and 116 5Gb cartridges. The VTL Series is shipping at from $35,000 to $140,000. System software is extra. The VMS-based Virtual Archive Manager runs in a stand-alone or clustered environment, and automatically organises files so that they can be stored off-line and immediately retrieved when needed. Users, operators and system managers can specify the least used files for transfer to off-line storage, freeing up on-line disk space, increasing disk productivity and extending the life of on-line storage facilities. The Virtual Archive Manager provides a central on-line directory with security controls for off-line access, providing full information on every archived file, including user comments. The directory is RMS file-indexed to minimise disk input-output as storage requirements grow. It uses a tiered archiving approach, so that archived files can be stored and moved from user disk to an intermediate device for fast save and restore. Files in the staging area are automatically migrated to another storage area – a VTL-50 or VTL-600 – when a pre-set migration period is reached by the file. Automatic file archiving enables system managers to maintain disk quotas without loss of files. Virtual Archive Manager is available now and is compatible with all Micro Technology tape and optical products and all DEC-based tape products. It costs from $5,000. The Virtual Media Manager is designed to automate and manage data storage on tape, disks and other media in the VAX/VMS environment, helping system managers keep track of which files are located on which medium. It recognises all security, back-up and diagnostic commands in VMS as well as other VMS-based programs, such as Datatrieve and Virtual Archive Manager. It handles routine storage library housekeeping duties, such as recording back-up information, media shadowing and back-ups, and directory updates. It automatically submits and runs jobs from the most routine to report generation to standard system management tasks, and jobs can be batched to speed processing and eliminate unnecessary delays, or specified to require manual start. It manages off-line media libraries by predefining tape categories and standardising file identification, categorises all tapes, including back-ups, archive scratch, private and foreign tapes, and supports non-standard tapes and volume binding and works with most labelling systems. When used in conjunction with the Virtual Tape Library Series, file retrieval is automated and all activities for both on-line and off-line media, including mounts, dismounts, media and device allocations, tape expirations and migrations are tracked automatically and modified to reflect all changes and updates in off-line tapes and disks. To ensure data integrity, it uses error checking to identify tapes with potential missing data or other data problems. Tape labels also are verified before any job is run, ensuring that the correct tape has been mounted and preventing files from being accidentally overwritten, and files are automatically compared and validated after every back-up. It is from $3,200.
