Following its $100m OEM contract with ICL for the things (CI No 885), Storage Technology Corp, Louisville, Colarado is making the 4980 18-track cartridge tape subsystem generally available on the OEM market. The 4980 enables mini and supermini systems to interchange data tapes with IBM and compatible mainframe systems using cartridges written in the standard 18-track, IBM 3480 format. The 4980 subsystem uses two microprocessors and a 1Mb cache buffer in the controller, allowing multiple tape drives to be accessed concurrently. Standard features include stand-alone cabinets with one or two transports, proprietary thin-film read/write heads, and universal single phase power supply. Interfaces can be either SCSI or StorageTek, the latter interface having been enhanced to provide increased performance and dual host attachment. Optional cartridge stacker loaders can be attached to one or both transports, each holding 10 cartridges for automatic tape loading. For disk back-up, 2Gb of data can be stored within 23 minutes without operator intervention. General availability of the 4980 is third quarter 1988 with evaluation units earlier. Ty pical quantity pricing is $33,750.
