Virtual tape library specifications
VTL systems use disk storage to improve backup and restore processes, allowing many organizations to move from tape to disk backups without disrupting current practices. High-end VTL systems can utilize almost 1,000 SATA drives, offering hundreds of terabytes (TB) of raw storage; all while emulating dozens of tape drives and thousands of tape cartridges. The following product snapshots highlight key specifications for a cross-section of VTL systems/appliances.
These specifications are periodically updated, and vendors are welcome to submit their updates and new product specifications to sbigelow@techtarget.com.
Go to the first product snapshot, or select the desired product below:
Product Snapshot #1
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Product: COPAN Systems Inc.; The Revolution 220T VTL (1)
Usable Capacity: 20.25 TB to 324 TB (compressed capacity; depending on drives)
Raw Capacity 28 TB to 448 TB
# of Drives: Up to 896 hard drives (2)
Drive Types: SATA drive support
Drive Capacity: 500 GB SATA
Drive Hot Swap: No
Transfer Rate: 2.75 TB/h
Connectivity: Up to four 2 Gb FC ports
Virtual Libraries: 1 to 56
Virtual Tape Dives: 1 to 56
Virtual Cartridges: 4,096 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: October 2005
Base price range: Less than $3.00 per GB
Software: Supported Backup Applications: Atempo Time Navigator, BakBone NetVault, CommVault Galaxy, CA BrightStor, EMC Data Manager (EDM), HP Data Protector, IBM Backup Recovery & Media Services, Legato NetWorker, Oracle Secure Backup, Tivoli Storage Manager, and Veritas NetBackup/Backup Exec.
Supported Archive Applications: ADIC AMASS, FileTek StorHouse, Microsoft Removable Storage Manager, SGI InfiniteStorage Data Migration Facility (DMF), Sun SAM-FS, Veritas Enterprise Vault
Detailed Specs: http://www.copansys.com/products/revolution_220t.shtml
Vendor URL: http://www.copansystems.com
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Product Snapshot #2
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Product: Copan Systems Inc.; The Revolution 220TX VTL (1)
Usable Capacity: 101.25 TB to 324 TB
Raw Capacity 140 TB to 448 TB
# of Drives: Up to 896 hard drives (2)
Drive Types: SATA drive support
Drive Capacity: 500 GB SATA
Drive Hot Swap: No
Transfer Rate: 5.2 TB/hour
Connectivity: Up to eight 2 Gb FC ports
Virtual Libraries: 5 to 56
Virtual Tape Dives: 5 to 56
Virtual Cartridges: 8,192 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: October 2005
Base price range: Less than $3.00 per GB
Software: Supported Backup Applications: Atempo Time Navigator, BakBone NetVault, CommVault Galaxy, CA BrightStor, EMC Data Manager (EDM), HP Data Protector, IBM Backup Recovery & Media Services, Legato NetWorker, Oracle Secure Backup, Tivoli Storage Manager, and Veritas NetBackup/Backup Exec.
Supported Archive Applications: ADIC AMASS, FileTek StorHouse, Microsoft Removable Storage Manager, SGI InfiniteStorage Data Migration Facility (DMF), Sun SAM-FS, Veritas Enterprise Vault
Detailed Specs: http://www.copansys.com/products/revolution_220t.shtml
Vendor URL: http://www.copansystems.com
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Product Snapshot #3
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Product: EMC Corp.; Clariion DL210 (1)
Usable Capacity: 4 TB to 24 TB (72 compressed)
Raw Capacity 6 TB to 36 TB
# of Drives: 12 to 72 (2)
Drive Types: SATA drive support
Drive Capacity: 500 GB SATA
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: 380 MB/s
Connectivity: Two/ Three 2 Gb FC host ports, One 2 Gb Tape Port, One SCSI Tape Port, Two GE NIC Ports
Virtual Libraries: 16
Virtual Tape Dives: 64
Virtual Cartridges: 4,096 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: April 2006
Base price range: Starts at $50,000
Software: http://www.emc.com/interoperability/matrices/EMCSupportMatrix.pdf
Detailed Specs: http://www.emc.com/products/systems/CLARiiON_disk/
Vendor URL: http://www.emc.com
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Product Snapshot #4
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Product: EMC Corp.; Clariion DL710 (1)
Usable Capacity: 5.5 TB – 82.5 TB
Raw Capacity 7.5 TB to 112.5 TB
# of Drives: 15 to 225 (2)
Drive Types: LC-FC
Drive Capacity: 500 GB LC-FC
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: 600 MB/s
Connectivity: Four 2 Gb Host Ports, Four 2 Gb Tape Ports, Two GE NIC Ports
Virtual Libraries: 64
Virtual Tape Dives: 512
Virtual Cartridges: 4,096 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: August 2005
Base price range: Starts at $200,000
Software: http://www.emc.com/interoperability/matrices/EMCSupportMatrix.pdf
Detailed Specs: http://www.emc.com/products/systems/CLARiiON_disk/
Vendor URL: http://www.emc.com
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Product Snapshot #5
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Product: EMC Corp.; Clariion DL720 (1)
Usable Capacity: 5.5 TB to 82.5 TB
Raw Capacity 7.5 TB to 112.5 TB
# of Drives: 15 to 255 (2)
Drive Types: LC-FC
Drive Capacity: 500 GB (LC-FC)
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: 800 MB/s
Connectivity: Eight 2 Gb Host Ports, Eight 2 Gb Tape Ports, Four GE NIC Ports
Virtual Libraries: 128
Virtual Tape Dives: 1,024
Virtual Cartridges: 8,192 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: August 2005
Base price range: Starts at $200,000
Software: http://www.emc.com/interoperability/matrices/EMCSupportMatrix.pdf
Detailed Specs: http://www.emc.com/products/systems/CLARiiON_disk/
Vendor URL: http://www.emc.com
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Product Snapshot #6
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Product: EMC Corp.; Clariion DL740 (1)
Usable Capacity: 11 TB to 165 TB
Raw Capacity 15 TB to 225 TB
# of Drives: 30 to 450 drives (2)
Drive Types: LC-FC
Drive Capacity: 500 GB (LC-FC)
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: 1,200 MB/s
Connectivity: Eight 2 Gb Host Ports, Four 2 Gb Tape Ports, Four GE NIC Ports
Virtual Libraries: 128
Virtual Tape Dives: 1,024
Virtual Cartridges: 8,192 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: August 2005
Base price range: Starts at $200,000
Software: http://www.emc.com/interoperability/matrices/EMCSupportMatrix.pdf
Detailed Specs: http://www.emc.com/products/systems/CLARiiON_disk/
Vendor URL: http://www.emc.com
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Product Snapshot #7
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Product: FalconStor; VTL-350 (1)
Usable Capacity: More than 512 TB can be attached
Raw Capacity Up to 18TB internal, 512TB external
# of Drives: Up to 24 internal, not limited external (2)
Drive Types: SATA internal
Drive Capacity: Up to 750 GB internal SATA
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: not available
Connectivity: Fibre Channel, iSCSI, SCSI
Virtual Libraries: Up to 64 per node
Virtual Tape Dives: Up to 512 per node
Virtual Cartridges: Up to 4,096 virtual tape cartridges per node
Release date: June 2004 (initial release)
Base price range: See vendor
Software: not available
Detailed Specs: http://www.falconstor.com/en/solutions/?pg=Products&sb=VTL
Vendor URL: http://www.falconstor.com
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Product Snapshot #8
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Product: HP; StorageWorks 1000i Virtual Library System (1)
Usable Capacity: 1.5 TB
Raw Capacity 2.0 TB
# of Drives: 4 hard drives(2)
Drive Types: SATA
Drive Capacity: 500 GB SATA
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Up to 58 MB/s (using maximum number of drives)
Connectivity: iSCSI
Virtual Libraries: Up to 6
Virtual Tape Dives: Up to 12
Virtual Cartridges: Up to 180 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: May 2006
Base price range: $6100
Software: HP Data Protector, HP Data Protector Express, CA BrightStor ARCserve, Symantec Backup Exec, Yosemite Backup, and more (see: www.hp.com/go/ebs)
Detailed Specs: http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/1000vls/index.html
Vendor URL: http://www.hp.com
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Product Snapshot #9
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Product: HP; StorageWorks 6000 Virtual Library System (1)
Usable Capacity: 2.5 TB to 70.3 TB
Raw Capacity 3 TB to 96 TB
# of Drives: 12 to 192 hard drives (2)
Drive Types: SATA
Drive Capacity: 250 GB or 500 GB SATA
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Up to 600 MB/s (using maximum number of drives)
Connectivity: 2 Gb FC
Virtual Libraries: Up to 16
Virtual Tape Dives: Up to 64
Virtual Cartridges: Up to 1,024 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: May 2005
Base price range: $35,000 to $190,000
Software: HP Data Protector, CA BrightStor ARCserve, EMC Legato Networker, Symantec Backup Exec, Symantec NetBackup, Tivoli Storage Manager, and more (see: www.hp.com/go/ebs)
Detailed Specs: http://h18006.www1.hp.com/products/storageworks/6000vls/index.html
Vendor URL: http://www.hp.com
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Product Snapshot #10
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Product: IBM; Virtualization Engine TS7700 (1)
Usable Capacity: Up to 6TB (18TB with 3:1 compression)
Raw Capacity Up to 9.3TB (uncompressed)
# of Drives: Up to 64 disk drives (four disk RAID configurations each with up to 16 drives) (2)
Drive Types: 15K rpm 146 GB Fibre Channel HDDs
Drive Capacity: 146 GB each
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: not provided
Connectivity: Up to Four 4Gbps FICON channels (512 logical paths)
Virtual Libraries: TS3500 Tape Library
Virtual Tape Dives: 128 virtual tape drives (up to sixteen 4 Gbps TS1120 or 3592 Physical Tape Drives)
Virtual Cartridges: 500,000 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: September 29, 2006
Base price range: Starting under $500,000
Software: most host tape programs (e.g. CA, TSM, etc.) work with the TS7700 transparently
Detailed Specs: https://www-03.ibm.com/servers/storage/tape/ts7700/index.html
Vendor URL: http://www.ibm.com
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Product Snapshot #11
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Product: MaXXan Systems Inc.; CipherMax SecureVTL (1)
Usable Capacity: 3.8 TB to 70.3 TB
Raw Capacity 5.6 TB to 89.6 TB
# of Drives: Up to 100 hard drives (2)
Drive Types: SATA; SATA II; FC
Drive Capacity: 500 GB (SATA/SATA II); 146 GB FC
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Supported by up to ten 2Gb FC and two 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet ports
Connectivity: 6/20 Gb/s FC with up to 16 concurrent backup hosts
Virtual Libraries: 64 virtual tape libraries (most vendors) with CipherMax AES-256 encryption
Virtual Tape Dives: 512 virtual tape drives (most vendors) with CipherMax AES-256 encryption
Virtual Cartridges: 4,096 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: June 2006
Base price range: $40,000-100,000
Software: Most common backup software, including Symantec/Legato, Tivoli, CommVault, FalconStor, etc.
Detailed Specs: http://www.maxxan.com/product/virtual-tape.html
Vendor URL: http://www.maxxan.com
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Product Snapshot #12
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Product: Overland Storage Inc.; REO 9000 (1)
Usable Capacity: 2 TB to 10 TB (up to 38 TB using expansion arrays)
Raw Capacity 3 TB to 12 TB (up to 44 TB via expansion arrays)
# of Drives: Base chassis 12 or 24; (Up to 88 drives via expansion arrays) (2)
Drive Types: SATA II
Drive Capacity: 500 GB SATA II
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Up to 280MB/s (1.0 TB/hour)
Connectivity: Two 2 Gb FC; Two 1 Gb iSCSI
Virtual Libraries: 4
Virtual Tape Dives: 32
Virtual Cartridges: 180 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: October 2004
Base price range: Starts at $23,500
Software: …list of compatible backup software from vendor…
Detailed Specs: http://www.overlandstorage.com/products/reo9000.html
Vendor URL: http://www.overlandstorage.com
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Product Snapshot #13
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Product: Quantum Corp.; DX100 Disk-based Backup System (1)
Usable Capacity: 10 TB to 83 TB
Raw Capacity 12.8 TB to 102.4 TB
# of Drives: Up to 256 hard drives fully configured (16 arrays) (2)
Drive Types: SATA II
Drive Capacity: 400 GB SATA II
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Up to 3.6 TB/hr with three arrays
Connectivity: 2 Gb FC
Virtual Libraries: 2 to 16 arrays depending on configuration
Virtual Tape Dives: 1 to 55
Virtual Cartridges: 4 to 320 virtual tape cartridges per array (5,120 for 16 arrays)
Release date: 2003
Base price range: Pricing depends on configuration. Please contact your preferred VAR for pricing information.
Software: https://www.quantum.com/swcompguide.aspx
Detailed Specs: https://www.quantum.com/Products/Disk-BasedBackup/DX100/Index.aspx
Vendor URL: https://www.quantum.com
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Product Snapshot #14
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Product: Quantum Corp.; Pathlight VX 650 (1)
Usable Capacity: 3.8 TB to 71.5 TB
Raw Capacity 4.8 TB to 90 TB
# of Drives: Up to 180 hard drives fully configured (Up to 12 disk array enclosures) (2)
Drive Types: SATA II
Drive Capacity: 320 GB or 500 GB SATA II
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Up to 2 TB/hr fully configured
Connectivity: 2 Gb FC
Virtual Libraries: 1 to 32
Virtual Tape Dives: not available
Virtual Cartridges: not available
Release date: 2003
Base price range: Pricing depends on configuration. Please contact your preferred VAR for pricing information.
Software: http://www.adic.com/adicSupportShell.jsp?Page=supportCertificationMatrix
Detailed Specs: http://www.adic.com/adicProductShell.jsp?section=10041em=123505&Page=/us/products/adicAllCollateral.jsp&collateral=DS
Vendor URL: http://www.adic.com
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Product Snapshot #15
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Product: Sepaton Inc.; S2100-ES2 Virtual Tape Library (1)
Usable Capacity: 4.8 TB to 1,176 TB
Raw Capacity 5.6 TB to 1,344 TB
# of Drives: Up to 2,688 hard drives (2)
Drive Types: SATA II
Drive Capacity: 400 GB and 500 GB SATA II
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Up to 4,800 MB/sec
Connectivity: 16 FC host ports
Virtual Libraries: 1,536 virtual tape libraries
Virtual Tape Dives: 1,536 virtual tape drives
Virtual Cartridges: 5,300,000 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: Currently available
Base price range: Starting at $44,000
Software: Atempo Time Navigator; BakBone NetVault; CA BrightStor, ARCserve Backup; CommVault Galaxy; EMC Legato NetWorker; HP OpenView Storage Data Protector; IBM Tivoli Storage Manager; Kodak Carestream PACS; Symantec NetBackup, Symantec Backup Exec, Oracle Secure Backup, and SyncSort Backup Express
Detailed Specs: http://www.sepaton.com/products/s2100-es2.php
Vendor URL: http://www.sepaton.com
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Product Snapshot #16
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Product: Sun Microsystems Inc.; StorageTek VTL Appliance Plus Series 1000 (1)
Usable Capacity: 6 TB to 42 TB
Raw Capacity 8 TB to 56 TB
# of Drives: Up to 112 hard drives (2)
Drive Types: SATA, SATA II
Drive Capacity: 500 GB SATA/SATA II
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Up to 400 MB/s (using maximum number of drives)
Connectivity: Up to 12 Gb FC
Virtual Libraries: 16
Virtual Tape Dives: 128
Virtual Cartridges: 2,048 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: Currently available
Base price range: Starting at $140,000 to $280,000
Software: EMC Legato; EMC Data Manager; Veritas NetBackup; Veritas Backup Exec; IBM TSM; CommVault Galaxy; CA ArcServe; CA BrightStor Enterprise Backup; HP Data Protector; Syncsort Backup Express; BakBone NetVault; Atempo TimeNavigator
Detailed Specs: http://www.sun.com/storagetek/tape_storage/tape_virtualization/vtl/
Vendor URL: http://www.sun.com
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Product Snapshot #17
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Product: Sun Microsystems Inc.; StorageTek VTL Appliance Plus Series 2000 (1)
Usable Capacity: 6 TB to 170 TB
Raw Capacity 8 TB to 224 TB
# of Drives: Up to 448 hard drives (2)
Drive Types: SATA, SATA II
Drive Capacity: 500 GB SATA/SATA II
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Up to 700 MB/s (using maximum number of drives)
Connectivity: Up to 28, 2Gb FC port
Virtual Libraries: Up to 64
Virtual Tape Dives: Up to 512
Virtual Cartridges: Up to 4,096 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: Currently available
Base price range: Starting at $180,000 to $780,000
Software: EMC Legato; EMC Data Manager; Veritas NetBackup; Veritas Backup Exec; IBM TSM; CommVault Galaxy; CA ArcServe; CA BrightStor Enterprise Backup; HP Data Protector; Syncsort Backup Express; BakBone NetVault; Atempo TimeNavigator
Detailed Specs: http://www.sun.com/storagetek/tape_storage/tape_virtualization/vtl/
Vendor URL: http://www.sun.com
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Product Snapshot #18
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Product: Sun Microsystems Inc.; StorageTek VTL Appliance Plus Series 3000 (1)
Usable Capacity: 6 TB to 170 TB
Raw Capacity 8 TB to 224 TB
# of Drives: Up to 448 hard drives (2)
Drive Types: SATA, SATA II
Drive Capacity: 500 GB SATA/SATA II
Drive Hot Swap: Yes
Transfer Rate: Up to 1400MB/s (using maximum number of drives)
Connectivity: Up to 56, 2 Gb FC ports
Virtual Libraries: Up to 128
Virtual Tape Dives: Up to 1,024
Virtual Cartridges: Up to 8,192 virtual tape cartridges
Release date: Currently available
Base price range: Starting at $270,000 to $870,000
Software: EMC Legato; EMC Data Manager; Veritas NetBackup; Veritas Backup Exec; IBM TSM; CommVault Galaxy; CA ArcServe; CA BrightStor Enterprise Backup; HP Data Protector; Syncsort Backup Express; BakBone NetVault; Atempo TimeNavigator
Detailed Specs: http://www.sun.com/storagetek/tape_storage/tape_virtualization/vtl/
Vendor URL: http://www.sun.com
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