Exabyte Debutes Second-Generation VXA Tape Drive

VXA-2 drives can record up to 160 Gbytes of data on a single cartridge at up to 12 MBps in the compressed mode, compared with 40 Gbytes for DDS-4. The drives are available in Ultra2 Wide SCSI, IDE/ATAPI and FireWire versions, and are list-priced at about $999, according to the company.

Looking ahead, Exabyte expects to start shipping VXA-3 drives, with a compressed capacity of 320 Gbytes and throughput of 16 MBps, sometime next year, said Frank Saab, director of marketing at Exabyte. VXA-4 drives, with compressed capacity of 640 Gbytes and throughput of 32 MBps, are planned for 2004, he said.

Also coming next year are Mammoth M3 drives, with compressed capacity of 500 Gbytes and throughput of 48 MBps, Saab said.

Tony Audus, director of purchasing at Bryan Computers, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based SMB solution provider that sells mainly DDS-3 and DDS-4 drives, said the VXA drives are a logical follow-up to the DDS series.

It is a plus to know a vendor has a road map for developing tape drives, "but this is more a concern of larger customers," Audus said. "However, some customers plan to grow fast, and so they like to know they can have the same technology in the future."

The company also plans this year to wrap up production of its Eliant-brand 8mm tape drives and DLT drive-based tape autoloaders or libraries, and will focus instead on Mammoth and LTO drive automation products, Saab said. Next quarter, the company will introduce a new, low-priced Magnum tape library with up to eight Fibre Channel LTO drives and 148 cartridges, he said.

More than 80 percent of Exabyte's products are currently sold through distribution, but the company plans to increase the OEM portion of its business to about 50 percent, Saab said.