Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT): An 8mm magnetic tape developed by
Sony that uses the company's Memory in Cassette (MIC) architecture. The MIC
consists of a memory chip that stores the system's log and other user-definable
information. AIT can store up to 65GB with data transfer rates up to 7.8MBps
(compressed).
4mm digital audio tape (DAT) digital data storage (DDS) cartridge: A
magnetic tape that uses a sequential access and storage scheme to record data.
DAT cartridges can hold from 2GB to 24GB of data (with compression). DAT can
support data transfer rates of up to 2MBps. DAT cartridges come in three
recording formats: DDS, DDS-2, and DDS-3. DDS can store up to 4GB with a data
transfer rate of 366KBps, and DDS-2 can store up to 8GB with a data transfer
rate of 1MBps. DDS-3 can store up to 24GB with a data transfer rate of 2MBps.
8mm cartridge: A sequential-access magnetic tape that uses the same
recording technology as VCR tapes. It has a relatively high storage capacity (up
to 5GB) but requires an expensive drive and has a relatively slow data transfer
rate.
Digital linear tape (DLT) cartridge: A magnetic tape that uses a
linear recording scheme to record data. DLT cartridges can hold from 15GB to
40GB of data and support data transfer rates up to 5MBps. DLT cartridges come in
two recording formats: DLT-3 and DLT-4.
Magneto-optical (MO) storage: A type of disk drive that combines
magnetic disk technologies with CD-ROM technologies. You can read and write to
MO disks, and they are removable. MO disks can store more than 200MB; you can
access them faster than floppy disks or CD-ROM disks.
Quarter-inch cartridge (QIC): A common storage tape that comes in
two formats: full-size (DC 6000) and minicartridge (DC 2000). The full-size
tapes are relatively inexpensive and support fast data transfer rates. The
minicartridges are even less expensive, but they have slower transfer rates. QIC
tapes can store up to 5GB. QIC drives use several standards, such as QIC-117, to
record data. These standards are sometimes referred to as floppy tape standards
because they are designed to use a PC's existing floppy disk drive controller
instead of a customized controller.