Data cassette

Magnetic tape data storage is a system for storing digital information on magnetic tape using digital recording. Modern magnetic tape is most commonly packaged in cartridges and cassettes. The device that performs writing or reading of data is a tape drive. Autoloaders and tape libraries automate cartridge handling. For example, a common cassette-based format is Linear Tape-Open, which comes in a variety of densities and is manufactured by several companies.

Initially, magnetic tape for data storage was wound on 10.5-inch (27 cm) reels. This de facto standard for large computer systems persisted through the late 1980s. Tape cartridges and cassettes were available as early as the mid-1970s and were frequently used with small computer systems. With the introduction of the IBM 3480 cartridge in 1984, large computer systems started to move away from open reel tapes and towards cartridges.

Magnetic tape was first used to record computer data in 1951 on the Eckert-Mauchly UNIVAC I. The UNISERVO drive recording medium was a thin metal strip of 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) wide nickel-plated phosphor bronze. Recording density was 128 characters per inch (198 micrometre/character) on eight tracks at a linear speed of 100 in/s (2.54 m/s), yielding a data rate of 12,800 characters per second. Of the eight tracks, six were data, one was a parity track, and one was a clock, or timing track. Making allowance for the empty space between tape blocks, the actual transfer rate was around 7,200 characters per second. A small reel of mylar tape provided separation from the metal tape and the read/write head.

IBM computers from the 1950s used ferrous-oxide coated tape similar to that used in audio recording. IBM's technology soon became the de facto industry standard. Magnetic tape dimensions were 0.5-inch (12.7 mm) wide and wound on removable reels up to 10.5 inches (267 mm) in diameter. Different tape lengths were available with 1,200 feet (370 m) and 2,400 feet (730 m) on mil and one half thickness being somewhat standard. During the 1980s, longer tape lengths such as 3,600 feet (1,100 m) became available using a much thinner PET film. Most tape drives could support a maximum reel size of 10.5 inches (267 mm). CDC used IBM compatible 1/2 inch magnetic tapes, but also offered a 1 inch wide variant, with 14 tracks (12 data tracks corresponding to the 12 bit word of CDC 6000 series peripheral processors, plus two parity bits) in the CDC 626 drive.

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