Brochure

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Brochure | HP LTO Ultrium Storage Media
Interleave testing
During 2014, in an exhaustive program of new tests known as ‘Interleave testing’, HP subjected
its LTO-6 MP and LTO-6 Barium Ferrite (BaFe) media to unprecedented levels of scrutiny. In
doing so, HP threw new light on the performance of MP and BaFe designs, to give end users
complete condence that both types oer excellent performance for backup and archiving.
What’s more, HP used a non-HP tape drive from a leading competitor, proving beyond all
doubt that HP LTO-6 tapes (both MP and BaFe) work just as well in solutions from other
vendors as they do in HP StoreEver products.
Interleaving is the ultimate measure of how well your tape solution is performing in an
intensive archival environment.
It involves:
• Using a non-HP drive.
• Taking a brand new piece of media, starting with HP LTO-6 BaFe, and conducting a full
volume backup.
• Exchanging the original BaFe tape for a brand new HP LTO-6 MP tape and repeating the full
volume write process.
• Swapping out the MP tape and repeating the process again using a brand new LTO-6 BaFe tape.
• Reporting the capacity and transfer rate for each cartridge during each cycle.
• Determining the excess capacity for individual cartridges at frequent intervals throughout
the test.
• In total, HP performed 600 full volume write backups in a unique test pattern that lasted
for almost six months. It included 300 HP LTO-6 MP and 300 HP LTO-6 BaFe cartridges on
the same non-HP tape drive.
600
HP LTO-6 Ultrium Storage Media Interleave testing
An extreme comparison of BaFe and MP green tape performance
• Use a brand new HP LTO-6 Ultrium
BaFe tape
• Use a non-HP drive
• Make a full volume backup
• Replace the HP LTO-6 Ultrium MP
tape with a brand new HP LTO-6
Ultrium BaFe tape
• Repeat the full volume write
process again
• Repeat the process using a total
of 600 cartridges (300 BaFe and
300 MP cartridges)
• Replace the HP LTO-6 Ultrium BaFe
tape with a brand new HP LTO-6
Ultrium MP tape
• Repeat the full volume write process
Use a new HP LTO-6 BaFe tape
with a non-HP drive
Exchange the BaFe tape for
a brand new MP tape
Exchange the MP tape for
a brand new BaFe tape
Report the capacity and transfer rate/Determine the excess capacity
• Report the capacity and transfer
rate for each cartridge during
each cycle
• Determine the excess capacity
from individual cartridges at
frequent intervals throughout
the test