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Magnetic Tapes

- Magnetic tapes are used for secondary storage and archiving backup data. Records are stored serially and accessed by fast forwarding the tape to the desired position. - Tapes have no direct access but very fast sequential access, and are resistant to various environments and easy to transport. They are used mostly for backups and archives now rather than storing application data. - Data is written sequentially as the tape passes the read/write head, and access times can vary widely from milliseconds for sequential access to minutes for random access.

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766 views16 pages

Magnetic Tapes

- Magnetic tapes are used for secondary storage and archiving backup data. Records are stored serially and accessed by fast forwarding the tape to the desired position. - Tapes have no direct access but very fast sequential access, and are resistant to various environments and easy to transport. They are used mostly for backups and archives now rather than storing application data. - Data is written sequentially as the tape passes the read/write head, and access times can vary widely from milliseconds for sequential access to minutes for random access.

Uploaded by

Gomathi Tel
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Magnetic Tapes

Magnetic tape used for secondary storage on early computer systems; now used for routine archiving & storing back-up data. Records on magnetic tapes are stored serially, one after other. Each record can be of any length.
Length is usually determined by the application program.

Each record can be identified by its position on the tape. To access a single record, tape is mounted & fastforwarded from its beginning until locate desired pos

Ninth track holds parity bit used for routine error checking. Number of characters that can be recorded per inch is determined by density of tape (e.g., 1600 or 6250 bpi). Backup of PC/network servers

Characteristics
No direct access, but very fast sequential access. Resistant to different environmental conditions. Easy to transport, store, cheaper than disk. Before it was widely used to store application data; nowadays, its mostly used for backups or archives.

For storage, the tape is wound on a reel. To access the data, the tape is unwound from one reel to another. As the tape passes the head, bits of data are read from or written onto the tape.

Reel 1 Reel 2

tape

Read/write head
CENG 351 6

Tape Organization
logical record
2400

BOT marker Header block (describes data blocks)


CENG 351 7

Data blocks

Interblock gap (for acceleration & deceleration of tape)

EOT marker

Recording method
Linear linear serpentine Scanning transverse scan arcuate scan Helical scan

Linear

Linear serpentine

Helical

Storing Records on Magnetic Tapes


Can store records individually or grouped into blocks.
If individually, each record is separated by a space to indicate its starting and ending places. If blocks, then entire block is preceded by a space and followed by a space, but individual records are stored sequentially within block.

Interrecord gap (IRG) is gap between records about 1/2 inch long regardless of the sizes of the records it separates.

Interblock gap (IBG) the gap between blocks of records; still 1/2 inch long.

Data Blocks and Records


Each data block is a sequence of contiguous records. A record is the unit of data that a users program deals with. The tape drive reads an entire block of records at once. Unlike a disk, a tape starts and stops. When stopped, the read/write head is over an interblock gap

Pros & Cons of Blocking


Fewer I/O operations are needed because a single READ command can move an entire block into main memory. Less tape is wasted because size of physical record exceeds size of gap. Overhead and software routines are needed for blocking, deblocking, and record keeping. Buffer space may be wasted if you need only one logical record but must read an entire block to get it.

Transfer Rates & Speeds


Block size set to take advantage of transfer rate. Transfer rate -- density of the tape, multiplied by the tape transport speed (speed of the tape) transfer rate = density * transport speed .

Magnetic Tape Access Times Vary Widely


Benchmarks Access time Maximum access 2.5 minutes Average access 1.25 minutes Sequential access 3 milliseconds Variability makes magnetic tape a poor medium for routine secondary storage except for files with very high sequential activity.

Quarter-Inch cartridges.
10.5 inch reel of 9 track tape

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