Sun Microsystems and Imation to Jointly Develop the Fourth Generation T9840 Tape Drive System
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New version adds capacity and encryption while maintaining fast access, legacy media
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and OAKDALE, Minn., July 5 / -- Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ:SUNW) and Imation Corp (NYSE:IMN) today announced an agreement to jointly develop and launch an extension to the successful Sun StorageTek T9840 drive platform. The planned fourth generation T9840D will increase the native capacity of tape cartridges to 75GB while maintaining the fast access and reliability that are hallmarks of this technology. Sun's StorageTek T9840D enterprise tape drive leverages the existing 9840 media platform. Customers will be able to protect their investment and extend their current media life with backward read compatibility to any 9840 media version. Additionally, the T9840D is equipped with the industry leading feature of device-level encryption for written cartridges.
"Sun is very pleased to enter into an agreement with Imation to develop the fourth generation T9840 tape drive product. The collaborative efforts of Sun and Imation represent the integration of Sun's world-leading enterprise tape drive design and Imation's media design," said Nigel Dessau, vice president and general manager, Tape Business Unit - Storage Group, Sun Microsystems. "The combination of Sun's drive and library expertise with proven Imation media and cartridge innovations have allowed 9840 technology to deliver faster access to data and optimized throughput. The T9840D solution extends this proven platform."
"Imation is very pleased to be moving forward with Sun to extend the 9840 technology for our mutual customers," said Frank Russomanno, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Imation. "The long history of successful co-development between Imation and Sun has delivered the 'best of the best' in advanced tape storage solutions, and success of the T9840 technology for us and our customers is testament to the excellent design, reliability, and performance of this system for data centers around the world."
"In today's online environment, every second counts and every bit of data can be critical," said Dave Woodruff, director of media operations, VISA Corp. "We rely on the Sun StorageTek T9840 system, with its fast access and reliability, as the real workhorse of our data center. With Sun and Imation developing an extension with double the capacity, we will be able to maximize and protect the investment we've already made in our media library."
Complementing Sun's superior drive technology, Imation's 9840 half-inch tape cartridge draws on Imation's more than 50-year history in manufacturing and development, including:
o Revolutionary Internal Tape Path Design, improving data integrity and access time by managing the tape movements completely within the cartridge. The tape rides on a cushion of air that virtually eliminates friction between the tape and guides, enabling the fastest search speeds of any tape storage system.
o Mid-point dual-hub design with the ability to start searches from the middle of the tape, not the end, saving time by delivering faster access to data.
o Advanced, Factory-Written Servo Pattern, enabling precise read-write performance for exceptional reliability. Imation developed the world's first servo-written cartridge and continues to lead the industry in servo-writing development.
o Unique Baseplate Design, enhancing cartridge stability and enabling precise alignment between head and tape to ensure reliable data reading and writing.
o Robust cartridge loader mechanism, designed to operate in the industry's fastest libraries: the StreamLine(TM) SL8500 modular library system and the PowderHorn(TM) 9310 tape library.
The Sun StorageTek T9840D tape drive is expected to be available in 2007. Additional information will be released at the time of product availability.
About Sun Microsystems, Inc.
A singular vision -- "The Network Is the Computer"(TM) -- guides Sun in the development of technologies that power the world's most important markets. Sun's philosophy of sharing innovation and building communities is at the forefront of the next wave of computing: the Participation Age. Sun can be found in more than 100 countries and on the Web at www.sun.com/ .
About Imation Corp
Imation Corp is the only company in the world solely focused on the development, manufacture and supply of removable data storage products spanning the four pillars of magnetic, optical, flash and removable hard disk storage. With more than 50 years of data storage leadership beginning with the development of the world's first computer tape, in 2006 Imation proudly marks its tenth anniversary as an independent company. In addition to the Imation brand, Imation Corp's global brand portfolio includes the Memorex brand, one of the most widely recognized names in the consumer electronics industry, famous for the slogan, "Is it live or is it Memorex?" Additional information about Imation is available at www.imation.com/ or by calling 1-888-466-3456.
Imation, the Imation logo, Memorex, and 'Is it live or is it Memorex?' are trademarks of Imation Corp. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Source: Imation Corp
CONTACT:
Mary Rawlings-Taylor of Imation Corp,
+1-651-704-6796,
mjrawlings-taylor@imation.com ,
or Sarah McNeil of Fleishman-Hillard, Inc.,
+1-612-573-3124, mcneils@fleishman.com ,
or Stacey Infantino of Sun
Microsystems, Inc., +1-650-786-3115, Cell: +1-408-887-7324,
stacey.infantino@sun.com
Web site: www.imation.com/
http://www.sun.com/
