What are the names of those tape reels?

G

God is Dog backwards

Mildly Dipped
Hi all,

I'm after the name of those big tape reels - or wheels - that you see in maybe an ISP, or a large data centre. Kind of like huge tape decks, for the really, really big hard drives. It's for something I'm working on, but I can't think of the name - do people know what I mean?

Cheers
 
xdarkyrex said:
Why exactly do people use them?
Do people still even use them?
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Backup! And I do believe there is still companies actually using them.
 
many corps still use it for long term storage (usually for digital copy of documents they are required by law to keep for xx years. this way they have a digital copy to read out and dont have to actually dig up the original when the IRS or whatever comes knocking). but BE EXTREMELY CAREFULL WITH MAGNETS (of any kind) around those tapes.
 
SuAside said:
many corps still use it for long term storage (usually for digital copy of documents they are required by law to keep for xx years. this way they have a digital copy to read out and dont have to actually dig up the original when the IRS or whatever comes knocking). but BE EXTREMELY CAREFULL WITH MAGNETS (of any kind) around those tapes.
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Thats to be said about all hard drives though.
 
Those are properly called 9-track tape drives because there are 8 data tracks and a control track. They hold a lot on one tape (many gigabytes in their more modern versions) and have been used for ages. They are still used for legacy support and archival. The tape is usually 1/2" wide like common video tape but using one for the other is bad (the computer tape is too rough for the delicate video heads, the video tape is not strong enough for the violent computer mechanism), but there are other widths; DEC used little reels of 3/4" tape called DECTape, and Scotch/3M famously split 2" computer tape into fours to fill Betamax cassettes when demand for those so greatly exceeded supply that customers would buy anything, and Scotch continues to this day on that principle in recording tape, making the crappiest "name brand" recording tapes out there.

A Reel of tape is always properly called a reel, no matter what's on it (data, audio, video, etc.). Calling it a spool is rather eccentric and calling it a wheel is ignorant, but now you know.
 
He's creating a new commodore, but needs more space to meet todays demands. :crazy:


for fps...
 
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