Introduction. System Components

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1 Product Brief: XenData X2500-USB LTO-6 Digital Archive System Overview The X2500-USB is an LTO-6 archive system that connects to notebooks and workstations via USB 3.0. The system includes an external LTO-6 drive and XenData6 Workstation management software. It is ideal for storing video, audio and image files on high capacity LTO cartridges. The solution runs on 64 bit Windows 8.1 or Windows 7. For Mac users, the system is compatible with both Boot Camp and VM Fusion. The X2500-USB is extremely easy to use: all file archive and restore operations are made via copy and paste or drag and drop. The system is fully compatible with 2.5 TB LTO-6 and 1.5 TB LTO-5 cartridges and saves files to LTO using either LTFS or TAR industry standard formats. The system can manage an unlimited number of LTO cartridges and provides almost infinite storage. When using the LTFS format, the cartridges written using the X2500 are interchangeable with many third party applications. XenData s LTFS brings significant advantages compared to basic LTFS implementations, including: end to end Logical Block Protection which verifies the integrity of the file written to LTO in real time; no interleaved file blocks when archiving multiple simultaneous files for better data integrity and faster restores; faster file restores because the XenData6 Workstation software restores files in tape order; an ability to browse or search for files including those that are offline; an ability to run reports that provides tape content and file search information even for offline LTO cartridges; and a robust capability to restore files from cartridges after misuse such as a power failure to the LTO drive while writing.

2 Introduction The X2500-USB digital archive system delivers high capacity, fast and highly stable storage for video files. It archives to either LTO-6 or LTO-5 data tapes, both of which provide high capacities and a long archival life. LTO tape cartridge characteristics are described in the table below. LTO-6 LTO-5 Capacity per cartridge (without compression) 2,500 GB* 1,500 GB* Equivalent hours at 25 Mb/s 217 hours 130 hours Equivalent hours at 50 Mb/s 108 hours 65 hours Media archival life under normal office conditions. 30 years 30 years * Based on 1 GB = 10 9 bytes The X2500-USB is compatible with all file types, not just video, and is also ideal for storing audio and image files on high capacity LTO cartridges. System Components The XenData X2500-USB system includes the following. Rugged carrying case External LTO-6 drive with a USB 3.0 interface 1.8m USB 3.0 cable that connects the LTO drive to a notebook or workstation computer XenData6 Workstation software LTO-6 rewritable cartridge LTO universal cleaning cartridge Three power cords with European, UK, and US connectors 2

3 LTO-6 Drive The compact external LTO drive is less than 2.4 inches (60 mm) high and uses UNITEX USB 3.0 technology to provide fast transfer rates up to 140 MB/s when writing to and reading from LTO. System Functionality Archive and Restore via Drag and Drop The XenData6 Workstation software archives to and restores from LTO using Windows Explorer. The software extends Windows Explorer s capabilities to transfer files to and from LTO using drag and drop or copy and paste. Files may be archived to LTO from any accessible logical drive letter or network share. Similarly, files may be restored to a local drive letter or a network location. The software gives an option to copy to LTO only files that have changed or are new. This is an easy way to create an updated copy of project folders on LTO. Note that the system does not support writing to or restoring from LTO directly from third party programs such as media asset management (MAM) systems, as all write and restore operations are performed using Windows Explorer. We recommend XenData SXL-1 and SXL-2 systems if MAM or other third party program integration is required. Supports an Unlimited Number of Offline Tapes The X2500-USB system is capable of managing an unlimited number of externalized LTO cartridges. The 3

4 system can keep track of the contents of all the cartridges that have been inserted into the USB LTO drive. The user can browse and search the contents of all of the cartridges. Restoring files is as simple as inserting the required cartridge in the LTO drive and then using Windows Explorer to drag and drop or copy and paste. Real Time File Verification The system verifies data written to LTO in real time using end to end Logical Block Protection (LBP). The XenData6 Workstation software calculates and inserts a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) value at the end of each logical block of data to be written to LTO. This is compared in real time with the CRC value determined by the read-after-write head within the LTO-6 USB drive to ensure that files are written without corruption. The LBP technique, unlike MD5 checksum approaches, delivers fast archiving because it provides assured data integrity without the need to perform another read operation. Writes in Industry Standard TAR or LTFS Format The X2500 system supports both LTFS (Linear Tape File System) and TAR (Tape ARchive) cartridge formats. These formats define how data is written to the tape within the LTO cartridge: LTFS and TAR use different data structures for the file data and file system metadata that is written to tape. When formatting an individual LTO cartridge, the administrator selects either TAR or LTFS. Supports All File Types The system supports all file types - from MXF files to Word documents. However, zero byte files are not written to LTO. Note that empty file folders are written to LTO, as maintaining a file-folder structure including empty folders is a requirement for some applications. Restores in Tape Order When a number of files are transferred on one restore operation, the system reads files from LTO in tape order. With large numbers of small files, this greatly improved the overall transfer time. Reporting on the Entire Archive The X2500 system includes a report generator which may be used to create three types of report: Archive Status File Search Tape Cartridge Contents These reports are useful for managing the contents of the complete archive. The Archive Status report provides summary information about all the LTO cartridges that the system knows about. The File Search report produces a list of files that meet user defined file search criteria and identifies the cartridges that contain each match. The Tape Cartridge Contents report produces a list of the contents of a selected LTO cartridge, which may be an offline cartridge. The reports may be saved in a delimited text format suitable for import into Excel. 4

5 Software Licensing May be used on Multiple Computers The XenData6 Workstation software license included in the X2500-USB system supports the use of one LTO drive. When you first install the software, you will assign your LTO drive to that license. Then you may install the XenData6 Workstation software on multiple computers and use the specific assigned tape drive on any of those computers. Multiple LTO drives may be attached to a single computer. In this case, a XenData6 Workstation license is required for each drive. Areas of Use Video Production and Post-production Applications for the X2500-USB include offloading files from camera storage such as P2 cards, Red Media and XDCAM to LTO. A XenData6 Workstation system supports many data wrangling options, as illustrated in the diagram shown opposite. Digital Video Archives The X2500-USB system supports an unlimited number of LTO cartridges that are retained offline allowing management of a large video archive. The ability to run reports, including Cartridge Contents and File Search Reports is very useful when managing a large offline archive. Alternatively, the contents of any LTO cartridge, including all offline cartridges, can be browsed using Windows Explorer. Large Capacity File Storage Restoring files is as simple as inserting the required cartridge in the LTO drive and then using Windows Explorer to drag and drop or copy and paste. In addition to video applications, the X2500-USB is suitable for secure storage of audio and image files on LTO; as well all sorts of scientific and engineering data. 5

6 Specification System Requirements Supported Operating Systems Minimum RAM USB types supported Windows bit versions Windows 7 64 bit versions 4 GB USB 3.0 preferred for better transfer rates USB 2.0 LTO Drive Interface USB 3.0 Compatible LTO Cartridges LTO-6 rewritable (2.5TB capacity) - Writing using LTFS Compatible LTO Cartridges LTO-6 rewritable (2.5TB capacity) - Writing using TAR LTO-6 W ORM (2.5TB capacity) LTO-5 W ORM (1.5TB capacity) Compatible LTO Cartridges LTO-6 rewritable (2.5TB capacity) - Reading using LTFS Compatible LTO Cartridges - Reading using TAR Maximum Transfer Rate Power Max Power Consumption Dimensions (inches) Weight Operating Temperature Operating Humidity LTO-6 rewritable (2.5TB capacity) LTO-6 W ORM (2.5TB capacity) LTO-5 W ORM (1.5TB capacity) LTO-4 rewritable (800GB capacity) LTO-4 W ORM (800GB capacity) 140 MB/s V / 50-60Hz 65 VA 8.47W x 14.57D x 2.36H (215W x 370D x 60H mm) 9.9 lbs (4.5 Kg) 50 F - 90 F (10 C - 32 C) 20% - 80% relative, non-condensing Contact XenData USA: Europe: Web: XenData, Inc., 2125 Oak Grove Road, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA Phone: ; ca@xendata.com XenData Limited, Sheraton House, Castle Park, Cambridge, CB3 0AX, United Kingdom Phone: : cambridge@xendata.com Updated: April 29,