Data Analysis Applications in DLT Technology

The DLT tape format has gain popularity among the small and medium cassette formats used for the purpose of data storage. The DLT recorders are now being used in the fields of telemetry and related applications. The S-VHS was the format mostly used by the companies for data recording, but with the passage of time the companies are now shifting to new data recording formats because of the increasing demand of storage capacity, bandwidth and plug & play approach.

According to the findings of a survey done by Avalon Electronics Ltd in the year 1997, most of the companies preferred the DLT format for industrial applications among the other VHS, BETA recorders. The DLT tape format is used by the enterprises all over the world. The DLT format has the capability to rewrite bad block because its format is multi track. It also has the technology to read the data after its writing. Therefore, the recording errors do not occur. The DLT technology is also helpful for "data analysis applications" because the searching speed is very high.

It has the buffer "input & output" technology. This technology helps the variable and fixed rate. The "file management" is most often not available in the data recorders, but the DLT tape format directory structure which is built in. This directory structure supports the file management. In the write only mode the DLT based tape drives are utilized virtually. These are considered as the substitute devices in failure of the primary source. The flow of the data is controlled by the computer drive by utilizing the routine known as handshaking. The process can be stopped and started with the help of handshaking. The data recorder cannot control the flow of data. The data integrity is given up most priority in peripheral and the PCs. Errors of a single bit can make the encrypted data unreadable. The external & internal control of the "system control" requires additional firmware along with the software.

There is need of structuring, professionally and rigorously testing the new softwares, because the users have the expectations of plug & play. The reliability depends upon the raw material used, method of construction, wires, and the "electromagnetic" compatibility. The other areas that reliability depends upon are the strategies applied for the dissipation of heat and the thermal isolation. A product should be user friendly and easy to navigate in order to make the product successful. The product should also have the capacity and capability to tackle and fulfill the operational requirements of the future. "Data stream" is send to the recorder by the source. After sometime the recorded data is again played in the analyzer form (computer). The recorded data can either be "parallel" or it may be "serial". The other traditional data recorders are not user friendly and are not easily compatible with the computer in the controlled environment.

So, the uncontrolled "continuous data stream" was causing problems for the computers to process it. In order to tackle such problems for computers, the new technology was introduced called the Handshaking. New features were added to the data recorders like the "data on demand output clock", and this feature covers about 50 percent of overall cost. This can be solved by using the DLT Digital Linear Tape drive which has SCSI bus (built in). The easiest and simple way is to put the DLT drive along with its (read & write) devices with the SCSI-bus.

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