From: Joshua Hosseinoff (hosseino_at_yu1.yu.edu)
Date: Sun Nov 20 1994 - 04:18:24 EST
word-processing and graphics applications, spreadsheets and
single-user data bases.
Deskstar XP drives operate with industry-leading power dissipation
as low as 3.3 watts (for 1.08GB models in "idle" mode), and are
specified at 500,000 hours mean time between failures.
The drives are immediately available in volume to OEM customers.
Models DPEA-30540 and DPES-30540, with AT and SCSI interfaces,
respectively, are priced at $495, and Models DPEA-31080 and
DPES-31080, with AT and SCSI interfaces, respectively, are priced
at $695.
Ultrastar2 and Ultrastar2 XP
HIGHEST-CAPACITY, HIGHEST-PERFORMANCE 3.5-INCH DRIVES,
MODELS DCMS-310800, DCHS-38700 and DCHC-38700
IBM's new Ultrastar2 and Ultrastar2 XP high-end 3.5-inch drives are
intended to be direct replacements for larger, high-capacity 5.25-inch
drives across a wide range of applications. They are designed to meet
the data storage needs of network users, large-scale imaging and
graphics applications, and designers of multi-disk RAID storage
subsystems. Ultrastar2 will offer 10.8GB and Ultrastar2 XP, 8.7GB in
a 3.5-inch package only 1.6 inches (41.3mm) high. The high capacities
and low-profile packaging of these drives are made possible by IBM's
No-ID sector formatting and advanced, third-generation
magneto-resistive head technology.
The 10.8GB drive is designed to operate at 5400 RPM and to support a
media data transfer rate of up to 14.2MB/sec. It will be equipped
with a Fast and Wide SCSI interface.
The 8.7GB drive will operate at 7200 RPM and support a maximum media
data transfer rate of 14.2MB/sec. The drive combines high capacity
with the very high performance needed for high-end storage subsystems
and specialized applications such as full-motion video.
It will be offered with a number of interfaces,
including SCSI Fast, SCSI Fast and Wide, SCA 80-pin connectors and
Serial Storage Architecture (SSA).
To provide high effective data transfer rates in all applications,
both drives will use sector servos rather than dedicated servo
surfaces. This eliminates the need for the thermal calibration
routines that can interrupt the flow of data, thereby making these
drives ideal for applications requiring continuous data streams.
Evaluation units of the 10.8GB and 8.7GB drives are planned for
availability to OEM customers during the 3rd quarter of 1995.
Pricing will be announced prior to availability.
IBM is a world-wide developer, manufacturer and marketer of a
broad range of storage products for OEM computer makers, for use in
IBM computing systems, and for sale in commercial distribution
channels. IBM storage products are available from a wide range of
commercial resellers and from IBM, under the Options by IBM*
brand name.
*IBM, No-ID, Options by IBM and PowerPC are registered trademarks and
Travelstar, Deskstar and Ultrastar are trademarks of IBM Corporation.
Pentium and 486 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel
Corporation.
Editors/Reporters: Information on how IBM calculates mean time
between failures (MTBF) is available upon request.
Fact Sheet
IBM ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES PAVE WAY TO HIGH CAPACITY,
PERFORMANCE AND RELIABILITY FOR HARD DISK DRIVES
The high levels of performance, capacity and quality brought to the
OEM marketplace by the three new disk drive families announced today
result from the application of the industry's most advanced recording
and manufacturing technologies. These include third-generation
magneto resistive (MR) head technology, third-generation PRML digital
read channels, and IBM's No-ID sector formatting.
MAGNETO-RESISTIVE HEAD TECHNOLOGY
MR heads permit data stored at very high areal densities (the amount
of data stored per square inch of disk surface) to be read accurately.
This increases overall disk drive capacity and throughput, while
reducing the number of heads and disks required for a given capacity.
MR heads comprise separate read and write elements. The write element
is essentially identical to that of a standard read/write inductive
head. The read element is an alloy film that changes resistance in
the presence of the flux reversals that represent data -- the MR
effect. IBM developed MR head technology and has been shipping it
in disk drives since 1991. MR heads are now used in all of IBM's
current disk drive families.
PARTIAL RESPONSE/MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD CHANNEL TECHNOLOGY
PRML (Partial Response/Maximum Likelihood) read channels are a major
advance over the conventional peak-detection channels now used in most
disk drives, and are expected to become widely used throughout the
industry during this decade as peak-detection technology reaches its
practical limits. PRML channels take samples of the waveforms that
represent data as they come off the disk, and use this information,
rather than the waveforms themselves, to construct the data stream.
The result is a dramatic increase in the ability of a drive to resolve
correctly the read pulses representing data stored at very high linear
densities, adding to improved drive performance. PRML channels have
been included in high-end disk drives from IBM since 1990 and are
offered in the newly announced 10.8GB and 8.7GB disk drives.
SERIAL STORAGE ARCHITECTURE INTERFACE
Serial Storage Architecture (SSA) is a powerful high-speed serial
interface that permits transfer rates as high as 80 MB/sec in full
duplex serial loops, and supports storage configurations that are
currently not practical with other interfaces, including the use of
fiber optics. The Ultrastar2 XP drive, operating at 7200 RPM, can
be equipped with SSA interfaces.
PREDICTIVE FAILURE ANALYSIS
PFA periodically performs a number of internal drive tests and
monitors key drive parameters such as noise levels and flying heights.
It can detect when a particular drive parameter has been exceeded and
can notify the user early enough to prevent data integrity from being
affected. PFA was first introduced in IBM high-end drives in 1993 and
is included in the design of the new Ultrastar2 and Ultrastar2 XP
disk drives.
NO-ID SECTOR FORMATTING
IBM's proprietary No-ID sector formatting decreases disk drive
overhead and increases storage capacity by removing the ID, or header,
fields preceding each data sector from the disk surface and storing
the information in these fields in a solid-state memory. Header
information can consume up to 15 percent of the total available disk
space. Moving it from the disk surface to memory frees up this
overhead space for increased data storage. The use of No-ID sector
formatting in IBM's mobile disk drives was announced in May 1994 and
is included in the new Travelstar LP, Deskstar XP, Ultrastar2 and
Ultrastar2 XP disk drives announced today.
Please Note:
Questions about the content or currency of this press release
should be directed to your local IBM representative.
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