HPE Tape Drive — 18 TB Native / 45 TB Compressed, Linear Serpentine

In today’s data-driven world, enterprises demand archival storage that combines massive capacity, reliability, and cost-efficiency. The HPE Tape Drive delivers exactly that for backup and long-term data retention. With a native capacity of 18 TB and an impressive 45 TB compressed capacity, this Linear Serpentine tape drive is engineered to handle growing archives, compliance-driven retention policies, and routine disaster recovery workflows without breaking the budget. Built for enterprise-grade performance, the HPE Tape Drive enables organizations to protect critical information, maximize data accessibility, and streamline archival operations across the data center. Whether you’re safeguarding financial records, clinical data, customer archives, or regulatory documentation, this solution provides a scalable, durable foundation for ongoing data protection and reliable restores when you need them most.

• High-capacity native 18 TB and 45 TB compressed storage per cartridge, optimized by Linear Serpentine encoding to maximize cartridge utilization and deliver dependable backup throughput for large-scale environments. This combination supports extensive backup windows and reduces the need for frequent media swaps, helping teams meet tight recovery objectives while keeping costs in check.
• Designed for long-term retention and offline protection, making it an ideal choice for archival workloads, regulatory compliance, and ransomware-resilient data storage. The offline nature of tape media, coupled with robust error-detection mechanisms, provides an effective air-gap strategy that helps protect critical data from online threats and cyberattacks during unpowered periods.
• Seamless integration with enterprise backup software and data-management ecosystems. The HPE Tape Drive is built to work with leading backup, archiving, and orchestration tools, enabling policy-driven automation, streamlined cataloging, and efficient lifecycle management that scales with your data growth without frequent hardware refreshes.
• Rugged reliability and data integrity support from HPE, featuring proven mechanisms to safeguard information against bit-rot and degradation over time. With rigorous internal checks, resilient media handling, and established interoperability with LTO-9 media, this drive offers dependable performance across multiple backup cycles and years of retention.
• Energy-efficient, quiet operation designed for modern data centers and remote sites. The drive’s engineering focuses on reducing power consumption during idle periods and maintaining consistent performance during active backup jobs, contributing to lower total cost of ownership while preserving data reliability and access when needed.

Technical Details of HPE Tape Drive

• Capacity: Native 18 TB; Compressed 45 TB
• Technology: Linear Serpentine
• Media compatibility: LTO-9 tapes
• Form factor: Tape drive for enterprise backup and archival use
• Use case: Backup, archival storage, long-term data retention, and disaster recovery workflows

How to Install HPE Tape Drive

• Verify host compatibility: Ensure your server or backup infrastructure supports LTO-9 tape drives and that you have an available drive bay or appropriate chassis mounting.
• Power down and prepare: Safely power off the system, unplug power sources as required, and follow your device and data-center safety procedures before installation.
• Install the drive: Insert the HPE Tape Drive into the designated drive bay or compatible enclosure, secure with mounting hardware, and verify proper seating and airflow around the unit.
• Connect interface and cabling: Attach the appropriate interface cables as specified by your server or backup infrastructure, ensuring clean, secure connections to avoid signal loss during operation.
• Power up and test: Reconnect power, boot the system, and run any available self-test or diagnostic utilities to confirm proper recognition by the operating system and backup software. Insert an LTO-9 cartridge and perform a test backup/verification to validate performance.
• Configure integration: Add the new tape drive to your backup software, define media pools, retention policies, and backup schedules, and verify that cataloging and restore workflows work as expected.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the native capacity of the HPE Tape Drive? The drive offers 18 TB of native capacity, with up to 45 TB of compressed capacity depending on data compression ratios and the characteristics of the data being stored.
• What media does this drive use? It is designed for compatibility with LTO-9 tape cartridges, enabling high-capacity archival storage and reliable long-term retention.
• Is this drive suitable for long-term archival and offline protection? Yes. Tape storage is a proven solution for long-term retention and offline protection, helping protect data from cyber threats and enabling durable, regulatory-compliant archives.
• How does the Linear Serpentine technology benefit my backups? Linear Serpentine layout optimizes data placement on tape to improve capacity utilization and write/read efficiency, contributing to consistent performance across large backup jobs and extended retention periods.
• Can I use this drive with common backup software? The HPE Tape Drive is designed to integrate with leading enterprise backup and archiving software, enabling policy-based automation, easy cataloging, and scalable lifecycle management for growing data stores.