Quantum DLT 2000 Handbook page 39

cartridge. The new DLTtape system provided data transfer at
1.5MB/s (3MB/s compressed) and was fully read/write compatible
with previous generations of DLTtape drives. Again, customer
investments in DLTtape drives and media were preserved.
Sales Growth
Quantum sales rose to $3.5 billion for FY'95 on strong growth on all
fronts. Quantum had evolved from its role as only a disk drive maker
to a provider of mass-storage solutions. The rapid rise of multimedia,
data warehousing, data mining, large network storage servers,
Internet/Intranet growth, and 7x24 information system operations
meant the need for fast, high capacity backup systems was exploding,
and Quantum had the products that the market wanted.
In 1995, Quantum introduced an improved DLT 2000 system,
dubbed the DLT 2000XT for "extended tape." The new system pro-
vided an additional 5GB over the capacity of the DLT 2000 drive for
a total of 15GB native capacity. Quantum was able to achieve this
improvement through firmware changes (see Chapter 15), and by
increasing the length of the tape used from 1,200 to 1,800 feet
(DLTtape IIIXT). As usual, the DLT 2000XT was fully backward com-
patible with all previous DLTtape drives.
Others Playing Catch-up
Quantum enjoyed a time-to-market gap that had manufacturers of
8mm, DAT, and QIC tape drives scrambling to try to match
DLTtape system capacity and performance. Just when it seemed
they might come close, Quantum introduced the DLT 7000 drive in
1996. This new drive offered a total storage capacity of 35GB native
(70GB compressed) on the 1,800 foot DLTtape IV cartridge.
Thanks to the DLT 7000 drive's new 4-channel head, it could
transfer data at the rate of 5MB/s in native mode. Other tape
QUANTUM DLTtape HANDBOOK 3.7