Quantum SDLT-600
In terms of their form factor and features, the Quantum and Overland have quite a lot in common. The Quantum was also an external unit, in beige rather than black, with an internal AC power supply. The tape format of the Quantum drive, however, is Super DLT, which is in a tussle for supremacy with the other leading high-capacity tape Ultrium LTO 2 as featured in the Overland. Although in this round at least the Quantum SuperDLT takes the crown with the higher-capacity cartridge: 300GB native compared to the Overland's 200GB native.
The Quantum is line ball with the IBM in terms of native capacity but only claims a conservative, and maybe more realistic, 2:1 compression for a maximum capacity of 600GB compared with IBM's more aggressive 3:1 compression and 900GB capacity.
The SuperDLT cartridge is surprisingly similar in size to the Ultrium cartridge, although the former is a couple of millimetres taller in height (the tape itself is the same width). The cartridge has a simple sliding write protection lock although the legend could be a tad less confusing.
Data transfer rates claimed by the vendor are the second highest of the group, only the IBM with a native transfer rate of 40MBps is higher than the Quantum's 36MBps, which in turn is higher than Overland's claim of 30MBps native.
The unit shipped with a Quick Setup Guide, and a short cable to connect the Ultra SCSI LDV 160 port at the rear of the drive to your server; there is also a terminator for the second LDV port if you are not daisy chaining the drive. The SCSI ID can be manually selected on the rear of the drive.
The Quantum unit had relatively fast transfer rates but the Overland and IBM units, the latter in particular, were at times significantly faster.
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| Product | Quantum SDLT-600 |
| Price | $9130; tapes $209 each |
| Vendor | Quantum |
| Phone | 1800 999 285 |
| Web | www.quantum.com |
| Interoperability |  |
| Current platform support is adequate but there is quite a lot of additional platform support “pending”. | |
| Futureproofing |  ½ |
| 600GB of compressed data per cartridge and optional Fibre Channel connector. | |
| ROI |  |
| Quite fast and has very good cartridge capacity at a reasonable price. | |
| Service |  ½ |
| Three-year RTB warranty. | |
| Rating |  ½ |
