| year/month |
Timeline |
| 1951/06 |
【World】Remington Rand supplied the world’s first magnetic tape unit, which used metal tape, as accessory input/output devices for the UNIVAC I commercial computer
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| 1952/05 |
【World】IBM announced the IBM 726 magnetic tape reader/recorder, the company’s first commercial magnetic tape unit. The IBM 726 was a forerunner of the age when magnetic tape served as the main storage media for computers
|
| 1959/05 |
NEC completed the 542, a 1/2-inch wide, 8-track magnetic tape unit.
|
| 1960/08 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 601 magnetic tape unit, the company’s first, with a tension arm shock-absorbing mechanism.
|
| 1961/05 |
Oki Electric completed the OKITAC-5099, the company’s first commercial magnetic tape unit.
|
| 1962 |
Hitachi completed the H-144 open reel magnetic tape unit of 8-track, 80 BPI with a tension arm.
|
| 1962 |
NEC competed the 543A magnetic tape unit of a 1/2-inch wide, 7-track with a tape speed of 4 m/s.
|
| 1964/04 |
NEC completed the N204A 3/4-inch magnetic tape unit and the N204B 1/2-inch magnetic tape unit.
|
| 1964/06 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 603A magnetic tape unit employing a vacuum shock-absorbing column mechanism and innovative single capstan drive.
|
| 1966/08 |
NEC announced the E204 2-deck type small magnetic tape unit.
|
| 1967/09 |
Hitachi completed the H-8445 open reel magnetic tape unit of 800 BPI with vacuum double capstan drive for the HITAC 8000 Series.
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| 1967 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 401A magazine file magnetic tape unit using a cartridge media for the first time in Japan.
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| 1969/05 |
Hitachi completed the H-8453 open reel magnetic tape unit of 1600 BPI, the highest performance in Japan.
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| 1969 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 608B, K magnetic tape unit for small systems using a half size reel and equipped with 2 decks in a single enclosure.
|
| 1971/11 |
Hitachi completed the H-8455 open reel magnetic tape unit with an automatic tapethreading mechanism for the first time in Japan.
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| 1974/04 |
Hitachi completed the H-8468-1 open reel magnetic tape unit that provides automatic tape loading with one-touch (automatic tape setting to the hub and threading functions).
|
| 1974/05 |
NEC announced the N7620 Series magnetic tape unit with 1600 RPI (PE)/800 RPI (NRZ).
|
| 1974/10 |
【World】 IBM announced the IBM 3850 Mass Storage System, which was a magnetic tape cartridge library that used circular cylindrical cartridges
|
| 1975/02 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 610A magnetic tape unit with the company’s first automatic tape loading mechanism.
|
| 1975/06 |
NEC announced the N7630 Series magnetic tape unit with 6250 RPI (GCR)/1600 RPI (PE).
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| 1976/05 |
Hitachi completed the H-8488-1 open reel magnetic tape unit with 6250 BPI for export.
|
| 1976 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 611A magnetic tape unit employing a new recording method (GCR) to achieve high recording density and high performance.
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| 1978/10 |
NEC announced the TD1000 Series small magnetic tape unit for OEM.
|
| 1979/09 |
Hitachi completed the H-8523 mass storage system (MSS), using a magnetic cartridge tape for the storage media and incorporating the virtual memory concept.
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| 1979/10 |
NEC announced the N7651 mass data file unit with high capacity of 236 GB, holding a maximum of 4, 720 data cartridges.
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| 1980/10 |
Hitachi completed the H-8487-A10 magnetic tape unit to provide greater compactness and lightweight (1/3 of the conventional), requiring no space for a control unit, and energy consumption (1/2 of the conventional).
|
| 1980 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 6450 high-capacity virtual disk system, employing 50 MB tape cartridges as a secondary memory layer.
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| 1981/05 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 6480 streaming magnetic tape unit, employing the direct tape drive instead of the vacuum column drive mechanism.
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| 1981/10 |
NEC announced the CT7000 Series 1/4-inch magnetic cartridge tape unit for OEM.
|
| 1984/02 |
【World】DEC announced a magnetic tape unit that used half-inch tape cartridges that were the first in the world to adhere to the digital linear tape (DLT, also known as CompacTape) standard; the DLT standard would become a widespread tape storage format for midrange computers
|
| 1984/02 |
NEC announced the N7662 1/2-inch streaming magnetic tape unit.
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| 1984/03 |
【World】IBM announced the IBM 3480 library storage unit, which was the first magnetic tape unit with thin-film heads; the 18-track, square-shaped tape cartridges, the first of their kind, used in the units would go on to become a common standard
|
| 1985/06 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 6475 cartridge tape unit using VHS media and employing the original data compression function for the first time.
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| 1985/09 |
Hitachi completed the H-8488-A10 open reel magnetic tape unit equipped equipped with the data compression function for the first time.
|
| 1985 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 6453 tape library unit using VHS magnetic tape, compatible with the company’s FACOM 6475 magnetic tape unit.
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| 1987/01 |
NEC announced the N7641 200 MB media high-speed cartridge magnetic tape unit and the N7642 magnetic tape unit with automatic cartridge changer..
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| 1987/09 |
Fujitsu completed the FACOM 6470 magnetic tape unit, supporting IBM 3480 compatible tape media.
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| 1987/10 |
Hitachi completed the H-6485-1 cartridge magnetic tape unit Å@employing the automatic cartridge changing mechanism for the first time in the world.
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| 1988/11 |
NEC announced the N7645 magnetic tape library unit for 200 MB media cartridge that can hold a maximum of 6, 250 cartridges.
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| 1989/04 |
Fujitsu announced the F6455 magnetic tape library unit, supporting IBM 3480 compatible tape media.
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| 1990/09 |
Hitachi completed the H-6951-1 cartridge magnetic tape library unit that is fully automated and can store a maximum of 6, 560 cartridges.
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| 1991/03 |
Fujitsu began shipping the 18-track, four-deck F6473A cartridge-based magnetic tape unit
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| 1991/03 |
Hitachi released the 18-track, four-deck H-6486-1 cartridge-based magnetic tape unit
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| 1991/10 |
NEC announced the N7644 compact cartridge-based magnetic tape unit for small-scale ACOS models
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| 1992/09 |
Fujitsu began shipping the F6456 compact 315-cartridge magnetic tape library with 18-track cartridge drives
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| 1993/01 |
Hitachi released the H-6488-1 cartridge-based magnetic tape unit that supported 36-track bidirectional recording and data encryption
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| 1993/03 |
Hitachi released the H-6952-1 and H-6952-2 magnetic tape libraries that accommodated up to 8,751 cartridges and connect to 32 8MTC drives
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| 1993/07 |
Fujitsu began shipping the four-deck F6473K cartridge-based magnetic tape unit that supported 36-track formatting
|
| 1994/05 |
NEC announced the N7646 compact cartridge-based magnetic tape unit for parallel ACOS systems
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| 1995/03 |
Hitachi released the H-6488-31 and the H-6488-32 compact cartridge-based magnetic tape units that incorporated the controller and tape drive in one enclosure
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| 1995/07 |
Fujitsu began shipping the F6457 magnetic tape library that housed up to 48,508 cartridges and up to 64 drives
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| 1996/04 |
Hitachi released the H-6954-1 cartridge-based magnetic tape library with a 316-cartridge capacity that used a single robot to save space
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| 1997/06 |
Hitachi released the H-6495 cartridge-based magnetic tape unit that supported 128-track bidirectional recording and 17 MB/s channel transmission speeds
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| 1998/04 |
NEC announced the N3645 cartridge library with a maximum capacity of 183 TB
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| 1998/07 |
Fujitsu began shipping the F6458 magnetic tape library that housed up to 6,059 cartridges and connected to as many as 16 drives
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| 1998/09 |
NEC announced the TL620NS Travan NS Loader, a compact, integrated magnetic tape unit that made automating data backup processes inexpensive
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| 1999/06 |
Fujitsu began shipping the F6484 cartridge-based magnetic tape unit that supported 128-track cartridges and 17 MB/s channel transmission speeds
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