Hitachi began shipping the large-system-oriented H-6486-1 in March 1991 as a magnetic tape unit using 18-track cartridges for automation and sequential processing of large amounts of magnetic tape storage and to save space.
One enclosure contained four tape drives, and the eight-drive configuration reduced the unit’s footprint by more than 30 percent. Each drive was standard equipped with an auto cartridge stacker that held 12-cartridge magazines, for the sequential processing of large amounts of tape data.
Other features included a large, easy-to-read message panel, up to 16 channel connections with the host, and data transfer speeds of 9 MB per second.
| Model name | H-6486-1 | H-6485-1 (for reference) |
|---|---|---|
| Magnetic tape specifications |
width: 1/2inch, length: 165 m | |
| Number of tracks | 18 | |
| Recording density [bytes/inch] |
38,000 | |
| IBG（mm） | 2 | |
| Tape speed [m/s] | 2 | |
| Tape speed [m/s] | 3.0/6.0/9.0 | 3.0/6.0 |
| Number of drives | 4 | 2 |
| Auto cartridge stacker | Standard (four 12-cartridge stackers) | Optional (two 8-cartridge stackers) |
| Max. number of channel connections | 16 *1 | 8 *1 |
*1.When dual controllers are installed.
