For information on Prelabeled Media, please see the
Prelabled Media FAQ.
 Why
is HP storage media the best product for my HP StorageWorks device?
The best possible microscope to test media is a tape drive, or rather
hundreds of thousands of tape drives in R&D and manufacturing. All HP
cartridges and drives are designed, manufactured and tested together to
provide optimum performance of the complete solution. HP is the only
manufacturer to have a significant market presence in both drives and media
and a clear understanding of the conditions that face them in the real
world.
How
does HP guarantee the quality of its storage media?
HP media customers are many and varied but variations in external conditions
can have a massive effect on tape error rate. Increased error rates
jeopardizes backup, and backup disruption jeopardizes business continuity.
HP specifies stringent durability and reliability metrics that the media
must satisfy before it is good enough to bear the HP logo. Having achieved
the required standard, HP continuously tests and monitors the quality of
every batch of media that is destined to bear the HP logo.
HP media specifications far exceed industry standards.
- No other media supplier carries out such exhaustive
qualification of the drive and media as they are used in the field.
- In 2002, 170,000 different tests were performed, accounting for
1.3 million test hours.
- HP testing includes procedures like drop testing, load/unload,
environmental stress tests and archival simulation that are not
required to gain industry logos.
But
doesn't everyone test their media like this?
Not at all. Unlike HP, media manufacturers don't actually test their tapes
on drives. They use basic mechanisms with a read/write head. HP believes the
best microscope for a tape is a tape drive because that's what customers use
in the real world. And media manufacturers cannot recreate the experience of
manufacturing, testing and supporting millions of tape drives in the field.
HP knows how drives and media perform under all conditions and has built
these demands into the specification for its storage media.
Doesn't
HP just sell a few pieces of media to support customers who can't buy
another brand? Why shouldn't I use other makes of tape?
HP's commitment to customers in terms of media begins when they first
purchase their storage device and continues throughout the life of the
product. Only by buying HP will they benefit from our combined drive and
media expertise, single sourcing and, of course, HP's "real life" media
reliability testing. This expertise is highly valued by end users. According
to Santa Clara Consulting Group, HP is the leading supplier of Ultrium media
worldwide (SCCG Tape Tracker Q2 CY04, August 2004).
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