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Lenovo LTO Generation 7 (LTO7) Internal SAS Tape Drive

Product Guide

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Updated
3 Mar 2021
Form Number
LP0718
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10 pages, 169 KB

Abstract

The ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Generation 7 (LTO 7) SAS Tape Drive is a high-performance, high-capacity data-storage device that is designed to back up and restore open-systems applications. It offers native storage capacity of 6 TB per cartridge (15 TB at 2.5:1 compression) and a maximum native data transfer rate of up to 300 Mbps (750 Mbps compressed). This enterprise data protection offering has a 5.25” half-height internal form factor for integration into ThinkSystem servers.

This product guide provides essential presales information to understand the LTO 7 SAS tape drive offerings and their key features, specifications, and compatibility. This guide is intended for technical specialists, sales specialists, sales engineers, IT architects, and other IT professionals who want to learn more about LTO 7 SAS tape drive offerings and consider their use in IT solutions.

Change History

Changes in the March 3, 2021 update:

  • The server support tables are now automatically updated - Server support section

Introduction

The ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Generation 7 (LTO 7) SAS Tape Drive is a high-performance, high-capacity data-storage device that is designed to back up and restore open-systems applications. It offers native storage capacity of 6 TB per cartridge (15 TB at 2.5:1 compression) and a maximum native data transfer rate of up to 300 Mbps (750 Mbps compressed). This enterprise data protection offering has a 5.25” half-height internal form factor for integration into ThinkSystem servers.

Figure 1 shows the ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO7 SAS Tape Drive.

ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO7 SAS Tape Drive
Figure 1. ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO7 SAS Tape Drive

Did you know?

LTO Generation 7 tape drives is compatible with the cartridges of its predecessor. The LTO7 drive can read and write LTO6 cartridges and read LTO5 cartridges.

Part number information

The following table lists the ordering part numbers and feature codes.

Table 1. Ordering information
Part number Feature code Description
7T27A01503 AVF5 ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Gen7 SAS Tape Drive
7TP7A01606 AVF7 ThinkSystem  LTO Gen7 6TB Tape (One 6 TB tape cartridge media)

The tape drive option part number 7T27A01503 includes these items:

  • 5.25-inch internal tape drive
  • 12Gb SAS cable for internal tape connectivity
  • Power cable
  • Cleaning cartridge
  • Documentation

Features

The LTO Generation 7 Tape Drive is a high-performance, high-capacity tape drive. The drive records data using a linear serpentine recording format on half-inch tape housed within a cartridge. The data tracks are located using preformatted servo tracks.

Features of the LTO Generation 7 Internal SAS Tape Drives include:

  • Compatibility

    LTO 7 can store 2.4 times as much data (6000 GB) to an LTO-type tape cartridge as the LTO6 drive (2500 GB), without compression. LTO7 can also read and write LTO6 cartridges, and read only Ultrium 5 cartridges, and thus can interchange data with LTO6 and LTO5 tape drives.

    Note, however, the LTO7 drive will only allow an LTO6 cartridge to be written at the LTO6 density (2500 GB). The LTO7 drive will not allow an LTO6 cartridge to be re-formatted to the LTO7 format.

  • Increased recording density

    The Ultrium 7 drive uses a new data cartridge that externally has the same physical dimensions as previous LTO cartridges, however the linear recording density is higher at 19.09 kb/mm and the magnetic particle is now Barium Ferrite (BaFe) compared to Super Finavinx used in LTO6 and earlier cartridges. Such advances have resulted in higher storage capacity of cartridges.

  • Write once, read many (WORM) support

    LTO7 tape drives and support write once, read many (WORM) cartridges to help protect your data. With WORM cartridges you can store vital data in a non-erasable, non-rewritable format. The WORM cartridge types are geometrically identical to the R/W cartridge, and use the same rewritable media, however, mechanical and electronic features of the cartridge are different for WORM cartridge types, preventing the cartridge from being re-recorded.

  • Encryption

    The LTO7 drive features hardware-based AES-256 data encryption capabilities which can securely store data to help ensure compliancy with data security, information disclosure, and privacy regulations for data at rest.

  • Operator panel

    The LTO7 tape drive has a front operator panel comprised of a status LED indicator, an Encryption active LED indicator, an unload push button, and a single-character display. The single-character display indicates errors and communicates messages, such as requests for a cleaning tapes. The display is also used by the operator for diagnostic and maintenance functions.

  • SAS connection

    The tape drive supports a 6 Gb or 12 Gb SAS connection using a SFF-8482 connection.

Specifications

Specifications for the LTO7 Internal SAS Tape Drives are as follows:

  • 6 Gbps SAS host interface
  • Native storage capacity of 6 TB per cartridge (15 TB at 2.5:1 compression)
  • Maximum native data transfer rate of up to 300 MB/s, 750 MB/s compressed
  • Burst data transfer rate of up to 750 MB/s
  • 1024 MB read-and-write cache
  • Support for encryption on Ultrium 7 and Ultrium 6 tape cartridges
  • Single-character display (SCD) operator panel

Server support

The following tables list the ThinkSystem servers that are compatible.

Table 2. Server support (Part 1 of 4)
Part Number Description AMD V3 2S Intel V3/V4 4S 8S Intel V3 Multi Node V3/V4 GPU Rich
SR635 V3 (7D9H / 7D9G)
SR655 V3 (7D9F / 7D9E)
SR645 V3 (7D9D / 7D9C)
SR665 V3 (7D9B / 7D9A)
ST650 V3 (7D7B / 7D7A)
SR630 V3 (7D72 / 7D73)
SR650 V3 (7D75 / 7D76)
SR630 V4 (7DG8 / 7DG9)
SR850 V3 (7D97 / 7D96)
SR860 V3 (7D94 / 7D93)
SR950 V3 (7DC5 / 7DC4)
SD535 V3 (7DD8 / 7DD1)
SD530 V3 (7DDA / 7DD3)
SD550 V3 (7DD9 / 7DD2)
SD520 V4 (7DFZ / 7DFY)
SR670 V2 (7Z22 / 7Z23)
SR675 V3 (7D9Q / 7D9R)
SR680a V3 (7DHE)
SR685a V3 (7DHC)
SR780a V3 (7DJ5)
7T27A01503 ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Gen7 SAS Tape Drive N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N
Table 3. Server support (Part 2 of 4)
Part Number Description 1S V3 Edge Super Computing 1S Intel V2 2S Intel V2
ST50 V3 (7DF4 / 7DF3)
ST250 V3 (7DCF / 7DCE)
SR250 V3 (7DCM / 7DCL)
SE350 (7Z46 / 7D1X)
SE350 V2 (7DA9)
SE360 V2 (7DAM)
SE450 (7D8T)
SE455 V3 (7DBY)
SC750 V4 (7DDJ)
SD665 V3 (7D9P)
SD665-N V3 (7DAZ)
SD650 V3 (7D7M)
SD650-I V3 (7D7L)
SD650-N V3 (7D7N)
ST50 V2 (7D8K / 7D8J)
ST250 V2 (7D8G / 7D8F)
SR250 V2 (7D7R / 7D7Q)
ST650 V2 (7Z75 / 7Z74)
SR630 V2 (7Z70 / 7Z71)
SR650 V2 (7Z72 / 7Z73)
7T27A01503 ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Gen7 SAS Tape Drive N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N Y N N
Table 4. Server support (Part 3 of 4)
Part Number Description AMD V1 Dense V2 4S V2 8S 4S V1 1S Intel V1
SR635 (7Y98 / 7Y99)
SR655 (7Y00 / 7Z01)
SR655 Client OS
SR645 (7D2Y / 7D2X)
SR665 (7D2W / 7D2V)
SD630 V2 (7D1K)
SD650 V2 (7D1M)
SD650-N V2 (7D1N)
SN550 V2 (7Z69)
SR850 V2 (7D31 / 7D32)
SR860 V2 (7Z59 / 7Z60)
SR950 (7X11 / 7X12)
SR850 (7X18 / 7X19)
SR850P (7D2F / 2D2G)
SR860 (7X69 / 7X70)
ST50 (7Y48 / 7Y50)
ST250 (7Y45 / 7Y46)
SR150 (7Y54)
SR250 (7Y52 / 7Y51)
7T27A01503 ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Gen7 SAS Tape Drive N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N Y Y N N
Table 5. Server support (Part 4 of 4)
Part Number Description 2S Intel V1 Dense V1
ST550 (7X09 / 7X10)
SR530 (7X07 / 7X08)
SR550 (7X03 / 7X04)
SR570 (7Y02 / 7Y03)
SR590 (7X98 / 7X99)
SR630 (7X01 / 7X02)
SR650 (7X05 / 7X06)
SR670 (7Y36 / 7Y37)
SD530 (7X21)
SD650 (7X58)
SN550 (7X16)
SN850 (7X15)
7T27A01503 ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Gen7 SAS Tape Drive Y N N N N N N N N N N N

Supported HBAs

The following table lists the host bus adapters that are supported with the tape drives

Table 6. Supported HBAs
Part number Feature code Description
ThinkSystem HBAs
7Y37A01088 AUNL ThinkSystem 430-8i SAS/SATA 12Gb HBA
7Y37A01089 AUNM ThinkSystem 430-16i SAS/SATA 12Gb HBA

Front panel

The following figure shows the front panel of the tape drive.

Figure 3. Front panel
Figure 2. Front panel

The single-character display presents a single-character code for error conditions and informational messages. When the drive is in maintenance mode, the display shows diagnostic or maintenance functions. The SCD dot is off during normal operations; it is used only while the drive is in maintenance mode.

Supported software products

The tape drive supports the following software products:

  • NetVault Backup
  • ARCServe Backup
  • Networker Backup and Recovery (Does not support removable disk)
  • Backup Exec
  • Tivoli Storage Manager
  • Yosemite Server Backup
  • Built-in backup functionality of supported operating system (native backup)

Supported operating systems

The following table lists the supported operating systems for the drives:

Tip: These tables are automatically generated based on data from Lenovo ServerProven.

Not supported in guest OSes: The LTO tape drives are supported when attached and run from host operating systems, however, in virtualization environments (for example, Hyper-V, Xen), the tape drives are not supported in the guest operating systems.

Table 7. Operating system support for ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Gen7 SAS Tape Drive, 7T27A01503
Operating systems
ST250
ST50
ST650 V2
ST550 (Xeon Gen 2)
ST550 (Xeon Gen 1)
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 N N N N Y
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Y Y Y Y Y
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Y Y Y Y Y
Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Y N Y Y Y
Microsoft Windows Server 2025 N N Y N N
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.10 N N N N Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.9 N N N N Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.3 N N N N Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4 N N N N Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.5 Y Y N N Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.6 N N N Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.7 Y Y N Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.8 Y Y N Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.9 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.0 Y Y N Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.1 Y Y N Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.10 N N Y Y N
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.3 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.5 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.7 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.9 Y Y Y Y N
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.1 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Y Y Y Y Y
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.3 Y Y Y Y N
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.4 N N Y Y N
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.5 N N Y Y N
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 N N N N Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 with Xen N N N N Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 N N N N Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP2 with Xen N N N N Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 Y N N N Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP3 with Xen Y N N N Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 N N N Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 with Xen N N N Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 with Xen Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 Y N N Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 Y Y N Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 with Xen Y Y N Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 with Xen Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 with Xen Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 with Xen Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 with Xen Y Y Y Y Y
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 N N Y N N
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 with Xen Y N N Y Y
Ubuntu 18.04.5 LTS N N Y N N
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS Y Y Y Y Y
Ubuntu 24.04 LTS N N Y N N
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 6.7 U3 N N Y N N
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 7.0 U1 Y Y N Y Y
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 7.0 U2 Y Y Y Y Y
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 7.0 U3 Y Y N Y Y
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 8.0 U1 Y Y Y Y Y
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 8.0 U2 Y Y Y Y Y
VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) 8.0 U3 N N Y Y Y

Physical specifications

Physical specifications of the tape drive are as follows:

  • Height: 39 mm (1.5 in.)
  • Width: 146 mm (5.8 in.)
  • Depth: 210 mm (8.3 in.)
  • Weight: 3.2 kg (7.0 lb)

Shipping dimensions (approximate) are as follows:

  • Height: 69 mm (2.7 in)
  • Width: 176 mm (6.9 in)
  • Depth: 240 mm (9.5 in)
  • Weight: 3.8 kg (8.3 lb)

Operating environment

The tape drive is supported in the following environment:

  • Temperature:
    • 10° to 40°C (50° to 104°F) at 0 to 914 m (0 to 3,000 ft)
    • 10° to 40°C (50° to 104°F) at 3048 m (10,000 ft)
  • Relative humidity: 20% to 80% (noncondensing)
  • Maximum altitude: 12,192 m (40,000 ft)

Warranty

The ThinkSystem Internal Half High LTO Gen7 SAS Tape Drive has a one-year limited warranty. When installed in a supported server, the tape drive inherits the server's base warranty and any warranty upgrade.

The LTO cartridges are considered consumable media and are not covered by the product warranty.

Related product families

Product families related to this document are the following:

Trademarks

Lenovo and the Lenovo logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both. A current list of Lenovo trademarks is available on the Web at https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/legal/copytrade/.

The following terms are trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both:
Lenovo®
ServerProven®
ThinkSystem®

The following terms are trademarks of other companies:

AMD is a trademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Intel® and Xeon® are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries.

Linux® is the trademark of Linus Torvalds in the U.S. and other countries.

Microsoft®, Hyper-V®, Windows Server®, and Windows® are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both.

Other company, product, or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.