Magnetic tapes are similar in operation and function to tape recorder cassettes.
Magnetic tapes are mass storage devices capable of backing up and retaining large volumes of data. They are classified as secondary storage media, and can hold and save data and programs when a computer is switched off. Magnetic tapes are similar in operation and function to tape recorder and VCR tapes.
History
Fritz Pfleumer, a German engineer, invented the magnetic tape in 1928. The earliest tapes were used largely for sound recording. According to Jyoti Snehi in the book Computer Peripherals and Interfacing, magnetic tapes were first commercially used in 1947. Magnetic tapes were first used to record computer data in 1951.
Storage Capacity
Magnetic tapes are designed to store large quantities of data, commonly exceeding 26 gigabytes. As of June 2010, magnetic tapes are capable of holding up to 35 trillion bytes (terabytes) of data.
Structure and Function
Magnetic tapes are typically 0.5 inches wide and covered with magnetizable material, over which data can be recorded. The storage part of the tape is commonly a ribbon that is coated or impregnated with a magnetic material. This magnetic ribbon is stored in reels or cartridges/cassettes that are between 50 and 2400 feet long.
Information is recorded in the form of tiny non-magnetized and magnetized spots, where the presence of a spot represents 1 and the absence represents 0. Data is stored in the form of zeroes and ones. For instance, the letter A is represented by 1011 and B is represented by 1010.
Data Recovery
Data stored on a magnetic tape is sequentially accessed, which means the contents of a magnetic tape are read from the beginning till an appropriate entry is reached. For instance, if a user wishes to access data stored in location E, the magnetic tape drive will access data stored on locations A, B, C and D before accessing and processing the required data.
Advantages
Magnetic tapes are cheaper than other types of sequential access devices. Data stored on them can be erased and they can be reused multiple times. Magnetic tapes have high storage capacity and can backup substantial amounts of information. According to Computer Peripherals and Interfacing, magnetic tapes are the most suitable storage media for storing large volumes of data.
Disadvantages
Magnetic tapes tend to deteriorate over time. Data access is slow and a tape drive has to read the entire contents of a magnetic tape before finding and accessing data.
Current Status
Faster and more efficient data storage devices (including CDs, DVDs and flash drives) have largely replaced magnetic tapes. Magnetic tapes, however, are considered a reliable alternative to CDs and other storage media in situations that call for backing up large amounts of data.
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