1 Beyond™ ThunderTape 2™ External Mac LTO Storage

The 1 Beyond ThunderTape 2 external LTO storage solution for Macintocsh features two devices in one appliance for maximum functionality. With a Thunderbolt-connected LTO-6 drive with second device option, this appliance is the company's latest addition to its family of LTO archive solutions and is ideal for the entry-level Macintosh user or small post-facility wanting a simple way to connect a tape drive to an existing Macintosh for the most cost-effective LTO backup solution.

 

The 1 Beyond ThunderTape 2 succeeds the single LTO drive 1 Beyond ThunderTape which was introduced as the first Thunderbolt LTO tape drive for Macintosh. By working with customers with different workflow requirements, 1 Beyond learned that most customers wanted more than a single LTO drive and therefore developed the ThunderTape 2 follow-on. Mac users with even more expansion needs can upgrade to the recently-announced 1 Beyond ThunderMAX expansion chassis.

For the first product review go to Larry Jordan’s Edit Smart Article on the 1 Beyond ThunderTape 2.

The 1 Beyond ThunderTape 2 connects via Thunderbolt 2 to any Mac with Thunderbolt port. In
its base configuration, the ThunderTape 2 includes a single LTO-6 drive and an empty bay which
can be configured with an additional device when shipped or later as requirements dictate. It
ships with LTFS drivers and a simple copy utility optimized for browsing and copying files to/from LTO tape which overcomes the limitation Finder has with LTO/LTFS tapes. Like the original ThunderTape, the ThunderTape 2 is housed in an all metal, rugged portable chassis with a
convenient handle on top.

The second bay can be configured to hold:

• A second LTO drive, either LTO-5 or LTO-6
• A 4TB SAS high performance disk
• A 1 Beyond GoHDCart removable disk cartridge (HDD or SSD)
• Up to four 2.5” SSD or HDD configured in OS X as a RAID for fast performance

The second LTO tape drive gives these advantages:

• Parallel copy to two tapes in one pass which saves time when wanting duplicate tapes.
• Simultaneous reading from one tape drive while writing to another which enables a facility to retrieve from tape while continuing backup jobs.
• Migration from one LTO generation to another by putting tape drives of different generations in the two slots for maximum range of tape formats that can be read/written.

The additional storage can be used for many things including:

• Extra storage to work from and archive to as no one ever has enough storage.
• Archiving across a network with the ThunderTape 2 as a repository for files to be archived. Note, an LTO drive alone cannot be “shared”. 
• Removable drive option giving on-set DITs a way to backup to tape and hard drive and give both to the client.

1 Beyond has been shipping LTO solutions since before LTFS came out and is a strategic partner
of IBM and HP for the media and entertainment industry. In addition, 1 Beyond developed the
specially-configured compliance checker for Discovery Communications to automate incoming inspection for the new LTO file-based footage delivery specifications.

The ThunderTape 2 adds to the popular line of 1 Beyond LTO backup solutions that now includes:

• For the PC: the 1 Beyond NetDrive, 1 Beyond Wrangler, and 1 Beyond FlexVTR
• For the Mac: the new 1 Beyond ThunderTape 2 and the 1 Beyond ThunderMAX, which provides PCI-e slots and device options for those needing even more Thunderbolt expansion.
• Robotic tape libraries with the unique 1 Beyond EzStor controller which presents an 

LTFS Tape Library as simple NAS storage. The 1 Beyond ThunderTape 2 with an LTO-6 drive is $3895 complete. Additional drive or storage is priced separately. 1 Beyond provides workflow consulting to all who inquire about LTO and will recommend appropriate software for customer requirements including archive software (Imagine Products Pre Roll Post), asset management software (e.g. CatDV or Axle) and on-set backup (e.g. YoYottaID).