Also known as a streamer a tape drive is primarily a data storage device. It has the ability to both read as well as write the data that is stored on a magnetic strip. The main use of tape drives is for archival storage of entire data that is saved on a hard drive. Tape media is very popular amongst the masses for its low unit cost and stability that it has to offer.

Tape drives differ from hard drives in a number of ways. Whereas hard drives allow for random access to data, tape drives will allow for sequential access only. However tape drives tend to have a slow average seek time as compared to a hard drive. But if you go for top quality pseries tape drives you will find them to be able to stream data to tape at a remarkably good speed. Some examples of excellent pseries tape drives are the IBM 62G1024, IBM 05H4644 and the IBM 05H4649.

These tape drives come in a varying range of capacities ranging from a few megabytes to hundreds off gigabytes. The price of the pseries tape drive will be relative to its storage capacity. You can however save up on the cost of buying tape drives if you go for used pseries tape drives. Pseries tape drives from IBM are known to possess the highest compression ratios offering maximum true capacity. You can get your hands on second hand pseries tape drives from MinnesotaComputers.net.