RDX Technology

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2008)

1 RDX removable disk technology
2 Description
3 Archiveability
4 Distribution
5 References

[edit] RDX removable disk technology

[edit] Description

RDX (removable disk technology) is a disk-based storage format developed by ProStor Systems Incorporated in 2004. Designed to protect and archive digital data and replace tape storage, RDX removable disk technology consists of a removable disk cartridge and an RDX dock. The RDX cartridge is designed for portability with a mobile 2.5-inch hard disk drive suspended in a shock-proof cartridge that meets drop test requirements of 39 inches (1 meter) onto a tiled or concrete floor without damage. The media operates like a tape drive and, once inserted into the RDX dock, sustains up to 45 MB per second data transfer rates and backs up more than 100 gigabytes of data in an hour. RDX technology capitalizes on the best characteristics of tape storage, which is removability, portability and low cost, and disk storage, which is reliability, fast data transfer rates and instant file retrieval.

[edit] Archiveability

RDX removable disk technology provides long-term preservation of digital data with an archive life of at least 30 years. The research was published in a study performed by Percept Technology Labs, a well respected U.S.-based hardware and software test lab. This testing was designed using the commonly accepted industry standard methods for highly-accelerated life testing of storage media. ProStor collaborated with Seagate Technology in the design of the study to ensure that all relevant factors were considered, including magnetic, mechanical, electronics and media effects. The test system included Seagate Technology Momentus 5400.3 mobile 2.5” hard drives. Based on the quantitative accelerated life test method^[1], Percept Technology Lab’s accelerated life testing subjected a number of recorded RDX disk cartridges based on 2.5” HDDs (along with a sample group of standard 3.5” desktop HDDs) to a matrix of elevated storage temperatures and humidity as high as 80 degrees Celsius and 85% RH for an extended period of time. The final results use the Eyring life-stress model to predict that the RDX media lifespan in typical archival environments is at least 30 years with 99% reliability.

[edit] Distribution

RDX removable disk technology is sold through OEMs, including Tandberg Data, under the name RDX QuikStor; Imation, under the name RDX Imation; and Dell, under the name RD 1000.