Magnetic tape controller - Revision history

Jnc: Expand on single-formatter rationale

2023-12-29T15:44:43Z

Expand on single-formatter rationale

Jnc: Discuss master/slave drives with formatter

2023-12-29T13:53:50Z

Discuss master/slave drives with formatter

Jnc: New cat

2022-05-30T12:14:00Z

New cat

Jnc: +cat

2018-12-13T14:45:07Z

+cat

Jnc: Proper cat

2018-10-20T00:06:53Z

Proper cat

Jnc: Clarify

2018-01-19T13:42:33Z

Clarify

Jnc: An OK start

2018-01-19T13:08:22Z

An OK start

New page

A '''magnetic tape controller''' is the term for the electronics which connect a [[magnetic tape drive]] up to a computer.

Exactly what functionality is included all depends on the manufacturer, and often on the particular product line, though; how they paritition functionality, and how they pull out common sub-units to prevent un-needed duplication.

One common variant is the division of the controller functionality into one unit which is the actual interface to the computer, and another, the '''formatter''', which understands how to talk to the drive, and write standard formatted tapes.

An example of the single controller organization is the [[Digital Equipment Corporation]] [[TU10 magtape drive]]/[[TM11 magtape controller]] system; the DEC [[MASSBUS]] system of a MASSBUS interface, [[TM02 magtape controller|TM02]] formatter, and tape drives, is an example of a separate formatter and bus interface.

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 A '''magnetic tape controller''', also called a '''formatter''' in some variants, is the term for the [[electronic]]s which connect [[magnetic tape drive]](s) to a computer. Exactly what functionality is included all depends on the manufacturer, and often on the particular product line, though; how they partition functionality, and how they pull out common sub-units to prevent un-needed duplication.
-One common variant is the division of the controller functionality into a unit which is the actual [[interface]] to the computer, and another, the formatter, which understands how to talk to the drive(s), and write standard formatted tapes. Sometimes, the formatter is included with the ''first drive'' of a string, which is called the 'master' drive, the others being denominated as 'slave' drives. (This approach is common with computer interfaces which can only control a single drive at a time; having only a single formatter, in the aster, reduces the cost of the slave drives.)
+One common variant is the division of the controller functionality into a unit which is the actual [[interface]] to the computer, and another, the formatter, which understands how to talk to the drive(s), and write standard formatted tapes. Sometimes, the formatter is included with the ''first drive'' of a string, which is called the 'master' drive, the others being denominated as 'slave' drives. (This approach is common with computer interfaces which can only control a single drive at a time, and thus can only use a single formatter at a time; having only a single one, in the master drive, reduces the cost of the slave drives.)
 An example of the single controller organization is the [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[TU10 magtape drive|TU10]]/[[TM11 magtape controller|TM11]] system (which also uses the master/slave approach); the DEC [[MASSBUS]] system of a MASSBUS interface, [[TM02 magtape controller|TM02]] formatter, and tape drives, is an example of a separate formatter and bus interface.

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-A '''magnetic tape controller''' is the term for the [[electronic]]s which connect [[magnetic tape drive]](s) to a computer.
+A '''magnetic tape controller''', also called a '''formatter''' in some variants, is the term for the [[electronic]]s which connect [[magnetic tape drive]](s) to a computer. Exactly what functionality is included all depends on the manufacturer, and often on the particular product line, though; how they partition functionality, and how they pull out common sub-units to prevent un-needed duplication.
-Exactly what functionality is included all depends on the manufacturer, and often on the particular product line, though; how they partition functionality, and how they pull out common sub-units to prevent un-needed duplication.
+One common variant is the division of the controller functionality into a unit which is the actual [[interface]] to the computer, and another, the formatter, which understands how to talk to the drive(s), and write standard formatted tapes. Sometimes, the formatter is included with the ''first drive'' of a string, which is called the 'master' drive, the others being denominated as 'slave' drives. (This approach is common with computer interfaces which can only control a single drive at a time; having only a single formatter, in the aster, reduces the cost of the slave drives.)
-One common variant is the division of the controller functionality into a unit which is the actual [[interface]] to the computer, and another, the '''formatter''', which understands how to talk to the drive(s), and write standard formatted tapes.
+An example of the single controller organization is the [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[TU10 magtape drive|TU10]]/[[TM11 magtape controller|TM11]] system (which also uses the master/slave approach); the DEC [[MASSBUS]] system of a MASSBUS interface, [[TM02 magtape controller|TM02]] formatter, and tape drives, is an example of a separate formatter and bus interface.
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 [[Category: Magnetic Tape]]

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-A '''magnetic tape controller''' is the term for the electronics which connect [[magnetic tape drive]](s) to a computer.
+A '''magnetic tape controller''' is the term for the [[electronic]]s which connect [[magnetic tape drive]](s) to a computer.
-Exactly what functionality is included all depends on the manufacturer, and often on the particular product line, though; how they paritition functionality, and how they pull out common sub-units to prevent un-needed duplication.
+Exactly what functionality is included all depends on the manufacturer, and often on the particular product line, though; how they partition functionality, and how they pull out common sub-units to prevent un-needed duplication.
-One common variant is the division of the controller functionality into a unit which is the actual interface to the computer, and another, the '''formatter''', which understands how to talk to the drive(s), and write standard formatted tapes.
+One common variant is the division of the controller functionality into a unit which is the actual [[interface]] to the computer, and another, the '''formatter''', which understands how to talk to the drive(s), and write standard formatted tapes.
 An example of the single controller organization is the [[Digital Equipment Corporation|DEC]] [[TU10 magtape drive|TU10]]/[[TM11 magtape controller|TM11]] system; the DEC [[MASSBUS]] system of a MASSBUS interface, [[TM02 magtape controller|TM02]] formatter, and tape drives, is an example of a separate formatter and bus interface.
-{{stub}}
+{{semi-stub}}