Digital Data Storage (DDS) was introduced in 1989, and used a version of Digital Audio Tape (DAT) for storing data.
DDS used helical scanning on magnetic tape, and stored between 1.3 GB in the first generation (DDS-1) and 36 GB uncompressed on the fifth generation (DAT 72) launched in 2003.
During its life, DDS competed against formats such as Linear Tape-Open (LTO), Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT), VXA, and Travan, and over 18 million DDS drives were sold.
Generally, DDS drives can read and write to media of one or perhaps two previous generations only, so DDS-4 drives cannot read or write from DDS-1 tapes. DDS drives cannot read or write to media from later generations.
Two later generations (DDS-160 and DDS-320) both use 8 mm wide tape in a slightly thicker cartridge, whereas the first five generation of DDS used 3.81 mm tape (often labelled as 4 mm DDS).
Sources / Resources
- DAT Technology | DAT Manufacturers Group [archived version from 16 Jun 2013]
- HP StorageWorks DDS/DAT Media – DDS/DAT Media Compatibility Matrix
- Digital Data Storage – Wikipedia
Preservation / Migration
Whilst DDS drives are still available second-hand, a single drive cannot read more than three generations of DDS.
The earliest tapes are now nearly 30 years old.
Media Stability Rating
Obsolescence Rating
