 The
IBM 3996 Optical Library, based on the Plasmon Gx-Series
Optical Library, offered storage capacities that ranged
from 960GB (32 slots) to 5.2TB (174 slots) when configured
with the Plasmon 30GB UDO-1 optical drive mechanism.
With direct connectivity to most models of the
the IBM Sytem “I” and System “p” workstations
and servers running i5/OS v5.3 and later, the IBM
3996 Optical Library offered performance and capacity
increases of over 5 times that of the IBM
3995 library.
IBM 3996 Optical libraries were available in three
models, including the Model 032, Model 080, and
Model 174, with storage capacities of 960GB, 2.4TB,
and 5.2TB respectively, all of which included a
media bar code reader to improve off-line media
management and reduce media inventory times within
the library.
In 2008, IBM announced the End-of-Life for the
entire family of 3996 optical libraries, with End-of-Support
scheduled for 2013, at which time IBM may or may
not be able to provide replacement drives or robotic
parts for these libraries.
Plasmon
UDO Libraries, offering capacities from
960GB to 38TB, are the direct replacement for IBM
3996 UDO Optical libraries |
