Plasmon jukeboxes support CD-ROM, CD-R, PD disks
Plasmon today announced a new range of CD Library jukeboxes supporting a wide range of media types. The D-Series libraries support CD-ROM, CD-Recordable and PD (CD-ROM, magneto-optical hybrid) disks in a choice of 120-, 240- and 480-disk models. Four or six drives can be fitted to each model. The CD-R unit has eight-speed read and quad-speed write drives, while the PD drives read CD-ROMs at six-speed.
The libraries are being aimed at document imaging systems and hierarchical storage management (HSM). The D-Series achieves a three second changeover time by using a dual-disk handling system. This halves the number of trips the loading mechanism must make to swap the disk in a drive. The library robotics are controlled using SCSI, which Plasmon claims is a first for a unit of this size. The library also handles all positioning information, reducing the load on the host machine.
Plasmon plans to support DVD in the future, but will not adopt the technology until there is backward compatibility with CD-Recordable media. Plasmon marketing director Stewart Vane-Tempest said: "There are a lot of people out there with data recorded on CDs. They need to know they will be able to read that data." Prices for the libraries start at £7,000.
Plasmon can be contacted by telephone on 01763-262963.