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The most listed brands in Tape Drives are HP, Dell, IBM, Sony, Quantum and Sun. Every listing names its manufacturer and part number, so you can search by either.
Both. Of the 7,282 listings, 3,066 state a condition: 2,928 are refurbished and 138 are new. The other 4,216 do not record one, so ask for it when you request a quote. The condition shown on a listing is the condition you receive.
999 Tape Drives listings show a price you can order at. Items marked "Call for Price" have a Request for Quote button; send the part number and quantity and the sales team replies weekdays between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm PST.
Tape survives in the data centre because it is the cheapest way to hold an offline copy, and a cartridge on a shelf is a copy ransomware cannot reach over a network. Buying the right drive comes down to four checks: the LTO generation, the interface, the packaging, and the condition. Memory Clearance lists 7,282 tape drives and cartridges from 39 brands, led by HP (2,729), Dell (1,470), IBM (1,160), Sony (650), and Quantum (614). 1,003 listings carry an online price; anything else carries a Request for Quote button.
Generation decides whether a restore actually works. LTO is a family, not one format: the catalogue stocks LTO-1 through LTO-5 in volume, with 438 LTO-3 listings alone, plus current LTO-7, LTO-8, and LTO-9 drives at the top end. The trap is backward compatibility, and the rule changed at LTO-8. Through LTO-7, a drive reads cartridges from two generations back and writes one generation back. From LTO-8 on, that range narrows: an LTO-8 drive reads and writes only LTO-8 and LTO-7 media, and an LTO-9 drive reads and writes only LTO-9 and LTO-8, so it will not touch an LTO-7 cartridge. Buy for the oldest cartridge you need to restore, not the newest drive available: check the generation on your cartridges first, then confirm the exact model's read and write range on its own specification before you order.
Interface decides what your server or library can plug into. Listings here include SAS drives at 6Gb/s, older SCSI models, and Fibre Channel modules for tape libraries, like IBM's Half Height Fibre Channel module for the TS3100 and TS3200. SAS is the common interface on internal and external LTO drives today. Fibre Channel modules connect into a SAN alongside a library controller, not directly into one server. Match the interface to the card already in the host, not to whichever drive has the generation you need.
Packaging is the last check. The catalogue carries internal drives sized for a 5.25-inch bay, external units in their own enclosure, and half-height modules for a library or autoloader, like HP's StoreEver MSL drive kits and scalable expansion modules. A module built for an IBM TS3100 or TS3200 library will not run as a desktop drive. Refurbished is the normal condition here, not something to apologise for: a tape drive is a mechanical, moving-parts device, so buy on stated condition rather than on age alone. Condition is stated on a listing where it is recorded, and absent where it is not; the exact part number is stated on every listing. Order by part number when replacing a drive you already run, and read what the grades mean here first.
Sometimes, and the range narrows the newer the drive. Through LTO-7, a drive reads two generations back and writes one generation back. An LTO-8 drive reads and writes only LTO-8 and LTO-7 media, and an LTO-9 drive reads and writes only LTO-9 and LTO-8, so a new LTO-9 drive will not touch an LTO-7 cartridge. Read the generation on your existing tapes, then check that exact drive model's read and write range before you order.
An internal drive is a bare mechanism sized for a 5.25-inch bay, wired to a SAS or SCSI controller already in the machine. An external drive is the same mechanism in its own enclosure with its own power supply, connected by cable, so it sits on a desk or in a rack without opening the host. Choose external to move the drive between machines without downtime.
It depends on what the drive connects to. SAS is the common interface for a single internal or external LTO drive on one server, and the SAS drives here run at 6Gb/s. Fibre Channel modules are built for tape libraries and connect into a SAN alongside a library controller, sharing the drive across multiple hosts. Match the interface to the card already installed.
Reliability comes down to the same thing on any used mechanical device: condition matters more than age. Condition is stated on a listing where it is recorded, and absent where it is not; the part number is stated on every listing so you can verify what you are buying. Refurbished is a normal condition here, not a downgrade.
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