Memory In Cassette

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What Does Memory In Cassette Mean?

Memory in cassette (MIC) is a memory chip with 64 Kb memory chip built into advanced intelligent tape (AIT) data cartridges. Compared to conventional tape drives, which needs to rewind to the start of the tape to start reading the system log and find the desired file, the memory-in-cassette chip provides more sophisticated data access and helps decrease file access times up by 50 percent. The ability to load and unload the tape at any point makes memory in cassette useful. MIC also decreases the normal wear and tear on a cartridge by eliminating the need to rewind to the beginning of the tape.

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Techopedia Explains Memory In Cassette

Memory-in cassette hardware makes uses of an Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM), which is mounted within the data cartridge and consists of a five-pin interface to the external connection or drive. Information stored in memory-in-cassette consists of information written at the time the cartridge is manufactured, data accesses when media was first loaded into the advanced intelligent tape drive and the portions that are written directly by user applications.

The advantages of MIC include:

  • Faster mode of data access
  • More reliability
  • More reliable and faster access to volume serial information
  • Improved data-set management by making use of user-specified volume and partition notes
  • Greater data integrity and better tracking through a fault-tolerant system log
  • Improved media security thanks to decryption codes kept in the memory in cassette
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Margaret Rouse
Technology expert
Margaret Rouse
Technology expert

Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret’s idea of ​​a fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages.