And to answer the other question - yes. It fell out of favor due to performance, density and price. The WORM tapes can be used in the same devices as the normal R/W tapes so you don't need special hardware to work with the WORM cartridge, and IIRC the WORM tape works at the same speed as a normal 3592.
Rex It looks like 1 model of the IBM 3995 optical library is still available - the 3995-C46 - but if the non-mainframe optical jukeboxes I am aware of are anything like this, it is painfully slow (which is the nature of optical). -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Pommier, Rex Sent: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 3:09 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: WORM backup tapes block ransomeware attacks? Hi Peter, Yes a WORM device was originally a physical cartridge that was indelibly marked when written to make it unalterable like the devices you mentioned. A WORM tape - in my mind - is more of a logical WORM in that it is not laser etched data on the tape. There are physical WORM tapes, but they use regular tape media, just formatted differently. The tape cartridge also has a chip in it that tags the tape as being a WORM. That "marking" in the tape is read by the tape drive, which then doesn't allow the data on the tape to be modified. https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.ibm.com/docs/en/ts3500-tape-library?topic=media-worm-functionality-3592-tape-drives__;!!KjMRP1Ixj6eLE0Fj!tU5YlSdI3wMvFAslS0qT5ZC8feuvCOo2CIdfHTITXRSZy2dL2hjr6o4kaTgbeVNVyfv3kYvShKIpxPzlj6uunRHfXjDAYb9xiGpb$ Rex -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Farley, Peter Sent: Wednesday, April 9, 2025 2:19 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: WORM backup tapes block ransomeware attacks? Hardware ignorant question – I thought WORM drives were originally laser-written optical discs writing to what was something like a CDROM or a DVDROM. What are WORM tapes? Did actual optical media (as opposed to any kind of tape) fall out of favor or just fail to keep up in performance or density? Peter This message and any attachments are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If the reader of the message is not the intended recipient or an authorized representative of the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please notify us immediately by e-mail and delete the message and any attachments from your system. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
