Data8
form of magnetic tape storage
The 8 mm backup format is a discontinued magnetic tape data storage format used in computer systems, pioneered by Exabyte Corporation. It is also known as Data8, often abbreviated to D8 and is written as D-Eight on some Sony-branded media. Such systems can back up up to 60 GB of data depending on configuration. The cassettes have the same dimensions and construction as the cassettes used in 8 mm video format recorders and camcorders.
Until the advent of AIT, Exabyte was the sole vendor of 8 mm format tape drives. The company was formed with the aim of taking the 8 mm video format and making it suitable for data storage. They did so by building a reliable mechanism and data format that used the common 8 mm helical scan videotape technology that was available then.
Exabyte's first 8 mm tape drive was made available in 1987. This was followed up with their Mammoth tape drive in 1996, and the Mammoth-2 (M2) in 1999.
Exabyte's drive mechanisms were frequently rebranded and integrated into UNIX systems.
“Data8” enters the record as form of magnetic tape storage. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Data8, form and magnetic can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Data8” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Data8, form and magnetic provides the most credible route into that argument.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1888396. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1987, 1996 and 1999.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Data8”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Data8 primary sources, Data8 archive and Data8 research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Data8”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Data8” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.