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Rack-mounted · 6U modules · full-height LTO-10

Quantum Scalar i6 tape library
32 PB of native LTO-10 in one standard rack

The Scalar i6 is the rack-mounted Scalar for full-height drives. Each 6U module adds 100 slots and room for three drives, eight modules fill 48U, and the library takes LTO-10 alongside LTO-9, LTO-8 and LTO-7.
50–800[src]
CARTRIDGE SLOTS
1–24[src]
FULL-HEIGHT DRIVES
32 PB[src]
NATIVE, FULL LTO-10 RACK
MODULE: 100 SLOTS, 3 DRIVES
400 MB/s[src]
NATIVE PER LTO-10 DRIVE
25 slots[src]
CAPACITY-ON-DEMAND STEP
Overview

Full-height drives in a rack-mounted library

Quantum positions the i6 as the densest library you can fit inside a standard 19-inch rack[src]. Its building block is bigger than the i3's, and so is what goes in it.

A Quantum Scalar i6 starts as one 6U module and grows to eight. Each module holds up to three full-height LTO drives and 100 storage slots[src], and the whole library licenses slots in 25-slot capacity-on-demand steps from 50 to 800[src]. Full-height drives matter for two reasons: they are the only form LTO-10 comes in for Scalar libraries, and full-height LTO-9 streams 400 MB/s native against 300 MB/s for the half-height drives in an i3[src].

Scalar i6: eight 6U modules in a 48U rackCumulative capacity assumes every slot holds a 40 TB native LTO-10 (PA) cartridge.Scalar i6, fully built800 slots · 24 drives · 48UModule 1 · controlslots 1–100 · 3 drive bays · 4 PB cumulativeModule 2slots 101–200 · 3 drive bays · 8 PB cumulativeModule 3slots 201–300 · 3 drive bays · 12 PB cumulativeModule 4slots 301–400 · 3 drive bays · 16 PB cumulativeModule 5slots 401–500 · 3 drive bays · 20 PB cumulativeModule 6slots 501–600 · 3 drive bays · 24 PB cumulativeModule 7slots 601–700 · 3 drive bays · 28 PB cumulativeModule 8slots 701–800 · 3 drive bays · 32 PB cumulative32 PB native on LTO-10 (PA)48U of 48UCumulative capacity assumes every slot holds a 40 TB native LTO-10 (PA) cartridge.
A fully built Scalar i6: eight 6U modules, each with 100 slots and up to three full-height drives, filling 48U. Per-module figures from Quantum's i6 page; the 800-slot, 24-drive and 48U limits from the Scalar datasheet. Capacity shown native on 40 TB LTO-10 (PA) media.
Media choice

What a full i6 holds on each LTO generation

The i6 takes four LTO generations in five media types, and the cartridge you choose changes the same 800 slots from under 5 PB to 32 PB[src]. LTO-10 comes in two capacities: the 40 TB native cartridge Quantum lists as LTO-10 (PA) and a 30 TB native LTO-10 (LA); WORM is available only on the 30 TB cartridge[src][src].
Full Scalar i6 native capacity by LTO mediaLTO-8 drives also take LTO-7 Type M (M8) cartridges, initialised to 9 TB native.Native petabytes in 800 slotsLTO-10 (PA)32 PBLTO-10 (LA)24 PBLTO-914.4 PBLTO-89.6 PBLTO-74.8 PBLTO-8 drives also take LTO-7 Type M (M8) cartridges, initialised to 9 TB native.
Native capacity of an 800-slot Scalar i6 by media type, from the capacity table in Quantum's Scalar datasheet. Compressed figures (2.5:1) are 2.5 times these; Quantum quotes up to 80 PB compressed per rack.
Throughput

Matching drives to a large backup

With 24 full-height drive bays the i6 can write a lot in parallel. Each LTO-10 drive streams 400 MB/s native[src]; the question is how many your backup servers and network can keep fed.
Hours to write 500 TB to LTO-10 on a Scalar i6Arithmetic: TB × 1,000,000 ÷ (MB/s × drives) ÷ 3,600. A 24-hour window marked for scale.Hours to write at native drive speed24-hour backup window3 × LTO-10 FH drives1 module of drives · 1.2 GB/s116 h6 × LTO-10 FH drives2 modules of drives · 2.4 GB/s58 h12 × LTO-10 FH drives4 modules of drives · 4.8 GB/s29 h24 × LTO-10 FH drives8 modules of drives · 9.6 GB/s14 hArithmetic: TB × 1,000,000 ÷ (MB/s × drives) ÷ 3,600. A 24-hour window marked for scale.
Worked example, not a Quantum benchmark: a 500 TB full written to LTO-10 at 400 MB/s native per drive, assuming the source can keep every drive streaming. Three drives is one module's worth; 24 is a full library.

Throughput this high usually points at Fibre Channel. Quantum offers full-height LTO-10 with 32 Gb FC or 12 Gb SAS, and its SAS drives support active optical cables for longer runs[src]. For SAS drives on an Ethernet network, the i6 also takes the Scalar iSCSI bridge[src].

Specifications

Scalar i6 technical specifications

SpecificationScalar i6
Cartridge slots50 to 800; capacity-on-demand in 25-slot steps[src]
Native capacityLTO-10 (PA) 2,000–32,000 TB · LTO-10 (LA) 1,500–24,000 TB · LTO-9 900–14,400 TB[src]
Drives1 to 24 full-height LTO, up to 3 per module[src][src]
Drive interfacesLTO-10: 32 Gb FC or 12 Gb SAS[src]; optional iSCSI bridge for SAS[src]
Form factorRackmount 6U; up to eight modules (48U); rack-mounted[src]
Module dimensions26.4 × 44.1 × 92.45 cm (H × W × D)[src]
Import/exportOne I/E station, configurable in 5-slot steps (up to 240 I/E slots); bulk load by magazine[src]
AvailabilityOptional redundant (2N) power; control and data path failover[src]
ReliabilityMSBF greater than 2 million; MTTR 30 minutes[src]
Power100–240 VAC, 50–60 Hz; optional 2N power, 80 PLUS Gold supplies[src]
Media healthEDLM optional licence with dedicated scanning drives[src]
SecurityAES-256 encryption, Scalar Key Manager or KMIP, MFA, Active Vault, Tape Blocking, Ransom Block[src]

From Quantum's Scalar Tape Libraries datasheet, DS00559A-v15, except where another source is cited. Modules are customer-installable in under 30 minutes[src].

Good to know

How we size an i6

Slots

License for retention, not for the rack

Work out cartridges from retained data, copies and growth, then license that many slots. The chassis can stay part-licensed for years; the extra modules only arrive when the slot count needs them[src].
Media

Decide what happens to old tapes

If you hold LTO-8 or LTO-9 archives, keep a partition of LTO-9 drives to read them; LTO-10 drives cannot[src]. The compatibility matrix →
Security

Use the spare slots as a vault

Unlicensed slots can hold an Active Vault partition with no drives and no host path[src][src]. Active Vault and Ransom Block →
Supply & quote

Get a Scalar i6 sized and quoted

  • We size slots from your retention and growth, and drives from your backup window, on native capacity.
  • We choose LTO-10 or LTO-9 with you, and lay out partitions if you still need to read older tapes.
  • We check FC or SAS connectivity, rack depth and power before you order.
  • We quote the library, drives, media, EDLM, key management and Quantum support together.

Get a Quantum quote

Tell us how much you keep, for how long, and what writes the backups. We size the library or appliance and quote the complete build.

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FAQs

Quantum Scalar i6: common questions

How much data does a Quantum Scalar i6 hold?

A full Scalar i6 has 800 slots. On 40 TB LTO-10 (PA) cartridges that is 32,000 TB (32 PB) native; on 30 TB LTO-10 (LA) cartridges 24 PB; on LTO-9 14.4 PB. The smallest licensed configuration is 50 slots, 2,000 TB native on LTO-10 (PA).

How many drives go in each Scalar i6 module?

Up to three full-height LTO drives and 100 slots per 6U module, according to Quantum. Eight modules fill 48U, which is where the 24-drive and 800-slot maximums come from.

Which interfaces do LTO-10 drives use in a Scalar i6?

Quantum offers full-height LTO-10 drives with 32 Gb Fibre Channel or 12 Gb SAS, and says the SAS versions also support active optical cables for longer runs. An optional iSCSI bridge can put SAS drives on 10 GbE Ethernet.

Can one Scalar i6 run LTO-9 and LTO-10 together?

Yes. Quantum states that different generations of LTO drives and media can be mixed in a single Scalar library. The catch is that an LTO-10 drive cannot read or write LTO-9 or older cartridges, so a mixed i6 is usually best split into partitions: LTO-9 drives with the LTO-9 tapes you still need to restore from, LTO-10 drives for new writes.

Can unlicensed slots be used for an air-gapped vault?

Yes. Quantum says the optional Active Vault feature can use unlicensed slots for secure in-library vaulting on the i6, and its Active Vault brief describes vault partitions as library-managed partitions of unlicensed slots, with no drives and no host connection. On the i6, tapes are moved into the vault from the library GUI; Quantum’s datasheet lists automatic export redirect on the i6000 and i7 RAPTOR only.

What does EDLM do on a Scalar i6?

Extended Data Life Management is an optional licence that scans cartridges in the background on dedicated scanning drives and alerts on suspect or bad media. It is available on the i6, i6000 and i7 RAPTOR, not the i3. A full scan of a full 40 TB LTO-10 (PA) cartridge takes about 30 hours, so full scans are usually scheduled by policy, with quicker Quick or Normal scans in between.

Can Servnet supply a Scalar i6 configured for LTO-10?

Yes. We can supply and quote the Scalar i6 with LTO-10 or LTO-9 full-height drives, the licensed slot count your retention needs, media, Scalar Key Manager and Quantum support, and plan the partition layout if you still hold older tapes.

The Quantum range

More Quantum products we supply and quote

Quantum tape, backup & object storage →
Scalar tape, DXi backup and ActiveScale object storage, and how they fit together.
Quantum Scalar i3 tape library →
25 to 800 slots in 3U steps, up to 24 half-height LTO-9 drives.
Scalar i6000 & i7 RAPTOR →
Enterprise and hyperscale: up to 14,100 slots or 2,016 in one rack.
Quantum SuperLoader 3 autoloader →
2U, 8 or 16 cartridges, one half-height LTO-9 drive.
Quantum LTO tape drives & media →
Half-height LTO-9 drives, LTO-10 in libraries, and which tapes each reads.
Scalar Active Vault & Ransom Block →
Air-gapped tape inside the library, from vault partition to physical block.
Quantum DXi backup appliances →
Deduplicating backup targets from a free virtual appliance to 2.2 PB.
Quantum ActiveScale object storage →
On-premises S3 with a tape-backed, Glacier-compatible cold tier.
Keep exploring

Related Servnet guides, tools and hardware

Sources

Every specification on this page comes from Quantum's own product pages, datasheets and tech briefs, listed below with their dates. Where Quantum's web copy and a datasheet differ, we use the datasheet. Figures are confirmed against the current revision when we quote.

  1. Quantum Scalar i6 · web page, read 29 Oct 2026
  2. Scalar Tape Libraries datasheet (DS00559A-v15) · PDF dated 21 Oct 2026
  3. Quantum LTO-10 · web page, read 29 Oct 2026
  4. Quantum LTO Media · web page, read 29 Oct 2026
  5. LTO Ultrium media datasheet (DS00383A) · PDF dated 31 Aug 2026
  6. Scalar iSCSI Bridge datasheet (DS00572A) · PDF dated 25 Aug 2025
  7. Scalar Extended Data Life Management datasheet (DS00513A) · PDF dated 8 Oct 2026
  8. Scalar Active Vault tech brief (TB00054A) · PDF dated 19 Sep 2025

Quantum, Scalar, SuperLoader, DXi, ActiveScale and iLayer are trademarks of Quantum Corporation. Linear Tape-Open, LTO and Ultrium are trademarks of HPE, IBM and Quantum. Servnet is an independent UK IT reseller; this page is our own guide to the range.

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