IBM 3420 magnetic tape drives
E771685
IBM 3420 magnetic tape drives are a family of high-performance, reel-to-reel tape storage devices introduced by IBM in the early 1970s for mainframe data backup and archival.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| IBM 3420 magnetic tape drives canonical | 1 |
How this entity was disambiguated
This entity first appeared as the object of triple T8993300 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.
NED1
Entity disambiguation (via context triple)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: IBM 3420 magnetic tape drives Context triple: [IBM 3033, usedWith, IBM 3420 magnetic tape drives]
-
A.
IBM 3274 control unit
The IBM 3274 control unit is a mainframe peripheral device that manages and multiplexes multiple IBM 3270-family terminals and printers, handling their communication with the host computer.
-
B.
IBM 3081
The IBM 3081 was a high-performance mainframe computer introduced in the early 1980s as part of IBM’s next generation of System/370-compatible processors, known for significantly advancing processing speed and system throughput in enterprise computing.
-
C.
IBM 5153
The IBM 5153 is a color CRT monitor designed for use with early IBM PC systems, particularly the IBM PC/XT and PC/AT, supporting CGA graphics.
-
D.
IBM 3174 establishment controller
The IBM 3174 establishment controller is a communications controller that manages and routes data between IBM 3270-family terminals and mainframe or host computer systems in enterprise environments.
-
E.
IBM 3083
The IBM 3083 is a mainframe computer model in IBM’s 308X family, introduced in the early 1980s as a more powerful and efficient successor to earlier System/370 processors.
- F. None of above. chosen
- G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.
NED2
Entity disambiguation (via description)
gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07
Target entity: IBM 3420 magnetic tape drives Target entity description: IBM 3420 magnetic tape drives are a family of high-performance, reel-to-reel tape storage devices introduced by IBM in the early 1970s for mainframe data backup and archival.
-
A.
IBM 3274 control unit
The IBM 3274 control unit is a mainframe peripheral device that manages and multiplexes multiple IBM 3270-family terminals and printers, handling their communication with the host computer.
-
B.
IBM 3081
The IBM 3081 was a high-performance mainframe computer introduced in the early 1980s as part of IBM’s next generation of System/370-compatible processors, known for significantly advancing processing speed and system throughput in enterprise computing.
-
C.
IBM 5153
The IBM 5153 is a color CRT monitor designed for use with early IBM PC systems, particularly the IBM PC/XT and PC/AT, supporting CGA graphics.
-
D.
IBM 3174 establishment controller
The IBM 3174 establishment controller is a communications controller that manages and routes data between IBM 3270-family terminals and mainframe or host computer systems in enterprise environments.
-
E.
IBM 3083
The IBM 3083 is a mainframe computer model in IBM’s 308X family, introduced in the early 1980s as a more powerful and efficient successor to earlier System/370 processors.
- F. None of above. chosen
Statements (45)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
IBM product
ⓘ
computer peripheral ⓘ magnetic tape drive family ⓘ |
| compatibleWith | industry-standard 9-track tape formats ⓘ |
| controlMethod | channel command words (CCWs) ⓘ |
| dataAccessModel | sequential-only ⓘ |
| deploymentContext |
data centers
ⓘ
enterprise computing environments ⓘ |
| designedFor | IBM mainframe computers ⓘ |
| formFactor | floor-standing cabinet ⓘ |
| hasComponent |
control electronics
ⓘ
operator control panel ⓘ read/write head assembly ⓘ tape path and guides ⓘ tape reel hub ⓘ |
| interfaceType | IBM channel-attached device ⓘ |
| introducedAroundYear | 1971 ⓘ |
| introducedInDecade | 1970s ⓘ |
| manufacturer | IBM NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| marketedAs | high-performance tape subsystem ⓘ |
| mediaType | half-inch magnetic tape ⓘ |
| notableFor |
improved reliability over earlier IBM tape drives
ⓘ
support for high-density recording formats ⓘ widespread use in mainframe installations ⓘ |
| powerRequirement | mains-powered data center equipment ⓘ |
| primaryUse |
data archival
ⓘ
data backup ⓘ |
| replacedBy | newer IBM tape subsystems such as the IBM 3480 family ⓘ |
| status | obsolete ⓘ |
| storageMedium | reel-to-reel magnetic tape ⓘ |
| successorOf | IBM 2400 series magnetic tape drives NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| supportsFeature |
automatic load and thread mechanism
ⓘ
data interchange between systems ⓘ high-speed search ⓘ |
| supportsOperation |
erase
ⓘ
read ⓘ rewind ⓘ sequential data access ⓘ write ⓘ |
| technologyGeneration | third-generation IBM tape subsystem ⓘ |
| usedFor |
batch processing workloads
ⓘ
large-scale data storage ⓘ offline data storage ⓘ |
| usedWith |
IBM System/360
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
IBM System/370 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
How these facts were elicited
The pipeline generated the facts above by prompting gpt-5.1 with this entity's name + description and the instruction below.
Instruction
You are a knowledge base construction expert. Given a subject entity and a description of it, return factual statements that you know for the subject as a JSON list of dictionaries(triples), where keys must be "subject", "predicate" and "object". The number of facts may be very high, between 25 to 50 or more, for very popular subjects. For less popular subjects, the number of facts can be very low, like 5 or 10. # Requirements - If you don't know the subject at all, return an empty list. - If the subject is not a named entity, return an empty list. - Include at least one triple where predicate is "instanceOf". - Do not get too wordy. - Separate several objects into multiple triples with one object.
Input
Subject: IBM 3420 magnetic tape drives Description of subject: IBM 3420 magnetic tape drives are a family of high-performance, reel-to-reel tape storage devices introduced by IBM in the early 1970s for mainframe data backup and archival.
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.