Editing REV (disk)

{{Short description|Hard disk storage system}}
{{No footnotes|date=January 2010}}
[[File:REV 35 GB, extern mit USB.jpg|thumb|REV 35&nbsp;GB removable disk with external USB reader]]
[[File:Iomega-Rev-Disk.jpg|thumb|REV 70&nbsp;GB USB reader with external disks]]

'''REV''' is a removable [[hard disk]] [[computer data storage|storage system]] from [[Iomega]], released in 2004.<ref>https://www.storageforum.net/forum/threads/news-iomega-launches-90gb-removable-disk.3527/</ref><ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20040604143936/http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/review.php?reviewId=404</ref>

The small removable disks store 35, 70, or 120 gigabytes (GB) and are hard-drive technology. Like a standard hard drive, the REV system uses a flying head to read and write data to a spinning [[Hard disk drive platter|platter]]. The removable disks contained the platter, spindle, and motor, while the drive heads and drive controller are contained within the REV drive. The drives allow for data transfer rates of about 25 megabytes (MB) per second.

The REV was available as an external desktop model with [[FireWire]], [[SCSI]] or [[USB 2.0]] interfaces, an internal model with [[SCSI]], [[ATAPI]], or [[SATA]] interfaces, or an external server model which features a cartridge [[Autoloader (data storage device)|autoloader]] and SCSI interface. Iomega also offered a 320&nbsp;GB [[network-attached storage]] appliance which features a built-in REV. The drives are compatible with [[Apple Macintosh|Macintosh]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]], and [[Linux]] [[operating system]]s, although some only with particular models or interfaces.

This product, especially the server model, was marketed as a replacement of [[tape drive]] technology for enterprise data [[backup]], with claims of higher reliability, greater speed, and [[random access]] capability.

The REV was in many ways a successor to Iomega's [[Jaz drive]], which uses a similar removable hard-disk-platter concept. However the Jaz design does not put the drive motor in the disk case.

The disks are formatted with the [[Universal Disk Format|UDF]] [[file system]] on Windows and [[Unix]]/[[Linux]]. On Apple systems, they may be formatted as [[HFS+]] or UDF in [[Mac OS X]].

A ''seemingly''-similar competing technology is [[RDX Technology]]. A key distinction, however, is that the REV drive heads and drive controller remain inside the drive when the hard-disk platter is removed from it. In [[RDX Technology]], the drive heads are contained within the cartridge along with the platter and are removed along with it.

The drives suffer from poor reliability and high failure rates of both the disk mechanism and power supply units (on the external versions). Faced with cheaper, smaller, higher capacity and more reliable USB 2.5" portable hard drives, the REV format was discontinued:
* {{0}}35&nbsp;GB - August 31, 2009
* {{0}}70&nbsp;GB - December 14, 2009
* 120&nbsp;GB - January 25, 2010

== See also ==
* [[Castlewood Orb Drive]]
* [[Universal Disk Format]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080430204458/http://www.gearlog.com/2008/03/iomega_introduces_rev_120gb_ba.php "Iomega Introduces REV 120GB Backup Drive"]
* [http://pcworld.com/printable/article/id,115615/printable.html "Iomega Debuts Versatile Backup Drive: 35GB Rev Provides Removable Storage Inside a Protective Cartridge"]{{deadlink|date=October 2016}}
* [http://iomrrdtools.sourceforge.net/ "sourceforge.net IOM RRD Tools" ]

{{Iomega storage devices}}

[[Category:Hard disk drives]]
[[Category:Iomega storage devices]]