SymplyPRO Thunderbolt desktop and rackmount LTO drives connect to the host computer over Thunderbolt. They can also connect over SAS through a SAS host bus adapter (HBA) in the host. The requirements for each operating system are below.
Mac
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Computer | Apple Silicon or Intel Mac with a Thunderbolt 3, 4 or 5 port |
| Operating system | macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later |
| Apple Silicon and T2 Macs | Allow third-party kernel extensions in Recovery Mode. See Enable Kext Driver Support macOS |
| Drivers | Install SymplyATOM2, which installs the drivers you need |
| LTFS (optional) | IBM Spectrum Archive Single Drive Edition (SDE) 2.4.5.1 plus macFUSE. IBM has discontinued SDE for macOS, and 2.4.5.1 is the final release |
Windows
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Computer | Intel-certified Thunderbolt 3, 4 or 5 hardware |
| Recommended operating systems | Windows 11, Windows Server 2022, Windows Server 2025 |
| Also supported | Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019. Support for these depends on the LTO generation, so contact Symply Support before installing (see the notes below) |
| Drivers | Install SymplyATOM2, which installs the drivers you need |
| LTFS (optional) | IBM Storage Archive Single Drive Edition (SDE) 2.4.8.4, supported on Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022 and 2025 |
IBM LTO tape driver for Windows Server
| Windows Server | IBM tape driver | LTO support |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 and 2025 | 7.0.2.1 (IBMTape.7021) | Up to LTO-10 |
| 2019 | 7.0.1.4 (IBMTape.7014) | Up to LTO-9 (no LTO-10) |
| 2016 | 7.0.0.8 (IBMTape.w16_7008) | Up to LTO-9 (no LTO-10) |
Notes on older Windows versions
- Windows Server 2016: driver 7.0.0.8 is the last IBM tape driver released for Windows Server 2016, and IBM no longer supports Windows Server 2016. For LTO-9 and LTO-10 we recommend Windows Server 2022 or later.
- Windows Server 2019: no LTO-10 support.
Linux
Thunderbolt connection on Linux isn’t supported. To use a SymplyPRO Thunderbolt unit with Linux, connect it over SAS using a supported SAS HBA. See SymplyPRO SAS – System Requirements for the supported Linux distributions.
Connecting over SAS instead of Thunderbolt (all operating systems)
- You need a free PCIe slot, or a Thunderbolt expansion chassis on a Mac, plus a suitable SAS HBA.
- The HBA must support LUN scanning and Transport Layer Retries (TLR). Some HBAs that double as RAID controllers don’t support tape drives.
- Symply recommends ATTO SAS HBAs.
Cables
- Every SymplyPRO Thunderbolt unit ships with a 2m active Thunderbolt 4 cable, which also works with Thunderbolt 3 and Thunderbolt 5 ports.
- Use a certified Thunderbolt cable. A standard USB-C cable won’t work.
- Only connect to a port marked with the Thunderbolt (lightning-bolt) icon.
- Use the included SymplyLOCK to secure the cable at the port.
Backup and archive software
LTFS gives basic drag-and-drop access to tape. For production archiving, Symply recommends a dedicated archive or backup application such as Archiware P5, Hedge Canister, YoYotta, XenData or Veeam. Check your application’s own system requirements as well.
If you have any questions please submit a [support ticket]