page_title: History of IBM magnetic disk drives
section_title: IBM 3330
hierarchical_section_title: History of IBM magnetic disk drives / IBM System/360 and other IBM mainframe HDDs / IBM 3330
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: IBM magnetic disk drives 3330+3333
context_page_description: IBM manufactured magnetic disk storage devices from 1956 to 2003, when it sold its hard disk drive business to Hitachi. Both the hard disk drive and floppy disk drive were invented by IBM and as such IBM's employees were responsible for many of the innovations in these products and their technologies. The basic mechanical arrangement of hard disk drives has not changed since the IBM 1301. Disk drive performance and characteristics are measured by the same standards now as they were in the 1950s. Few products in history have enjoyed such spectacular declines in cost and physical size along with equally dramatic improvements in capacity and performance.
  IBM manufactured 8-inch floppy disk drives from 1969 until the mid-1980s, but did not become a significant manufacturer of smaller-sized, 5.25- or 3.5-inch floppy disk drives. IBM always offered its magnetic disk drives for sale but did not offer them with original equipment manufacturer terms until 1981. By 1996, IBM had stopped making hard disk drives unique to its systems and was offering all its HDDs as an original equipment manufacturer.
context_section_description: The IBM 3330 Direct Access Storage Facility, code-named Merlin, was introduced in June 1970 for use with the IBM System/370 and the IBM System 360/195. Its removable disk packs hold 100 MB (404×19×13,030 bytes) (the 1973 Model 11 features IBM 3336-11 Disk Packs that held 200 MB (808x19x13,030 bytes)). Access time was 30 ms and data transferred at 806 kB/s. A major advance introduced with the 3330 was the use of error correction, which makes the drives more reliable and reduced costs because small imperfections in the disk surface can be tolerated. The circuitry can correct error bursts up to 11 bits long through use of fire codes.
caption: 3D artist's concept of an IBM 3330 Direct Access Storage Facility. Shown are Three 3330s and one 3333 (on the right)
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