The most flexible IBM-approved VTL. Built into the platform you already need.
Retire physical tape and legacy VTL appliances. Keep BRMS exactly as it is. Compass Tape Gateway emulates tape at network speed, replicates off-site automatically, and comes included with Compass — not as a separate purchase.
What is Compass Tape Gateway? Compass Tape Gateway™ is a virtual tape library (VTL) for IBM i, AIX, and Linux on Power — an included feature of the Cobalt Iron Compass platform, not a standalone product.
- Emulates physical tape to BRMS and native SAV/RST commands at network speed — no command or workflow changes
- The most flexible IBM-approved VTL solution
- The first SaaS-based VTL for IBM i
- Deployable on-premises or in the cloud
- Deploy on IBM Power Virtual Server in under 15 minutes
- Included at no additional cost with the Compass platform
The most flexible IBM-approved VTL
IBM has tested and supports Compass Tape Gateway™ for IBM i over iSCSI. Because it’s built into the Compass platform, it gives IBM i teams flexibility a standalone VTL can’t match. Run it on-premises, in IBM Power Virtual Server, or both. Keep your BRMS processes exactly as they are. Change your deployment model at any time without changing your license.
- Deploy your way: on-premises, in Power Virtual Server, or hybrid, with physical or VMware-based Compass Vaults sized for remote sites up to large data centers
- BRMS unchanged: works with BRMS, SAV, and RST on IBM i 7.3 through 7.6, including full-system restore
- More than IBM i: virtual tape for IBM i, AIX, and Linux, protected on the same platform and console as your Windows, VMware, x86, and cloud workloads
- Your data, your location: keep copies local, replicate them to a second data center or to IBM Cloud, and set regional data sovereignty controls
- Simple pricing: included with Compass, priced on stored data after deduplication and compression
- Always current: delivered as SaaS, with updates, upgrades, and patches automated, including any local Compass Vault
- Easy off-ramp from tape: Compass Tape Migrator moves your existing physical or virtual tapes into Compass, and each cartridge keeps its volume serial
Everything tape gave you. Nothing tape cost you.
Eliminate physical tape
No more media handling, courier services, offsite storage fees, or failed restores from degraded tapes. Backups land on disk and tier to cloud automatically.
Modernized VTL appliances
No separate VTL hardware to buy, maintain, and refresh. No VTL vendor contract layered on top of your backup software contract.
IBM i optimized
The most flexible IBM-approved VTL, purpose-built for IBM i. Virtual tape presents natively to BRMS, SAV, and RST at network speed — with no command or workflow changes.
BRMS sees tape. You see modern backup.
- Zero BRMS changes — Compass Tape Gateway presents virtual tape devices to IBM i. BRMS, SAV, and RST work exactly as they do today.
- Network Speed Backup and Restores — no mount waits, no shipping delays.
- Automatic off-site replication — every virtual tape can replicate to cloud or a secondary site for DR and cyber recovery.
- Zero Access® protection — IBM i backup data inherits the same never-breached security architecture as the rest of Compass.
- Multi-tenant — one Compass Tape Gateway serves multiple LPARs, environments, or MSP clients.
- On-premises or Power VS — run it in your data center or deploy from the IBM Cloud Catalog in under 15 minutes.
How Compass Wins vs. Standalone VTL Vendors
| Compass Tape Gateway | Standalone VTL appliances | |
|---|---|---|
| IBM approval | ✓ The most flexible IBM-approved VTL | ✗ Not IBM-approved as VTL |
| Backup software | ✓ Full enterprise backup platform included | ✗ Requires separate backup software purchase |
| Pricing basis | ✓ Post-dedup, post-compression data | ✗ Typically front-end data, before reduction |
| Security | ✓ Zero Access® — no logins to the backup infrastructure to steal | ✗ Self-managed security, VTL component only |
| x86 & cloud workloads | ✓ Same platform, same console | ✗ Not covered — separate tools required |
| Deployment | ✓ Automated; under 15 minutes on Power VS | ✗ Manual implementation |
Frequently asked questions
Does Compass Tape Gateway require changes to BRMS?
Is Compass Tape Gateway a separate product?
Can I run Compass Tape Gateway for IBM Power Virtual Server (Power VS)?
How does Compass Tape Gateway get my backups off-site?
What does Compass Tape Gateway replace?
Why is Compass Tape Gateway the most flexible IBM-approved VTL?
Your IBM i backup modernization starts today
Deploy from the IBM Cloud Catalog, or talk to an IBM i backup specialist about your BRMS environment.