Also known as: Autoloader
A compact, single-drive tape unit that automatically loads cartridges from a small internal magazine in sequence, without the multi-drive capacity or cost of a full tape library.
A tape autoloader is a single-drive tape unit, typically 1U to 2U, that holds a small magazine of cartridges (commonly under a dozen) and loads them into its one drive automatically in sequence as a backup job runs, without a person swapping tapes by hand between jobs. IBM's current entry in this category is the TS2900, a 1U unit holding nine cartridges.
The distinction from a full tape library is scale, not just automation: an autoloader has exactly one drive and a small cartridge count, sized for the smallest environments, a branch office, or an offsite rotation unit paired with a larger library at the main site. A tape library (like the TS4300) supports multiple drives and dozens to hundreds of cartridge slots, letting several backup streams run in parallel instead of one at a time. An AS400/IBM i shop outgrowing an autoloader's single-drive throughput, rather than just its capacity, is usually the sign it is time to move up to a full library.