Magnetic tape data storage is a system for storing digital information on magnetic tape using digital recording. Initially, large open reels were the most common format, but modern magnetic tape is most commonly packaged in cartridges and cassettes, such as the widely supported Linear Tape-Open (LTO).The device that performs the writing or reading of data is called a tape drive, and autoloaders and tape libraries are often used to automate cartridge handling. Although magnetic tape was initially primarily for data storage, newer uses included system backup, data archive and data exchange.