Each HP LTO 6 cartridge features a native storage capacity of 2.5TB, or up to 6.25TB compressed capacity. LTO 6 technology boasts faster transfer speeds of 160MB/s (native) to 400MB/s (compressed).
LTO 6 continues to offer the LTFS (Linear Tape File System) tape format that was introduced in LTO 5, providing a file system view of the media. You can drag and drop files from the server and easily see a list of what's saved on the tape. Individual tapes can be transported between LTO 6 systems to provide flexibility and convenience for reading and moving files on your LTO 6 tapes.
You will need an LTO 6 drive to read your LTO 6 media. However, the drives are "backwards compatible". Once you upgrade to an LTO 6 drive, it will still be able to read and write your LTO 5 Tape media, and read your LTO 4 tapes.