When using magnetic tape, data can be stored and accessed how?

Data stored on magnetic tape is accessed sequentially. This means that in order to read a specific piece of data, the tape must be moved to the location where that data is stored, progressing in the order of the data's physical arrangement. This characteristic makes magnetic tape well-suited for applications where large volumes of information need to be archived and accessed in a linear fashion, such as backup storage or data archiving.

Sequential access is an inherent limitation of tape media compared to other storage methods, like hard drives or SSDs, which allow for random access where data can be reached in any order. Understanding this distinction highlights the operational nature of magnetic tape and its appropriate use cases in data storage strategies.