 CDC used IBM compatible 1/2 inch magnetic tapes, but also offered a 1 inch wide variant, with 14 tracks (12 data tracks corresponding to the 12 bit word of CDC 6000 series peripheral processors, plus two parity bits) in the CDC 626 drive.A so-called "mini-reel" was common for smaller data sets, such as for software distribution.These were reels, often with no fixed length—the tape was sized to fit the amount of data recorded on it as a cost-saving measure.