LTO-7 drives read LTO-6, and will be available for quite a while. In 2016 I've used an LTO-3 drive to restore a bunch (150 or 200) of LTO-1/2 tapes from 2000-

LTO-7 drives read LTO-6, and will be available for quite a while. In 2016 I've used an LTO-3 drive to restore a bunch (150 or 200) of LTO-1/2 tapes from 2000-2003, and almost all but one or two worked fine.