April 11, 2015 at 23:34The future of tape: 220 terabytes per reel
Researchers have recorded 123 billion bits of uncompressed data per square inch of cheap tape. 220 terabytes of information were placed on the entire cartridge. So scientists have exceeded 88 times the existing LTO-6 standard since 2012, which provided for 2.5 TB of data for a middle-class product.
This device, according to IBM scientists, is capable of recording data on magnetic tape with an efficiency of 123 billion bits per square inch. Scientists used a cassette with a diameter of 10 centimeters and a width of 2 centimeters.
“The ribbon is really growing,” says Mark Lantz, head of the IBM Research team in Zurich, Switzerland. While in the consumer and SMB markets the demand for magnetic tapes is falling due to lower prices for hard drives, archival technologies are “reviving” this storage device. Another factor in the resurgence of magnetic tape is a slowdown in the growth of hard drive volumes, which hardly keeps up with Moore’s law, Lanz notes.
IBM has not yet announced the finished product, but sees its future in cloud storage. According to Lanz, several companies offer cloud solutions using magnetic tape. The advantage of technology is in price: each gigabyte costs from 2 to 3 cents. And minus - in time, because from several tens of seconds to a minute it is required to access files. The technology is suitable for data that does not require high speed. In particular, about 80% of corporate data can be recorded on tape.
This device, according to IBM scientists, is capable of recording data on magnetic tape with an efficiency of 123 billion bits per square inch. Scientists used a cassette with a diameter of 10 centimeters and a width of 2 centimeters.
“The ribbon is really growing,” says Mark Lantz, head of the IBM Research team in Zurich, Switzerland. While in the consumer and SMB markets the demand for magnetic tapes is falling due to lower prices for hard drives, archival technologies are “reviving” this storage device. Another factor in the resurgence of magnetic tape is a slowdown in the growth of hard drive volumes, which hardly keeps up with Moore’s law, Lanz notes.
IBM has not yet announced the finished product, but sees its future in cloud storage. According to Lanz, several companies offer cloud solutions using magnetic tape. The advantage of technology is in price: each gigabyte costs from 2 to 3 cents. And minus - in time, because from several tens of seconds to a minute it is required to access files. The technology is suitable for data that does not require high speed. In particular, about 80% of corporate data can be recorded on tape.
