So, back up tapes a thing of the past? Not so fast…LTO technology keeps marching on.
Yesterday it was announced that five companies: Fujifilm Corporation, Hitachi Maxell Ltd., Imation Corp., Sony Corporation, and TDK Corporation – have completed compliance testing and achieved LTO Ultrium format generation 5 compliance. (It is hard to believe Exec Business Products has been helping their customers with their tape needs since LTO 1.)
What does that actually mean? It means the 5th generation – or LTO 5 – is approved to hit the marketplace.
So why has tape technology lasted this long in the face of competition from cloud backup solutions and cheaper flash memory? Mostly because of the LTO Ultrium format, because it provides a powerful, scalable, adaptable open format and the new generation 5 specifications call for exciting features to address the growing needs of various customer segments.
The LTO Program (a consortium made up of HP, IBM Corporation and Quantum Corp) recently released specifications and new feature details for its upcoming generation 5, calling for a storage capacity increase up to 3TB (assuming 2:1compression) — nearly doubling the capacity from 800GB to 1.5TB uncompressed over the previous generation — and transfer rates of up to 280MB per second (assuming 2:1compression).
The LTO Ultrium format generation 5 plans include new partitioning functionality enabling capabilities that can help enhance file control and space management, addressing the growing needs of marketplace segments such as Rich Media.
The LTO Ultrium format generation 5 drives are designed with backwards compatible read-and-write capability with the Ultrium format generation 4 cartridges, and backward read capabilities with generation 3 cartridges, helping to protect investments and ease implementation.
There is no word yet on the exact date these tapes will begin to hit the market, but we will keep you posted.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact Exec Business Products.
