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The Linear Tape-Open standard will be extended by another two generations, increasing raw/uncompressed capacity from LTO-8's 12 TB to 192 TB on an LTO-12 tape:
The LTO Program Technology Provider Companies (TPCs), Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM and Quantum, announced the specifications of the latest LTO Ultrium format, generation 8, which is now available for licensing by media manufacturers.
The LTO Program also released a new LTO technology roadmap, detailing specifications up to twelve (12) generations of tape technology, extending the total capacity of data held on one LTO Ultrium generation 12 tape cartridge to 480TB – an increase of 32 times the capacity of current-generation 7 cartridges.
The new LTO generation 8 specifications are designed to double the tape cartridge capacity from the previous LTO generation 7, with customers now being able to store up to 30TB per cartridge when compressed. In an effort to push the innovation boundaries of tape technology going forward, the current LTO format required a recording technology transition that supports capacity growth for future LTO generations. To address this technological shift and maintain affordability in times of extreme data growth, the latest LTO generation 8 specifications are intended to be only backwards compatible with LTO generation 7 cartridges.
Despite records like 220-330 TB uncompressed in the laboratory, these 100+ TB capacities won't be available for a while:
[Spectra Logic's] CEO and founder, Nathan Thompson, said: "Spectra foresees the availability of LTO-9 at 24TB per tape cartridge in two years; LTO-10 at 48TB in four years; LTO-11 at 96TB in six or seven years; and LTO-12 at 190+TB in eight to nine years. I firmly believe that no other commercial data storage technology available now or on the horizon, will keep pace with or fulfill the world's increasing demand for cost-effective, long-term data storage like tape technology."
Also at IT Jungle.
Previously: IBM and FUJIFILM Create Equivalent of 220 TB Tape Cartridge
LTO Tape Sales Remain Steady
IBM Claims Densest Tape Storage Record (330 TB)
(Score: 4, Informative) by frojack on Friday October 27 2017, @03:28AM (7 children)
I've used LTO tape, and we used the scheme Snotnose mentioned, and we fought LTO for years.
The prospect of 100 TB tapes crapping out with the regularity we experienced with tapes of that day is frightening. Its not just the cost of replacement tape, but the sheer time involved in moving that much data yet again onto a new tape. Sooner or later you reach a size where you simply can't shift that much data and expect to get it done in the time available. (Especially if you have to take something off line to do the backup).
Then there's the schlepping of tapes to off site storage. And back. And the logging, so you know which tapes are which, and where they are. And shitcanning them BEFORE they fail and replacing with new ones. And cleaning the heads, and dealing with mechanism failures and tapes eaten by the machine.
When you add it all up, its easier and cheaper to just BUY more NAS boxes and hang them on some network (somewhere). Until you are talking CIA sized data storage requirements I doubt the cost and bother of tape is ever going to be attractive. Too much discipline for small shops, too big an expense for medium sized shops, and just not big or fast enough for large shops.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Grishnakh on Friday October 27 2017, @04:08AM (5 children)
When you add it all up, its easier and cheaper to just BUY more NAS boxes and hang them on some network (somewhere). Until you are talking CIA sized data storage requirements I doubt the cost and bother of tape is ever going to be attractive. Too much discipline for small shops, too big an expense for medium sized shops, and just not big or fast enough for large shops.
Well someone sure seems to be buying them...
(Score: 4, Informative) by takyon on Friday October 27 2017, @05:05AM (2 children)
LTO Tape Sales Remain Steady [soylentnews.org]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Informative) by TheRaven on Friday October 27 2017, @09:11AM (1 child)
sudo mod me up
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 27 2017, @07:54PM
yeah i bought a 16 tape changer off ebay and tapes and set them to rotate and boom backups. some guy shows up and takes them and i log what ones go. bar code says which tape is in or out.
i am not really sure what the problem is. some people just hate tapes.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 27 2017, @06:17AM
People still use Windoze too
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 27 2017, @05:59PM
(Score: 1) by pTamok on Friday October 27 2017, @06:51AM
I agree with frojack.
Doing backup properly is hard, and when you have a non-trivial amount of physical media you need to keep track of, and cycle correctly, it is amazing how many issues crop up.
One of the interesting issues I had was that the some of the tapes sent to off-site storage would go missing. The operators didn't care: they just grabbed a new blank and wrote out a new incremental/full on the new tape and put it into the system. They had done their job: performed a backup.
The issue only came to light when an 'annual' disaster recovery test was run, and of course, some of the backup tapes were missing. In a live situation, that would have been catastrophic.
Always, always, always check you can restore from your backups. And that means checking the processes to obtain your backup tapes from wherever they have been stored.