Technology Provider Companies (TPCs) in Silicon Valley, including Hewlett Packard Company, International Business Machines Corporation, and Quantum Corporation, have released their annual tape media shipments report. The report highlights a record 152.9 exabytes (EB) of total tape capacity shipped in 2023, marking a 3.14 percent increase from the previous year. This growth is attributed to the rising demand for storage capacity driven by data generation and infrastructure requirements from hyperscalers and enterprises.
According to G. Kyle Fitze, vice president of OEM and Partner Enabled Products at HPE Storage, LTO tape technology continues to see annual gains and is expected to expand further as customers seek greater storage capacity and recognize the technology’s benefits. These benefits include low total cost of ownership, strong security features, and sustainability advantages.
With the increase in shipped capacity for 2023, LTO tape technology is positioned as a solution to manage challenges arising from the proliferation of unstructured data due to advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) technology. As AI drives higher storage requirements and costs, LTO tape technology offers a cost-effective and sustainable solution while ensuring comprehensive data protection against breaches.
Storage analyst Tom Coughlin from Coughlin Associates emphasizes the significance of LTO tape technology in the digital storage landscape, highlighting its enduring importance as storage needs become more complex and costly. The continuous improvement in LTO tape technology allows for handling larger data volumes and more intensive workloads across enterprise storage architectures.
The latest LTO Generation 9 format specification provides higher capacity and performance compared to previous generations, with features such as hardware-based encryption, immutable WORM functionality, and fast data access with LTFS. The roadmap for LTO technology extends to Gen 14 LTO, aiming for up to 1.4 petabytes (PB) of compressed capacity per cartridge.
The LTO Ultrium format, developed by TPCs, offers a scalable and adaptable open tape format designed to address data protection needs in server environments. The format delivers performance, capacity, and reliability improvements through advancements in linear formats, servo technology, data compression, and error correction.
While the LTO Ultrium format has a well-defined roadmap for growth and scalability, the objectives outlined in the roadmap are subject to change. It emphasizes compliance and verification to achieve the interoperability goals of the LTO Program, ensuring compatibility among various manufacturers producing LTO-compatible products.
For more information on the LTO program, visit the official website at www.lto.org. The technological advancements in LTO tape technology underscore its role as a critical component in evolving storage architectures, offering efficient and secure data management solutions in the face of increasing data demands.
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https://insidehpc.com/2024/05/ibm-hpe-and-quantum-corp-report-lto-tape-capacity-shipments-grew-3-14-in-2023/
