LTO-9 Tape Technology (Pre-Purchase Program)
Our LTO-9 Pre-Purchase Program allows anyone to pre-order LTO-9 tape technology before it is available. This is the ninth generation of tape technology that delivers on the promise made by the LTO Consortium to develop LTO tape technology through at least 12 generations. In an endeavor to deliver our customers the latest technology on the market, we are offering pre orders of LTO-9 tape technology. This gives our customers the best opportunity to receive the latest generation of LTO tape as soon as it’s available. LTO-9 is expected to be available in Fall 2020.
How to Buy: CLICK HERE | or call us today @ 1-800-700-7683.
How to Sell: For those looking to sell your old data tapes prior to upgrading to LTO-9, CLICK HERE to submit your inventory and we will contact you back within 24 Hours.
LTO TECHNOLOGY FOR LONG-TERM DATA PROTECTION
LTO tape technology provides organizations with reliable, long-term data protection and preservation. With LTO tape drives, organizations can meet security and compliance requirements, while at the same time, save on storage footprint, power, and cooling costs, which can make a significant difference in operating costs for larger library environments.
LTO-9 FEATURED HIGHLIGHTS
-
Lowest cost per GB.
-
Tape offers lower power and cooling costs, plus a lower footprint leads to improved TCO.
-
Linear Tape File System (LTFS) support.
-
AES 256-bit Encryption – Military-grade encryption comes standard.
-
WORM technology – Makes data non-rewriteable and non-erasable, which acts as an immutable vault within your tape library to secure and protect an offline copy from ransomware.
LTO-9 vs. LTO-8
LTO-9 (Linear Tape-Open 9) is the most recently released tape format from the Linear Tape-Open Consortium, following the LTO-8 format which launched in 2017. LTO-9 is expected to double the capacity of LTO-8 to 60 TB compressed. LTO-8 provides 30 TB of compressed storage capacity and 12 TB of uncompressed capacity, doubling what LTO-7 offered.
Although, the LTO Consortium has not announced the data transfer rate for LTO-9 yet, LTO-8 features an uncompressed data transfer rate of up to 360 MBps and a compressed data transfer rate of up to 750 MBps.
LTO-9 has a similar structure to LTO-8 in that tape drives are backward-compatible with one generation. Essentially, the LTO-8 tapes can read and write to LTO-7 tapes. LTO had typically been able to read back two generations and write back one generation. However, in LTO-8 the backward reading compatibility is limited to one generation.
LTO-9 also features the same WORM, LTFS, and 256-bitencryption technology as the prior generation LTO-8.
Uses for LTO-9
LTO features high capacity, durability, and portability for a comparatively low cost. Archived data storage is not normally needed on an immediate basis, making tape a solid backup option. More commonly, backup data is used for restores in the event of an incident or data loss.
LTO-9 tapes housed at an off-site location are a fantastic option for disaster recovery. If an organizations main data hub has an incident, they can use the durable LTO9 tapes to recover their data. According to the LTO consortium, once data becomes less frequently retrieved, it should be migrated to tape.
Tape is particularly useful in industries such as entertainment and healthcare that generate large volumes of data every day and require a long-term data storage option that’s less expensive than disk. As ransomware attacks stay in the headlines, tape provides an offline backup storage option immune to a cyber-attack. Data stored on an LTO-9 tape cartridge does not have to be connected to the network. This creates what is called an Airgap and creates a safety net from a cyberattack.
Pros and Cons of LTO-9 Tape
Tape capacity continues to expand. When LTO-9 launches, it will have enhanced the compressed capacity of the LTO tape products by almost 60 TB in roughly 10 years. As data levels continue to grow rapidly for many groups, capacity is one of the most important aspects of data storage media. Even the cost of tape is low compared to storing 60 TB on other storage media such as disk or flash. Particularly when taking energy and equipment into consideration as a constant energy source is not required to keep data stored on tape.
Other advantages of LTO-9 tape include:
-
A reliable generational roadmap that allows customers to count on a new product every few years, and a capacity that is not far off from the original estimate.
-
256-bit encryption that guarantees security during storage and shipment. Its offline nature also serves as protection from ransomware and cyberattacks, creating an airgap.
-
A reputation of being extremely reliable, with a lifespan of roughly 30 years. The tape format is also portable, making it remarkably easy to transport.
LTO’s open format also allows customers to access multiple, compatible products. The open format offers intellectual property licenses to prospective manufacturers, leading to innovation and improvements. However, LTO products are not compatible with non-LTO products.
Depending on the amount of data you need to store, cloud storage can be less expensive than tape. In some instances, cloud backup providers provide a free option up to a specified volume of data. Cloud also offers random access, unlike tape. But restoration of data files can be slow depending on data volume and bandwidth.