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New Tape Storage Technologies Debut

Linear Tape-Open (LTO) format can hold up to 200GB of data with a 40MB/sec throughput.

By David Pendery, PCWorld   

The companies presented two formats. Ultrium, a tape optimized for capacity, will hold 200GB of compressed data in its first product incarnations. Accelis is optimized for speedy data access, and will have rates of %dquotless than 10 seconds%dquot when products first appear, according to the companies. Throughput rates are the same for both formats, from 20MB/sec to 40MB/sec of compressed data in the first generation.

%dquotThe technology is conservative; there is no exotic media formulation here,%dquot said Seagate spokesman Kevin Perry. He said the companies simply combined forces to enhance currently available channel architectures, servo units, data-compression technology, track-layout schema, and coding.

The companies nevertheless outlined four generations of the two formats, culminating in capacities of 1.6 terabytes of storage; access times of less than seven seconds; and throughput rates of 160MB/sec to 320MB/sec of compressed data. Specific dates were not given for the forthcoming generations.

%dquotOur intent from the beginning was to have as many licensees as possible,%dquot Perry said, referring to the three companies%squot stated aim of reducing the number of tape formats and getting OEMs to rally around a single standard.

Fara Yale, a storage analyst at Dataquest, commended the companies for %dquotagreeing to agree on something that would end the format battle%dquot in storage.

The three companies have all committed to licensing the technology, which currently has no licensees. Products may appear within 12 to 18 months, an IBM representative said.

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