IBM introduces enterprise magnetic tape drive that holds 50TB per cartridge

[Daniel Sims]

Back in the day: Consumers stopped using magnetic tape storage so long ago that many reading this are likely too young to know what it is. However, its ability to store massive amounts of data on relatively small media makes it useful for many organizations as a long-term backup solution. So, companies like IBM never stopped developing this mature technology.

IBM recently introduced its latest magnetic tape drive and cartridge type, with more than double the storage capacity of previous models. It should help cloud storage providers and other enterprise customers store extreme amounts of data more efficiently.

Magnetic tape drives have long occupied the role that hard drives have shifted toward since the emergence of SSDs – cost-effective cold storage. Although they're too slow for most users, recent developments allow magnetic drives to carry hundreds of gigabytes per square inch of tape. This week, IBM's offerings in the space took another step forward.

The company's new TS1170 drive can store 50TB of uncompressed data per tape cartridge using the new JF media type. Employing 3:1 compression expands the capacity to 150TB. The technology represents a 250 percent increase over the TS1160 drive and JE media, which reached 20TB uncompressed and 60TB compressed. Additionally, the TS1170 manages a native data rate of 400 MB/s, increasing to 900 MB/s when handling compressed data.

IBM's new drive comes in two types: the Model 70F with a dual-port 16 Gb Fibre Channel interface and the 70S with a 12 Gb SAS dual-port interface. The 70F also supports standalone installations through traditional Fibre Channel host attachment interfaces for cloud-based and open-compute setups.

Additionally, a 3U form factor rack mount kit makes the 70F compatible with most 19-inch racks, enabling installation from the front or back without tooling. The equipment supports IBM's TS4500 tape library and is RoHS-3-compliant.

Other TS1170 features include speed matching, high-resolution tape directory, Channel calibration, dynamic adaptive equalization, capacity scaling, WORM storage (write-once-read-many), data compression, and more. Encryption works through IBM Security Key Lifecycle Manager and can be either library or application-managed.

Unfortunately, switching to a new cartridge form factor means the TS1170 lacks compatibility with the cartridges used by prior drive models like types E or D. Moreover, the drive currently doesn't support connections to an IBM TS7700, and only one system can use the TS1170 at a time.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/99928-ibm-introduces-enterprise-magnetic-tape-drive-holds-50tb.html

 

[RudyBob]

Sure would have liked to have seen a cartridge and know how many feet of tape are in one

 

[Uncle Al]

Sooooo .... the tapes are back again, just bigger. Wonder if they have the same failure rate as the old ones ???

 

[Vanderlinde]

Sooooo .... the tapes are back again, just bigger. Wonder if they have the same failure rate as the old ones ???

Tapes where never gone, really.

 

[PEnnn]

"Other TS1170 features include ....WORM storage (write-once-read-many".

Huh??

Does this imply the old technology was like "Write Once - READ Few / Once" only??

 

[Hooda Thunkett]

"Other TS1170 features include ....WORM storage (write-once-read-many".

Huh??

Does this imply the old technology was like "Write Once - READ Few / Once" only??

Honestly, I've never heard of magnetic media having this limitation. I mean, we always had write protect tabs on cartridges and disks, but WORM always was a thing with various optical mediums, not magnetic.

 

[ZedRM]

Sooooo .... the tapes are back again, just bigger. Wonder if they have the same failure rate as the old ones ???

What are you on about? Tape drives never left. Enterprise tape backup systems have been and will continue to be one of THE go-to backup solutions on the market.

 

[toooooot]

Incompatibility sounds like a big deal unless you can solve it with a simple data converter cable.
But then again, can this tape last 50 years with almost zero rate of failure?
If so, it is definitely worth using it.

 

[VariableSpike]

Wonder how this compares to your normal LTO type drives in terms of the way it works
Or is it just more differentiation just because its IBM

 

[loki1944]

Sooooo .... the tapes are back again, just bigger. Wonder if they have the same failure rate as the old ones ???

Well VHS tapes were pretty durable vs audio casette. Have far less broken VHS tape frequency than with my audio cassettes.

 

[ZedRM]

Well VHS tapes were pretty durable vs audio casette. Have far less broken VHS tape frequency than with my audio cassettes.

I can't remember ever breaking an audio cassette, and I had a big collection. You might have been doing something wrong...

 

[TheBigFatClown]

How do these people in the magnetic tape industry keep progressing but the optical media industry, specifically Blu-Ray discs have petered out at 128GB on BDXL discs? I wanna see at least 1TB Blu-Ray BD-R soon. And I want to see it cheap. At consumer prices, not stupid prices.

 

[TheBigT42]

I would like to see a comparison of this and LTO-8

 

[kira setsu]

How do these people in the magnetic tape industry keep progressing but the optical media industry, specifically Blu-Ray discs have petered out at 128GB on BDXL discs? I wanna see at least 1TB Blu-Ray BD-R soon. And I want to see it cheap. At consumer prices, not stupid prices.

massive corporations need the backup that tape can provide, and they can funnel the kinda cash needed to keep pushing it.

normal consumers on the other hand migrate to whatever is cheapest, and right now the average person doesnt need massive storage. wouldnt surprise me if most peoples only storage is whats on their phone and laptop(if that)

it took forever for me to find a new full size tower case WITH a disc drive bay, that should tell you something right there.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

massive corporations need the backup that tape can provide, and they can funnel the kinda cash needed to keep pushing it.

normal consumers on the other hand migrate to whatever is cheapest, and right now the average person doesnt need massive storage. wouldnt surprise me if most peoples only storage is whats on their phone and laptop(if that)

it took forever for me to find a new full size tower case WITH a disc drive bay, that should tell you something right there.

I'm under no illusions that optical media is pretty much dead for most folks. Compact flash and SSDs technology are insane at how much they can store. Still, I think optical media beats Compact Flash and SSDs in one characteristic and that is longevity. Once burned to BD-R disc you can pretty much rest assured that your data will still be available in 25 years or more under good storage conditions.
I would disagree with you about the "average person" not needing massive amounts of storage these days also. The "average person" today is more immersed in the technology of the world than in times past. Everybody has a cellphone these days. And almost everybody loves building up collections of music and movies on their cellphones.

wouldnt surprise me if most peoples only storage is whats on their phone and laptop(if that)

They make 256GB and 512GB CFlash chips now. I'm guessing 256GB is about the average these days. So, these people don't need 1TB BD-R to backup their data anytime soon but still.
I did a Google search after my post and found out that Sony makes a 3.3TB BD-R disc but it's big and bulky and outside the reach of any average consumer use. If they could someone get that to work on the normal sized platters, man, 3.3TB per BD-R would be amazing.

 

[kira setsu]

I'm under no illusions that optical media is pretty much dead for most folks. Compact flash and SSDs technology are insane at how much they can store. Still, I think optical media beats Compact Flash and SSDs in one characteristic and that is longevity. Once burned to BD-R disc you can pretty much rest assured that your data will still be available in 25 years or more under good storage conditions.
I would disagree with you about the "average person" not needing massive amounts of storage these days also. The "average person" today is more immersed in the technology of the world than in times past. Everybody has a cellphone these days. And almost everybody loves building up collections of music and movies on their cellphones.



They make 256GB and 512GB CFlash chips now. I'm guessing 256GB is about the average these days. So, these people don't need 1TB BD-R to backup their data anytime soon but still.
I did a Google search after my post and found out that Sony makes a 3.3TB BD-R disc but it's big and bulky and outside the reach of any average consumer use. If they could someone get that to work on the normal sized platters, man, 3.3TB per BD-R would be amazing.

I guess I may be a bit out of touch when it comes to storage needed, im a movie/show nut and dislike swapping out my games so my pc atm is carrying 24tb of storage give or take a few gigs, much more if you take into account external devices.

would be sweet though if they ever released disc that could hold massive storage amounts though, I do agree with that.