Wondering if tape is still a viable choice today’s modern data center? According to experts in the data storage industry, tape is expanding its role far beyond supporting active archives, compliance, and data preservation.
The following are six reasons why LTO tape is growing in popularity:
1. High Multi-TB Capacity
Tape continues to grow its capacity to new heights. For example, each LTO-6 tape offers a whopping 6.25 TB of storage space. This makes tape highly cost-efficient and the perfect choice for housing massive data sets.
2. High Speed Transfer Rates
Once upon a time, tape’s transfer rates were very slow. This limited tape primarily to long-term archives of data that wouldn’t be needed unless a data emergency arose. Currently, the LTO-6 offers up to 400 MB/second. Reading and writing data is quick, easy, and effortless.
3. Linear Tape File System (LTFS)
The new and improved LTO tape filing system, known as Linear Tape File System (LTFS), allows for data to be stored and retrieved in a similar fashion as a disk drive. Gone are the days in which data would be extremely hard to locate.
4. Superior Reliability with Lowest Error Rates
Tape is without a doubt one of the most reliable forms of data storage. While disk can be easily corrupted, hacked, and even fail, tape is more secure than ever. It’s offline nature assures organizations that their data will be safe and sound for 30 years and more.
5. Lowest Total Cost of Ownership
Tape is highly cost effective. Not only is disk storage expensive from an equipment standpoint, it is also extremely expensive to maintain. By offloading some data to tape (rather than only relying on disk), organizations are lowering their data storage costs and making them more efficient.
6. Portability and Scalability
The beauty of tape is that it can be easily moved from place to place and tape libraries are easy to scale out. Where disk can be quite fickle when it comes to portability, tape is amazingly easy. Once data is written to a tape, you can be quite certain the data will be safe and sound, even if a tape (or many tapes) are moved from one location to another.
7. Tape is Recyclable
Data tape media recycling when using a reputable vendor is safe, secure, highly auditable and helps you to recoup your initial expense. Most common form of payment is cash but many IT departments for accounting purposes don't like to show income so we offer credit for new IT products and services.
Big Data Supply, Inc. is always buying excess new and used data tape media tape cartridges. All brands and all formats. Turn your excess inventory of new and used data tapes and we’ll give you cash or credit. The old practice of paying to shred your out of archive data tape media are a thing of the past. Not only is it expensive to shred your unwanted tape it's terrible for the environment and it's not a very auditable process. We offer full chain-of-custody, VolSer and serial number reporting and certificates of data destruction.
Have questions about tape? We’d love to help you out. Please e-mail or call us, and we’ll make sure you find the very best data storage solution to fit your needs.
