Today in this modern era, metal particle data tapes are an important tool in the data centers. I.T professionals have worked since 1965 on the base of Moore Law. Gordon E. Moore predicted that after every 2 years the transistor's quantity on integrated circuit will be doubled. According to the prediction, the power of the processor was doubled. Therefore as result of this enhancement in processor speed, the computer systems were able to accommodate and support more complex and high tech forms of data. Information technology world has expanded enormously to embrace desktop publishing, word processing, web assets, high definition video, digital imaging (high resolution), archiving and backup of e-mail etc.
Remarkable growth and extension has been done in the power and speed of processor so that it can match with the incredible increase in digital information and data. According to the survey of IDC (International Data Corporation), in the year 2007 the digital information created was about 281 billion GB (281 exabytes). This digital information was about 75 percent more than the previous year 2006. IDC prediction is that by the year 2011, annually digital information of about 1800 exabytes will be created. So the annual compounded growth rate roughly equates to 60 percent. As the data is being generated at such high increasing rate, it is the requirement of the new data regulatory legislations and mandates to make the data accessible and retention for longer period of time.
The metal particles used in the Sony LTO4 tape format are very small in size (approx. 30nm long). The small metal particles in the Sony LTO-4 naturally help to increase the recording density that is the requirement of the LTO-4 tape technology. The other technology that boosts the performance of the Sony LTO4 tape format is the new A3-MP (advanced alloy armored metal particles). The small fine metal particles in Sony LTO 4 are encapsulated entirely in coating of ceramic/alloy. Each metal particle is protected from undesirable oxidation because of the coating and so the premature loss of data is prevented. Each particle of the Sony LTO-4 is armored with coating of alloy/ceramic. That is why the archival life of Sony LTO4 tape cartridges is exceptional.
The ratio of carrier to noise can be degraded if there is dissimilarity in the orientation and size of the metal particle. So in this way the detection of difference among 1s & 0s data is hard for the tape drive. Strict process control mechanism is exercised by Sony so that consistent size of metal particle can be maintained. Consistent orientation is maintained by Sony as freshly coated LTO-4 tapes are subjected to highly accurate and powerful magnetic orientation. Therefore in this way the carries to noise is improved measurably. Thick coating at high density causes self demagnetization. The recorded signals are weakened due to this phenomenon. Coating in Sony LTO4 tape cartridges is very thin and fine of about 200nm that helps to overcome and prevent the problem of self demagnetization. Coating of 200nm results in a thin layer whose thickness comprises of only 3 metal particles. Coating mechanisms of Sony are successful as they have applied the active layer of metal particle with extreme and ultimate consistency. Sony is one of the only manufactures of data media that is also tape drive's primary manufacturer.
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When LTO tape drives were first developed there were two formats available: Accelis for high speed and Ultrium for high capacity. As the speed of the Ultrium format grew, the demand for Accelis dropped and that format has been discontinued. In today's marketplace, LTO and Ultrium have become interchangeable.
LTO was created as an open technology, not limited to certain vendors. A user shopping for these tape drives or these tape libraries can choose from multiple sources. The buyer has more vendor options and plenty of other more cost effective tape technologies to choose between. However, these tape drives are guaranteed to remain compatible across vendors by a third party review organization, the LTO Compliance Verification Entity.
A four-generation technology road map for the LTO tape drive and tape library was released in 1998. The plan was to double capacity and speed with every new generation, anticipating new releases every 18-24 months. The release schedule has remained on track and Ultrium generation 3 products started appearing in late 2004 and early 2005.
The technology has remained true to the road map with a generation 3 LTO tape drives and tape libraries achieving capacities of 800 GB and speeds of 160 MB/s. The LTO Program updated the technology schedule to include generations 5 and 6, which will continue the trend of doubling capabilities with each new generation.
An LTO tape library is a tool for large enterprise operations. These tape libraries are a high-capacity storage system that combines one or more LTO tape drives, cartridge storage racks, and an automatic system for cartridge retrieval and storage. The tape library can potentially give access to thousands of tapes and thousands of terabytes of information.
The LTO tape drive and tape library is aimed at the high-capacity user, typically business LANs. When compared to competing tape technologies such as DDS, AIT, and DLT, LTO equals or exceeds the competitors in almost every way. Cartridges have a shelf life of 30 years and a usage life of over a million end-to-end passes.
That capability doesn't come cheap. The price of an LTO tape drive is out of reach of a home user or small business, and the cost of an tape library can run well into the five-figure range, but LTO is overkill for those markets anyhow. This technology is aimed squarely at the highest capacity backup needs, the large enterprise LAN. For that target customer, LTO is probably the best choice of competing technologies.
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