Most users abandoned it years ago, but tape storage once again proves it has plenty of life left. Thanks to a new joint development, IBM Research and Sony have created a magnetic tape prototype with a density of 201 gigabits per square inch, which translates to a compact cartridge of 330 terabytes. Given that the best tape on the market holds a maximum of 15 terabytes, this is an extraordinary leap forward, and we imagine the business world can't wait to get its hands on this technology.
The ever-growing demand for storage
Users need ever more storage capacity on their computers, courtesy of gigantic games and 4K content, among other things. Both Western Digital and Seagate offer 12 terabyte drives, and we still well remember a certain SSD prototype with a terrifying 60 terabytes. However, when we move to the enterprise environment, tape solutions present very interesting numbers. The next generation of the LTO standard will reach 12.8 terabytes, and IBM already sells its 3592 cartridge at 15 TB. Of course, the applications are very different, but that doesn't diminish a technology that has been in development for more than 60 years.
A record-breaking density
Yesterday, magnetic storage took another giant step with the help of IBM Research and Sony. The result is a new tape based on a physical vapor deposition known as sputtering that stores a maximum of 201 gigabits per square inch, accompanied by a system of heads and signal processing specially designed to read and write at such density. If we add the detail that Sony can place more than a kilometer of tape in a cartridge, the calculations suggest a theoretical capacity that goes from 220 to 330 terabytes without compression, in something as big as the palm of our hand.
Applications and the road ahead
Logically, IBM envisions for the new tape applications like cloud backup, cold storage, and the occasional WORM environment, but those 201 gigabits per square inch are barely a step. Company spokespeople are convinced that the scale of tape storage will keep climbing in the coming years, just as it has done so far.
