On 8 September 2021, Fujifilm India announces the launch of its LTO Ultrium9 Data Cartridge (LTO9) suitable for backing up and archiving large-capacity data. Compliant with the ninth generation LTO Ultrium standards for magnetic tape storage media, the LTO9 offers up to 45TB in storage capacity (18TB for non-compressed data), a 50% increase from the previous generation of LTO tape. The higher capacity, caters to the surging data storage demand amidst the rapid development of IoT technology and the acceleration of digital transformation while contributing to mitigation of CO2 emissions.
Magnetic tapes are attracting increasing attention as storage media that provides long-term storage of large-capacity data safely at low cost, especially in India where there is a greater emphasis now on digitization. Additionally, they have a significantly lower environmental impact as there is no need to have these constantly powered on during data storage, thereby lowering the amount of CO2 emissions generated during its lifecycle by 95% when compared to hard disk drives (HDDs).
Today, the amount of data generated worldwide has exponentially increased in recent years with the introduction of 5G networks and high-definition 4K / 8K video, development of IoT, information and communication technology, and the use of artificial intelligence for Big Data analysis. This includes ‘cold-data,’ or data that was generated a long time ago and rarely accessed, which is estimated to account for more than 80% of all data.
The utilization of accumulated data, including cold data, is rapidly increasing for developing next-generation technologies, and so is the need for reliable and cost-effective long-term storage of such data for future use. Yet, consuming a large amount of electricity for using and storing high-volume data amounts will lead to increased CO2 emissions.
Major data centers and private enterprises are actively adopting renewable energy to satisfy their electricity demand, or building a data infrastructure with minimal power use, in their efforts to address climate change, which is one of major social issues.
Speaking on the launch of the product, Koji Wada, managing director, Fujifilm India said, “At Fujifilm, we look towards providing a fitting solution to the problems of the ever-evolving world. With digitization taking the center stage today, industries needed a smart and sustainable solution to their data storage needs – hence, we have announced the launch of our latest LTO Ultrium9 Data Cartridge in India.”
“With a maximum capacity of 45 TB, the cartridge ensures safe storage of your computed data in a device that is not only affordable, but also environmentally conscious. At Fujifilm, we are vigilant and alert at recognizing the fallacies in technology and innovation, as we have for a long time, and develop solutions that will help tackle those short-comings. We are sure that this product will immensely benefit the Indian digital industry and will prove to be a gamechanger.”
The new LTO9 features barium ferrite magnetic particles (BaFe magnetic particles), formulated into fine particles with Fujifilm’s proprietary ‘NANOCUBIC technology,’ evenly distributed to coat tape surfaces, forming a smooth and thin magnetic layer with minimum unevenness.
This has resulted in the maximum storage capacity of 45TB (18TB for non-compressed data), some 1.5 times the capacity of LTO8. The new tape also delivers high-speed data transfer reaching 1,000MB/sec. (400MB/sec. for non-compressed data) for advanced convenience. Furthermore, there is no need to have it constantly powered on during data storage, thereby reducing the amount of electricity consumption in the process compared to HDDs.
Magnetic tapes can also be stored offline, creating ‘air gap’ as a form of protection to minimize the risk of data damage or loss in cyberattacks. The fact that the storage media provides long-term storage of high-capacity data safely, has made magnetic tape a preferred choice of major data centers and research institutes for many years.
