Magnetic storage: LTO-10 loses downward compatibility
IBM announces its own LTO-10 generation drives and tape storage devices. For the first time, this is not compatible with its predecessor.
(Image: IBM)
On June 13, the first magnetic tapes based on IBM's Linear Tape Open 10 (LTO-10) standard will be released, albeit with two surprises: At least the first variants only store 30 TByte uncompressed instead of the expected 36 TByte (75 TByte compressed). In addition, LTO-10 drives are for the first time incompatible with the previous generation – LTO-9 tapes (18 / 45 TByte) do not work in them.
IBM announced the imminent delivery by e-mail. Two innovations prevent downward compatibility, as an IBM employee explained when asked by heise online: LTO-10 has a revised servo track format for more precise head positioning and a more flexible read/write head. From LTO-10 onwards, it can not only move vertically, but also rotate.
On the plus side, the head should be able to reliably read magnetic tapes again and again, even if they change slightly due to influences such as temperature and humidity. In addition, tape initialization is no longer necessary. The maximum transfer rate remains at 400 MByte/s.
(Image:Â IBM)
Roadmap already adapted
According to IBM, the requirement for a compact half-height drive in particular limits the storage capacity. LTO-10 cartridges with a higher capacity for full-height drives would be conceivable in the future.
The responsible consortium of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), IBM and Quantum already had to adjust the roadmap with the LTO-9 generation: instead of the previously planned 24 TByte, the tapes only came with 18 TByte. LTO-10 was actually supposed to return to the previous cadence of doubling capacity with each generation.
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The drives come with either two SAS connections (12 Gbit/s each) or two fiber channels (Fibre Channel, 32 Gbit/s each). Prices for LTO-10 cartridges and drives are currently unknown.
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