IBM Researchers Set World Record in Magnetic Tape Data Density; 6.67 Billion Bits Per Square Inch

MarketWatch ^ | May 16, 2006 12:01 AM ET | Mike Ross IBM

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

SAN JOSE, Calif., May 16, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- IBM researchers today announced they have demonstrated a world record in data density on linear magnetic tape, a dramatic indication that one of the computer industry's oldest and still most affordable data storage technologies has the potential to provide increased capacity for years to come.

The researchers at IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, Calif., packed data onto a test tape at a density of 6.67 billion bits per square inch -- more than 15 times the data density of today's most popular industry standard magnetic tape products. To achieve this feat they created several new data-recording technologies and worked with Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. of Japan to develop a next-generation dual-coat magnetic tape capable of storing high-density data.

The demonstration shows that magnetic tape data storage should be able to maintain its cost advantage over other technologies for years to come. When these new technologies and tape become available in products - projected to be in about five years - a cartridge the size of an industry-standard Linear Tape Open (LTO) tape cartridge could hold up to 8 trillion bytes (terabytes) of uncompressed data. This is 20 times the capacity of today's LTO-Generation 3 cartridge, which is about half the physical size of a VHS videocassette. Eight terabytes of data is equivalent to the text in 8 million books, which would require 57 miles of bookshelves.

"Today's announcement tells our customers that IBM has the technology to continue to improve its tape products to address their growing needs for affordable and robust data storage," said Cindy Grossman, vice president, IBM Tape Storage Systems. "With analysts projecting tape automation revenue to grow 8 percent annually through 2011, our customers are storing increasing amounts of data to manage their enterprises and to address the compliance requirements of laws such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Greater data density and cartridge capacity enables them to store more data in less space, helping to keep magnetic tape as the most cost-effective form of data storage."

Businesses use magnetic tape to store large volumes of important data that are used infrequently or don't require sub-second access times. These uses include data archives, backup files, replicas for disaster recovery and retention of information required for regulatory compliance. Such data are often contained within automated tape libraries where one or more read-write units service dozens to thousands of tape cartridges. High-end tape libraries can thus store petabytes - millions of gigabytes - of information. On a per-gigabyte basis, tape systems are currently about one-fifth to one-tenth the cost of today's hard-disk-drive storage systems, depending on their size. Moreover, tape cartridges consume no energy unless they are being accessed - unlike spinning disks, which need occasional use to remain operational - providing another area of potential cost savings.

IBM's record-breaking demonstration trumped its 2002 recording of a terabyte of date onto a single 3592-sized cartridge at a density of 1 billion bits per square inch. Over the past two years, Almaden researchers worked closely with Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., engineers on the development of a new dual coat magnetic tape media capable of high-density recording. The Almaden researchers also developed technologies to dramatically improve the capabilities of read-write heads and the methods for positioning the heads and handling the tape to enable data tracks one-tenth as wide as in current products. Scientists from IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory developed a new coding method that improved the accuracy of reading the tiny magnetic bits.

"This demonstration confirms IBM's continued leadership in magnetic tape technology," said Spike Narayan, senior manager of advanced technology concepts at IBM Almaden. "This is a major milestone in our program and gives magnetic tape the density boost that we gave hard-disk drives in the 1990s."

IBM has a long history of innovation in magnetic tape data storage. Its first commercial tape product, the 726 Magnetic Tape Unit, was announced 54 years ago next week. It used reels of half-inch-wide tape that each had a capacity of about 2 megabytes. In 2002, IBM demonstrated data capacity 500,000 times greater in its 1-terabyte cartridge demonstration. According to IDC, IBM was the 2005 revenue leader in the $4.82 billion worldwide branded tape drive and tape library automation marketplace.

Technical details:

IBM's world-record achievement leverages notable improvements in five areas of the magnetic tape system:

New high-density dual-coated particulate magnetic tape: Developed by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd., in Japan in collaboration with IBM Almaden researchers, this next-generation version of its NANOCUBIC(TM) tape uses a new barium-ferrite magnetic media that enables high-density data recording without using expensive metal sputtering or evaporation coating methods.

More sensitive read-write head: For the first time, magnetic tape technology employs the sensitive giant-magnetoresistive (GMR) head materials and structures used to sense very small magnetic fields in hard disk drives.

GMR servo reader: New GMR servo-reading elements, software and fast-and-precise positioning devices provides an active feedback system with unprecedented 0.35-micron accuracy in monitoring and positioning the read-write head over the 1.5-micron-wide residual data track..

Improved tape-handling features: Flangeless, grooved rollers permit smoother high-speed passage of the tape, which also enhances the ability of the head to write and read high-density data.

Innovative signal processing algorithms for the read data channel: An advanced read channel used new "noise-predictive, maximum-likelihood" (NPML) software developed at IBM's Zurich Research Laboratory to process the captured data faster and more accurately than would have been possible with existing methods.

The demonstration was performed at product-level tape speeds (4 meters per second) and achieved error rates that should be correctable, using advanced error-correction techniques, to meet IBM's specification for its LTO-3 products.

(NANOCUBIC is a registered trademark of Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.)

SOURCE: IBM

IBM Research, Almaden Research Center Mike Ross, 408-927-1283 Cell: 408-221-3359 Fax: 408-927-3011 mikeross@almaden.ibm.com

Copyright Business Wire 2006

[GSlob]

"and worked with Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. of Japan to develop a next-generation dual-coat magnetic tape capable of storing high-density data."
There was a time when Eastman Kodak knew everything there was to know about film/tape coatings. Sad.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Linear Tape-Open
LTO Ultrium tape drives, libraries, and autoloaders

*****************************************************

Not a great picture,....but they are palm sized ....not priced for the home market as yet....but the need is coming....seems to me.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Anyone got a good photo that gives a good idea of the size of the cartridge....

[ShadowAce]

[roaddog727]

Disaster Recovery bump!

[N3WBI3]

Linear Tape Open (LTO) tape cartridge could hold up to 8 trillion bytes (terabytes) of uncompressed data.

Uggg could you imagine reading all that data off the tape ;)

[N3WBI3]

Or worse imagine cataloging it!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Well, there is this also:

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s (The First Perpendicular Recording) Hard Drive - OEM

*********************************

Available from NewEgg for $499.99............

Couple of those would make a gret home built TIVO....then back up the videos on the tape cartridges....

I think it is coming.....

[js1138]

I wonder how many people have recovered an entire server from tape. I tried once and it failed rather badly.

First, the boot CD made by Veritas wouldn't boot on the server, although it would boot on workstations. Second, there was no alternate method provided by Veritas to do a disaster recovery. The OS had to be reinstalled and reconfigured manually before the tape could be cataloged.

I do all backups to external hard drives now. I have tested disaster recovery with them and it works. I use ASR backups.

[N3WBI3]

Disk staging is definatly the way to go for critical backups but in a DR you need the tape..

[zeugma]

Storytime:

I first heard the term "exabyte" (1000 terrabytes) at a lecture at an HP users group meeting being given by the fellow who was the head of the Superconducting Super Collider that was being built (later abandoned) in Waxahatchie, Texas.

He was describing the projected data needs of the collider, which he said was expected to produce a terrabyte (also a relatively new word to me), per recorded collision. They were planning on backing up this data on offline media, (tape), for later analysis. At the time, I was working in a shop that used 12" 9-track tape reels that recorded at a whopping 6250 bpi.

When the lecture was over, I walked up to him and told him I'd be quite happy do nothing but sell him mag-tape for as long as I could.

6.7GB/in absolutely blows my mind.

[zeugma]

I wonder how many people have recovered an entire server from tape. I tried once and it failed rather badly.

I've done it several times. Worst case was on a VAX 8810 running Ultrix. I had to boot off 8" floppies, then load the box from 9-track tape at 6250 bpi. That's just a little over six thousand bits per inch for those not familiar with such low values :-) 

[js1138]

All I'm saying is you don't really have a backup plan unless you have tested a disaster recovery restore. Believing the hype of the software and hardware companies is not a plan.

For home users you can live with backups of your documents and image files. For business servers, it can take days to reinstall and configure the OS if the restore software can't do it.

[djf]

Great. So the 3490's I just got done installing are already obsolete?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

It was a demo, actual products are 5 years or more away....

I need a picture of the 3490 cartridge and ....what is the current storage capacity, I'm sure it is way up since I worked with them in 92.

[djf]

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thank you!

[zeugma]

All I'm saying is you don't really have a backup plan unless you have tested a disaster recovery restore. Believing the hype of the software and hardware companies is not a plan.

Absolutely. This is something I believe in strongly.

My favorite systems as far as disaster recovery was concerned were HP-3000 servers running MPE-V. All you needed to restore a box was the mag-tapes you created with backup. You could pop tape #1 on the tape drive, and boot the box, and it would completely restore everything and give you a brand new box. Sweet. Wish all backup programs worked that way. Boot and restore from media rocks!

[js1138]

I hate to mention this in a Windows hating community, but the Windows Server ASR backup works like a charm. You can always boot with a Windows CD, and then all you need is the ASR floppy that has your disk configuration, and your backup media, whether tape or external hard disk.