FAQ

LTO (Linear Tape-Open) archiving refers to the use of LTO technology for the long-term preservation of digital data. LTO is a magnetic tape storage technology that was developed in the late 1990s as an open standard to provide a reliable and scalable data backup and archiving solution. It’s a collaboration between several technology companies, aimed at providing an adaptable, high-capacity tape storage format.

LTO technology offers a compelling combination of scalability, cost efficiency, durability, and security. These attributes make it an excellent choice for organizations seeking a reliable, economical solution for backing up and archiving vast volumes of data over extended periods.

LTO tapes can store data reliably for up to 30 years when stored in ideal conditions

Data stored on LTO (Linear Tape-Open) tapes is highly secure, thanks to several built-in features designed to protect against unauthorized access and ensure data integrity. These security measures make LTO an appealing choice for organizations with stringent data protection and compliance requirements. Key security features of LTO tapes include:

1. Encryption: LTO tapes support strong encryption algorithms to secure data at rest. This encryption ensures that even if a tape is lost or stolen, the data on it remains protected and inaccessible without the appropriate decryption key.

2. WORM (Write Once, Read Many) Capability: Starting from LTO-3, tapes can be formatted with WORM functionality, which prevents data on the tape from being overwritten or altered. This feature is crucial for regulatory compliance, as it ensures the original data remains intact and tamper-proof, ideal for legal, medical, and financial record-keeping.

3. Partitioning (since LTO-5): Newer generations of LTO tapes support partitioning, allowing a portion of the tape to be used for indexing, which improves data management and access. This feature, while not directly a security measure, enhances the overall integrity and manageability of data, indirectly contributing to its security.

These security features, combined with the physical durability of LTO tapes and their resilience to environmental factors, make LTO a secure storage solution for long-term archiving needs. When implemented as part of a comprehensive data protection strategy, LTO tapes provide robust defense against data breaches, unauthorized access, and data loss, ensuring sensitive and critical information remains secure over time.

It is crucial to store LTO tapes in an environment that minimizes exposure to extreme temperatures, humidity, magnetic fields, and dust. Proper handling and storage conditions help maintain the integrity of the data stored on the tapes over decades, ensuring that information remains accessible and uncorrupted for future retrieval.

The current generation of LTO technology is LTO-9. LTO-9 was officially launched in September 2021 with a native capacity of 18TB per tape.

The LTO program, overseen by the LTO Consortium (comprising Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM, and Quantum), periodically updates the technology roadmap to include future generations. The roadmap currently includes plans up to and including LTO-14, promising native tape capacities up to 576TB per tape.

LTFS (Linear Tape File System) is an open format designed to store data on magnetic tape in a self-describing form that enables files to be accessed and managed in a similar manner to those on disks or removable flash drives. Introduced with the release of LTO-5 in 2010, LTFS leverages the partitioning capability of LTO technology to divide the tape into two segments: one partition stores the file system index, and the other stores the actual data. This structure allows users to browse, access, and manage files stored on LTO tapes directly through a standard file system interface without needing specialized tape storage management software.

To read data from LTO (Linear Tape-Open) tapes using your computer, specific hardware and software requirements must be met, given that LTO technology is fundamentally different from common storage devices like hard drives or USB flash drives. Here’s what you need:

1. LTO Tape Drive: You need a compatible LTO tape drive that can read the generation of your LTO tapes or earlier generations. For example, an LTO-9 tape drive can read LTO-9 and typically at least one or two previous generations (LTO-8 and LTO-7), but this compatibility can vary.

2. Appropriate Interface: The tape drive must be connected to your computer via a compatible interface. Historically, SCSI was common, but modern drives may use SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) or even Thunderbolt interfaces for direct connection to computers.

3. Drivers and Software: To interface with the tape drive, your computer will need the appropriate drivers installed. Additionally, to manage the data on the tapes, you might need specific tape management or backup software. If your tapes are formatted with LTFS (Linear Tape File System), you can access the files in a more straightforward manner, similar to how you would use a USB drive, with the tapes appearing as a file system you can browse.

4. Operating System Compatibility: Ensure your operating system supports the tape drive and any software you intend to use. LTFS, for example, is supported on various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, facilitating broader compatibility.

While it’s technically possible to read data from LTO tapes on a personal computer, the setup requires specialized equipment and software. This is typically more common in enterprise or professional environments where LTO technology is used for large-scale data backup and archiving purposes. For individual users or smaller setups, considering the cost and complexity of the necessary equipment, it might be more practical to seek services that specialize in data retrieval from LTO tapes if you don’t have the setup readily available.

Data migration between LTO generations is a common practice for organizations seeking to maintain data accessibility over time, leverage the latest tape storage advancements, and adhere to data retention policies. Regularly migrating data to newer LTO generations can help in managing storage costs, improving data retrieval times, and ensuring data longevity.

LTO tape drives are backward compatible with at least one previous generation of tapes for writing and two previous generations for reading. For example, an LTO-9 drive can read LTO-8 and LTO-7 tapes and write to LTO-8 and LTO-9 tapes.