Linear Tape-OpenLTOWhat is a LTO?Linear Tape-Open (LTO) is a magnetic tape data storage technology originally developed in the late 1990s and introduced in 2000 as an open standard solution for backup and archiving of large amounts of data. The system is used by large institutions such as: software companies, banks, hospitals, insurance companies and, in our case, record companies. LTO technology is currently in its 7th generation. The LTO-7 spec supports tape cartridge storage with a compressed capacity of up to 15TB* which is more than twice the previous generation. The technology is spec'ed out to Gen 12 which will hold 480TB!LTO specs provide backwards compatibility to read/write with previous generations. Current-generation LTO drives are able to read tapes from two generations prior and are able to write to tapes from the prior generation. This does require that previous generations are cycled up to the current generation. WORMLTO'S boast WORM- write once, read many capability that ensures that your data is not overwritten. This technology provides users a cost effective means of storing data in a format that cannot be rewritten. ENCRYPTIONLTO technology features strong encryption capabilities to enhance security and privacy during storage and transport of LTO tape cartridges. LTO features a 256-symmetric key AES-GCM algorithm, implemented at the drive level, which enables compression before encryption to maximize capacity and performance during backup. PARTITIONINGRecent generations of LTO technology (LTO-5) include a partitioning feature which helps to enhance file control and space management via LFTS - Linear Tape File System - a self describing tape format. File data and file system metadata are stored in separate partitions on the tape. The metadata, which uses a standard XML schema, is readable by any LFTS system and can be modified separately from the data is describes. Partitioning allows for indexing, which points the drive to where in the tape a file is stored. The second partition holds the actual file. With LFTS, indexing information is first read by the drive then presented in a format that allows the user to "drag and drop", similar to other data carriers.LIFESPANLTO tape is predicted to provide 15 to 100 years of archival storage. The current generation of LTO should be able to provide 200-364 full file passes.
