LTO tape cartridges
The LTO-10, the younger generation of the Lto Ultrium Tape form, was announced today. Full -height disks and media are available for direct order from sellers such as Symply and Section Logic. The missions of the LTO-10 discs and media are set to begin in June 2025.
The latest generation LTO offers 30TB storage capacitations and 400MB/s carriage per cartridge. 2.5x compressed 75TB capacities are also advertised per cartridge. LTO-10 provides an increased capacity of 66% per cartridge from the previous generation LTO-9. The supported interfaces include 32 GB/S and 12 GB/S SAS fiber channel.
The magnetic tape provides some of the most cost -effective storage at a cost per tuberculosis. Previous -generation movie cartridges on 18TB selling for about $ 90, or about $ 5/tb. In a large volume, LTO-10 films should provide even lower prices, perhaps closer to $ 3/TB. This is compared to our estimates for the HDD Large Data Center for about $ 10-12/TB.
These discs are available in capacities of up to 36TB using HAMR or SMR technologies. The LTO program features LTO generations up to LTO-14. These younger generations tend to be introduced every 2-3 years, although the LTO-9 was introduced in September 2021 or about 3.5 years before the LTO-10 introduction.
In addition to the lowest storage values compared to HDDs, LTO and other magnetic tape technologies are mainly used in a library environments where film cartridges are stored on the shelves until they are needed when they have access to robotic operating systems to load them inside and outside the units where the data are read. Many movie cartridges can be used for each unit and the data is only actively used when they are in the disk units.
Consequently, energy consumption per storage capacity for a magnetic tape is much smaller than for HDDs, which are usually always activated. Thus, the magnetic film can provide better total ownership costs for a given storage capacity. This makes the magnetic film an important element in the digital storage hierarchy to keep data that do not need quick access. The Coughlin Associates estimates that about 180 compressed, 2.5x outputs, magnetic tape capacity is sent in 2024.
According to Barry Rudolph, a member of the Board of Directors of Systems Company, Spectra Logic, the LTO program announced the original product route map shortly after the import of LTO-1 in 2000. Until LTO-9, the Ultrium/LTO industry team consists of HPE, IBM, Quantum, Fujifil And several other companies had generally doubled the capacity of natural cartridge with each generation. The previous LTO road map had LTO-9 targets for 24TB, but when it was introduced, it was a 18TB product. LTO-9 discs could read the LTO-8 cartridges, but not the previous LTO movies. The LTO-10 units will have similar restrictions on reading the recognition of older cartridges.
The LTO track map before the LTO-10 import is aimed at this product up to 36TB. However, it is not uncommon for digital storage technologies to lose their skill goals and other important features.
Many storage technologies had march maps for future products over the years, including HDDs and SSDs, often manufactured by storage consortia or individual companies. Progress in these various storage technologies has become increasingly difficult over time, slowing down the storage density, including characteristics, similar to some ways to slow down semiconductor developments.
For example, previous HDD technology roads have shown the introduction of magnetic recording that energy assisted by energy many years before the introduction of this technology into HDD shipping over the last 3 years.
Below is the current LTO route map for movie revenue map that show expectations for future products up to LTO-14. This course map still shows LTO-10 up to 36TB and LTO-14 as 576TB. We expect an update in the near future. We assume that LTO-14 will still have 2.5x compressed storage capacities above 1pb per cartridge.
The LTO course map, from 5/27/25
The LTO-10 Magnetic Magnetic Tape with 30TB storage capabilities are announced with cartridge and disc missions that will occur in June 2025. The magnetic film continues to provide some of the most economical and lower digital storage technologies on the market.
