Magnetic tapes: data storage and retrieval
Magnetic tapes could be seen as outdated storage media, obsolete and outdated. However, as mass storage devices, they offer many advantages for data backup and archiving…
Magnetic tapes, high-capacity storage media
Magnetic tapes have been used as mass storage media since the early days of computing. They enable high-capacity data storage, surpassing current storage media under certain conditions.
In 2017, IBM and Sony managed to store 330 TB of data on a magnetic storage cartridge using the sputtering process! By way of comparison, the best helium hard disks currently have a capacity of over 16TB, and SSD disks a capacity of 100TB. So why haven’t magnetic tapes supplanted conventional hard disks, helium disks and SSDs?
Despite their high storage capacities, they suffer from disadvantages that prevent them from competing with the latter. Magnetic tapes have low read speeds, which means they cannot be accessed quickly. What’s more, unlike hard disks, their nature prohibits simultaneous write operations. As a result, they are much slower at executing incremental backups of several workstations at once.
In spite of their outdated appearance, magnetic tapes continue to exist: they benefit from technological developments and are once again being used in certain computer architectures.
Durability and low cost: other advantages of magnetic tapes
Despite their shortcomings, and by virtue of valuable advantages, magnetic tapes and cassettes are becoming a natural part of large companies’ data backup strategies. While the global volume of data stored in IT systems reached 33 zettabytes at the end of 2018, the Data Age 2025 study estimates that this volume will increase fivefold by 2025. In the face of this monstrous growth, magnetic tapes have a valuable role to play as mass memories.
In addition to their storage capacity, magnetic tapes guarantee high reliability and durability. The technical specifications for LTO tapes(Linear Tape-Open, the most widespread technological standard) indicate a lifespan of 30 years. Ideal for long-term back-ups, magnetic tapes enable companies to meet their legal obligations in terms of data archiving.
Their ultimate advantage is that they offer a very attractive financial solution! Magnetic tapes offer the lowest cost per gigabyte of any storage medium. Their cost/capacity ratio is almost 10 times lower than other technologies, and continues to evolve. What’s more, they offer limited operating costs, even when used for outsourced storage: since they require neither electrical power nor cooling, like servers and computer racks, magnetic tape storage consumes very little energy.
Data backup and recovery from magnetic tape
Data backup on magnetic tape is still widely used by companies, particularly for storing and archiving large volumes of information: audiovisual companies generating substantial data libraries without the need for continuous access; pharmaceutical companies legally obliged to keep their data for decades; cloud solutions for inexpensive storage services (but with slow access times) for infrequently-accessed data; and so on.
Magnetic tapes are also secure backup solutions. Stored on remote sites or cold or warm backup sites, they can be integrated into BCP/ERPs and facilitate disaster recovery. An effective bulwark against ransomware, viruses and computer attacks, magnetic tapes are nevertheless vulnerable to incidents leading to data loss: disasters (fire, flood…), physical damage to the medium (crumpled or bent tape…), incidents linked to the tape recorder-reader magnetic, etc.
In the event of a problem, Databack assures you of its expertise in the field of tape data recovery. Our laboratory can handle both existing and obsolete formats. We can also migrate data from magnetic tape to any type of storage medium or format.
30 October 2019