SAIT cartridge first to break 1TB barrier

Computer Technology Review, April, 2003 by Brett Schechter

Enterprise tape storage has not exactly riveted the attention of Information Technology leaders. The norm in this market has been a succession of modest performance increases--new variations on familiar half-inch tape cartridges and linear-serpentine recording, such as Super DLT 320 and LTO Ultrium generation 2. But a new enterprise-class half-inch cartridge is rewriting the rules and transforming the economics of tape storage. The new SAIT format is set to trigger resurgent interest in tape for enterprise storage vertical applications.

Four factors set SAIT apart. First, the new format delivers the world's highest storage capacity, best-in-class storage density and top-notch transfer speed, redefining what is possible in tape storage. Second, SAIT offers the industry's most far-sighted roadmap for compatible growth, pointing to a future that's both brighter and much closer than many had thought possible. Third, SAIT currently delivers the industry's lowest consumable cost per gigabyte, a decisive advantage in today's IT environment. Fourth, SAIT is easily integrated into today's world-class tape libraries, thanks to its half-inch media form factor.

Buoyed by these four advantages, SALT has generated powerful momentum in the industry. Sony manufactures SAIT tape, SAIT drives and the S-PetaSite library, also based on SAIT. The new format has also attracted a true second source of both tapes and drives: Matsushita, known in the U.S. for the Panasonic brand. In addition, many tape automation vendors have expressed their interest to integrate SAIT drives and media into their hal-finch tape library solutions. These companies include leaders like ADIC, Qualstar and Spectra Logic.

This article will review the requirements for future tape storage, showing how SAIT compares to other choices. It will examine some issues surrounding tape format migration, and it will review some of the most urgent vertical applications where SAIT is best qualified to solve end-user problems. These include content creation, email archiving, medical information, storage consolidation and replacing disk arrays.

Meeting Brutal Requirements

The future will not be kind to many existing tape formats. The challenge is both technical and economic as the cost-per-megabyte of hard disk storage continues to drop. Low-cost disk arrays may, in fact, overtake conventional tape roadmaps as early as 2004. To remain relevant, tape must match increasing hard disk capacity while decisively beating hard disk pricing.

In the race to stay ahead of hard disk economics, SALT has a tremendous head start. The SALT data cartridge is the world's first to break the 1TB barrier. A single SAIT cartridge can hold up to 1.3TB of data, using 2.6:1 ADLC compression. That's over three times the capacity of the next-best super cartridge.

For skeptics who demand more than the top-line specifications, SALT continues to impress. SALT native storage capacity leads the industry at 500 gigabytes (GB). Transfer rates are equivalent to the industry's best: approaching 78 megabytes (MB)/second compressed, 30 MB/s uncompressed.

This high performance sets the stage for an even more impressive future. The SALT roadmap embraces five generations, extending out to SAIT-5 with a native capacity of 10TB by 2011.

Redefining the Library

Even in the first-generation SAIT (SALT-1), the format's capacity overturns expectations of how much can be stored in current automated systems. With SAIT, an average 14-rack unit/72 slot library can now hold over 90TB with compression. And 1,000 slots can now hold 1.3 petabytes, compressed.

Write Once/Read Many (WORM) capability, which will be available in SAIT, by the end of the year, is one other practical advantage of SALT that makes it well suited for enterprise applications. WORM positions the tape technology well for the increasing requirements for permanent record keeping in healthcare and financial services.

In terms of storage capacity, data density, and the scope of the roadmap, no tape is better prepared for the practical requirements of future enterprise storage than SAIT. The following outlines how these advantages play out in specific enterprise storage applications.

Digital Content

Broadcasters and media companies recognize the opportunity to store all of their content in an easily accessible, thoroughly catalogued digital library. This can replace analog tape and film libraries, acting as a centralized repository for moving pictures, music, video and graphics. Imagine a news agency scouring thousands of videocassettes to locate a presidential speech from 1965. SALT tapes can store thousands of hours of video footage, all searchable and retrievable via Web browser by a summer intern. SAIT used in current Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) or Active Archival implementations makes this a reality. SAIT reduces costs and improves return on investment. It boosts operational efficiency, providing fast access and fast retrieval for large files.

Email Archiving

As messaging systems become more vital to the enterprise, they also face greater storage challenges. Messaging systems already contain an estimated 60 percent of enterprise information. Over 80 percent of end-user email applications make it difficult or impossible to retrieve archived messages. IT administrators spend an average of six hours per week recovering old messages and eight hours per week backing up email systems. The advent of corporate instant messaging promises only to exacerbate these problems.