Explore the benefits of tape storage in managing the ever-growing influx of data. Delve into the cost-effectiveness, sustainability, scalability, and security advantages of LTO tape technology – and discover how tape storage helps organizations address the challenge of long-term data retention while minimizing financial and environmental impacts.
– Anthony Dutra, Technical Marketing Engineer, Zerto, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
We don't delete anything anymore. We all have that never-ending catalog of photos, a Word document we just can't bring ourselves to delete, or that one very important email archived indefinitely in the event it’s required one day. On that note, there are those things that we legally can’t delete. For instance, consider X-rays, CT scans, and MRIs, which medical organizations must retain for patient care, regulatory and compliance purposes for time frames spanning decades.
This seemingly indefinite need for data retention is creating a deluge of inactive, never-to-be-deleted data. And that’s a growing problem for enterprise IT teams tasked to store and manage all this information without breaking the bank. One storage solution perfectly poised for this exact challenge at the lowest possible total cost of ownership (TCO) is LTO tape technology. Here’s why.
Savings
Let’s start with the obvious: Tape storage is notable for being cost effective. Tape helps users manage spiralling storage costs and reduced IT budgets by offering petabytes or even exabytes of long-term storage for cold data at low cost per terabyte (TB) compared to its hard disk drive (HDD) solution counterparts.
Modern HPE tape libraries allow users to reuse and upgrade tape drives without having to purchase a completely new one or worry about the hassle of re-licensing already running software on the tape library, enabling an economical way to scale the solution.
On top of this, HPE StoreEver tape storage libraries also offer the benefits of the cloud- for example, allowing you to flexibly manage, monitor, and consume a tape storage solution as an operational expenditure (OPEX) - without the drawbacks of cloud storage costs such as paying the retrieval (egress) charges when accessing their archived data.
Sustainable
The energy efficiency of tape storage stands out as a key driver of its lower TCO. Unlike disk-based systems that demand continuous power consumption for data accessibility, tape drives operate efficiently, consuming power only during active operations, which as a result, means a smaller carbon footprint.
Organizations deploying tape are starting with lower carbon, produce less carbon during the operational life of the product and produce less waste(x). Enterprise-grade tape storage solutions even allow users to mix generations of cartridges, allowing older ones to be easily repurposed into the current archive storage pool, reducing the need to toss out old hardware.
These energy-saving characteristics translate into significant cost savings over the storage system's lifecycle, particularly in large-scale deployments.
Scalable
As data oceans become deeper and more challenging for IT teams to contain, tape storage technology has been keeping pace with these massive data growth rates by constantly improving the size and scale of the Linear-Tape Open (LTO) technology. These ultra-high density, hugely scalable LTO cartridges are designed for storing immense amounts of data, unlike HDD.
One study showcases the roadmap for tape technology represents a faster path to greater per-drive vs. cartridge storage capacities than HDDs. LTO 9 is already delivering 45TB (compressed per cartridge), versus 20-22TB (uncompressed) for enterprise HDDs. It’s estimated that by the release of LTO 12, tape cartridges should deliver roughly 360TB (compressed per cartridge) and potentially up to 1.44 petabytes (compressed per cartridge) with the release of LTO 14, whereas it’s unlikely that enterprise HDD per-drive capacity may never grow to 100TB per drive(x).
For storage density at scale at a lower TCO, its clear LTO is the way to go.
Secure
A critical benefit of using tape storage is allowing users to place copies of data offline behind a physical “air gap” barrier. This makes it very difficult indeed for cybercriminals to encrypt or steal sensitive business information, broadening your cybersecurity defences and complementing other defensive tactics.
Tape storage solutions have innate security features, including native, hardware-based encryption as well as guaranteed Write Once Read Many (WORM) immutability to ensure no tampering with the archived data.
These security measures contribute to overall cost savings by safeguarding sensitive information and minimizing potential financial liabilities.
TCO takeaways of tape
The contemporary landscape of data retention presents a formidable challenge for enterprises, with an ever-growing influx of inactive yet indispensable data.
Amid this deluge, tape storage emerges as a compelling solution, offering unparalleled advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness, sustainability, scalability, and security. With its ability to provide vast storage capacities at a fraction of the cost of traditional HDDs, coupled with its energy-efficient operation and robust security features, tape storage stands as the optimal choice for organizations seeking to manage their data archives efficiently while minimizing financial and environmental burdens.
Embracing tape technology not only addresses the pressing need for long-term data retention but also sets the stage for sustainable and secure data management practices in the digital age.
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Meet Storage Experts blogger Anthony Dutra, Technical Marketing Engineer, Zerto, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company
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