Fujifilm's 100TB Tape: Archival Future Arrives

Fujifilm is now selling its LTO-10 Ultrium tape cartridge, engineered for enterprise-level archival and long-term backup. Each tape provides a native storage capacity of 40TB, which can be expanded to an impressive 100TB when standard 2.5:1 compression is applied. This substantial capacity could theoretically store millions of songs, making it suitable for massive data archives.

The cartridge employs Barium Ferrite particle technology, a magnetic material chosen for its superior stability and longevity. Fujifilm claims an uncompressed transfer speed of 440MB per second, reaching 1,100MB per second with compression. This performance surpasses many enterprise SATA hard drives. The LTO-10 also includes AES-256 encryption meeting FIPS 197 compliance standards, a key feature for government and financial sectors.

Compatibility is limited to LTO-10 tape drives and libraries, primarily targeting data centers and institutions with existing tape infrastructure. The format is presented as ideal for disaster recovery due to its long shelf life, a characteristic magnetic tape excels at when stored correctly. Tape storage continues to be a cost-effective solution for cold storage, offering a high capacity per dollar.

Fujifilm guarantees a bit error rate of 1 in 10^20 and an archival life of up to 30 years with proper storage. The cartridge is rewritable, allowing for reuse across multiple backup cycles. Currently priced at $494, it represents a considerable investment for organizations managing petabytes of infrequently accessed data, with the company offering a limited lifetime warranty.