FujiFilm, IBM Team to Create First 700GB Tape Cartridge

The ultra-high density cartridge is the next step to achieving multiple terabyte storage on a single cartridge, Big Blue says.

Storage media provider FujiFilm revealed Dec. 21 that it has joined forces with IBM to create a tape cartridge with 700GB of uncompressed storage capacity.

The technology was developed for use in the IBM System Storage TS1120 Tape Drive, introduced in 2005, and now the first enterprise-grade tape system to use the 700 GB cartridges.

Back in May, the two companies demonstrated putting a record amount of data onto a test tape at a density of 6.67 billion bits per square inch. The 700 GB cartridge is the result of that R&D by researchers at IBMs Almaden Laboratories in San Jose, Calif.

The 700 GB cartridge is the next step to achieving multiple terabyte storage on a single cartridge, a goal first announced at that time. The cartridge, which is smaller than a typical VHS cassette, will be able to hold the text from 8 million books--volumes that if lined up, would fill 92 kilometers (57 miles) worth of bookshelves, an IBM spokesperson said.

"This advanced tape cartridge is designed to bring additional capacity to the second-generation IBM System Storage TS1120 Tape Drive to meet the increasing demand among enterprises for high capacity reliable data storage and reduced cost of operations," said IBMs Cindy Grossman, vice president of tape storage systems, in Valhalla, N.Y.

Click here to read more about Fuji and IBMs tape storage efforts.

The System Storage 3592 Extended Data high-capacity tape media was announced in October and is now available from IBM in both rewriteable or WORM formats. It is the first 700GB tape media available to customers, a company spokesperson said.

The cartridges may be integrated into the IBM TS3500 Tape Library, the 3494 Tape Library and the Silo Compatible Tape Drive Frame 3592 Model C20 as well as into stand-alone environments.

The cartridge tape includes Fujifilm Nanocubic magnetic coating method, introduced in 2002, which utilizes a unique dual-layer particulate layering process for creating media.

Resource Library:

This is more commercially viable than other systems, such as evaporated metal or sputtering techniques, a FujiFilm spokesperson said in Tokyo.

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