Spectra Logic Unveils Flagship T-Finity Tape System

Spectra Logic, which makes high-end, robotic tape storage systems for television stations, high-performance computing systems and other data-intensive environments, Nov. 11 unveiled a new flagship system: the T-Finity Library.
T-Finity has multiple redundant robots and can scale to more than 45 petabytes in a single library and to more than 180 petabytes in a single, unified complex, CMO Mollie Rector told eWEEK.
“Scalability and ‘five nines’ of availability are two of the most important features T-Finity offers,” Rector said.
“T-Finity can scale to more than 30,000 [cartridge] slots in a single library and 120,000 slots in a library complex. It scales capacity by adding frames non-disruptively [thanks to multiple robots] that require no library downtime.”
T-Finity’s built-in features-which Rector said come at no extra cost-include integrated data encryption; library virtualization and partitioning; and hardware, media and library management software.
The new tape system is compatible with all major archive and backup software applications, including BakBone NetVault, CA ArcServe, BrightStor, CommVault Sympana, IBM HPSS and TSM, Legato DiskExtender and Networker, Quantum StorNext, Symantec Backup Exec and NetBackup, Syncsort Backup Express, and XenData.
“Spectra Logic’s new T-Finity tape library addresses the demanding storage and productivity requirements of HPC and enterprise markets,” IDC Research Vice President of Technical Computing Steve Conway said. “It supplies multiple redundant components and unique features, while requiring only a single management interface, thus raising the bar on management simplicity within data-intensive environments.”
The Spectra T-Finity tape library, currently in beta, will be available in limited quantities starting in December 2009, Rector said.
List pricing for the Spectra T-Finity, including two LTO4 Fibre Channel drives, two robots, encryption, Spectra library lifecycle management and BlueScale management software, begins at $218,500.