With a Worldwide ban on LTO-8 tape, many companies have been waiting for the time they could upgrade their tape… and the time is finally here! Following an initial patent dispute, Fujifilm and Sony have decided to drop the case, which means the availability of LTO-8 tape is anticipated to be on sale in the fourth quarter of 2019.
The LTO tape format has become the market-dominating standard for magnetic recording tape drives and media over the past years.
As an award-winning partner of Quantum and their leading reseller in EMEA, Trams is well-placed to deliver your storage needs. But how does LTO-8 compare to LTO-7 or other tape versions from Quantum?
Comparing LTO-7 and LTO-8
- Capacity: 100% increase
- Performance: 20% increase
- Tape drive durability improvements
- Media reliability improvements, which are particularly valuable with increasing demands for long-term retention: 100x increase in data reliability due to improved bit error rate (BER) and advanced Barium Ferrite (BaFe) media.
| Feature | LTO-5
| LTO-6
| LTO-7
| LTO-8
M Format (FH) | LTO-8
(FH) |
| Native capacity | 1.5 TB | 2.5 TB | 6 TB | 9 TB | 12 TB |
| Compressed capacity | 3.0 TB | 6.25 TB | 15 TB | 22.5 TB | 30 TB |
| Native performance | 140 MB/sec 500 GB/hr | 160 MB/sec 576 GB/hr | 300 MB/sec 1.08 TB/hr | 300 MB/sec 1.08 TB/hr | 360 MB/sec 1.38 TB/hr |
| Compressed performance | 280 MB/sec 1 TB/hr | 400 MB/sec 1.4 TB/hr | 750 MB/sec 2.7 TB/hr | 750 MB/sec 2.7 TB/hr | 900 MB/sec 3.24 TB/hr |
| Hard BER | 1 in 1017 | 1 in 1017 | 1 in 1019 | 1 in 1019 | 1 in 1019 |
| Read/write back to | LTO-3/LTO-4 | LTO-4/LTO-5 | LTO-5/LTO-6 | LTO-7/LTO-M8 | LTO-7/LTO-M8 |
LTO-8 Full Height vs. LTO-8 Half-Height Drive Formats
LTO-8 is available in both FH and HH drive formats. What are the differences and why would you choose one over the other?
A clear majority of the technology and improvements that have been implemented are shared between both LTO-8 FH and LTO-8 HH tape drives. There are a few small differences, mostly due to the FH drive having more real estate for the circuitry and mechanical assemblies. The following chart shows how the two drives are alike as well as where they differ.
| Technical Feature | LTO-8 FH | LTO-8 HH |
| MTBF of 250,000 power-on hours at 100% duty cycle | Yes | Yes |
| MSBF: cartridge load/unload cycles | 300,000 | 80,000 |
| Read-after-write data integrated head cleaner | Yes | Yes |
| Library Drive Interface (LDI) | Yes | Yes |
| Microcode updatable | Yes | Yes |
| Speed matching | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption capable | Yes | Yes |
| Automation Drive Interface (ADI) support | Yes | Yes |
| Graceful dynamic brake function at power loss | Yes | Yes |
| LFTS capable | Yes | Yes |
| 8-Gb Fibre Channel interface | Yes | Yes |
| Serial attached SCSI (SAS) at 6-Gb sec interface | No | Yes |
| Cartridge auto-eject on over-temperature | Yes | Yes |
| Single-character display (SCD) and LED panel | Yes | Yes |
| Encryption LED | No | Yes |
| Customer-centric statistical analysis reporting system | Yes | Yes |
| Improved pin pick and threader mechanics to return leader pin to cartridge | Yes | Yes |
| New high-bandwidth dual-stage actuator | Yes | Yes |
| Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) compliance | Yes | Yes |
| 32-channel implementation to support Ultrium generation 7 media | Yes | Yes |
So now that LTO-8 is available, the question shouldn’t be will you be moving across, but when? For more information, download the Quantum Brochure and contact a member of our Team.