Fujifilm Releases LTO-10 Tape with 40TB Native Capacity

Fujifilm has commenced sales of its LTO-10 Ultrium tape, a storage medium specifically developed for enterprise data archiving and long-term backup requirements. Each tape provides a native capacity of 40 terabytes, expandable to 100 terabytes with standard 2.5:1 compression. This significant capacity makes it a notable option for organizations managing large volumes of data.

The company utilizes barium ferrite particle technology in manufacturing these tapes, a magnetic material chosen for its ability to enhance storage stability and extend data archiving lifespan. Fujifilm reports an uncompressed data transfer rate of 440 MB/s, with compressed performance reaching up to 1100 MB/s. This speed surpasses that of most enterprise-grade SATA hard drives. The LTO-10 also incorporates AES-256 encryption, adhering to the FIPS 197 standard, a requirement often seen in government and financial sector storage procurement.

Compatibility with LTO-10 tape drives and libraries is necessary for operation, directing its application primarily towards data centers, media archives, and institutions with established tape backup infrastructure. Fujifilm highlights the format's suitability for disaster recovery scenarios, where long-term preservation is prioritized over immediate access speeds. Unlike hard drives, magnetic media in tapes age slowly under appropriate storage conditions, making them a long-standing choice for cold data storage across various industries.

The LTO-10 tape supports rewritability, allowing for repeated use across multiple backup cycles rather than being a single-use medium. Despite predictions of its decline, tape storage persists due to its cost-effectiveness for high-capacity needs. Fujifilm offers a limited lifetime warranty for the LTO-10 tapes.

The tape is priced at $494, below the manufacturer's suggested retail price. This offering may be of interest to organizations needing to manage petabyte-scale, infrequently accessed data.