New LTO-10 generation with 30 TB - an alternative to the hard disk archive?
[19:02 Tue,3.June 2025 by Thomas Richter]
5 years have passed - now the time has finally come: the next generation of magnetic tape storage is coming onto the market. The tenth generation of Linear Tape-Open (LTO) technology offers a storage capacity of 30 TB uncompressed per tape, which is an increase of 67% compared to LTO-9 (18 TB). However, this is slightly less than announced on the LTO roadmap, where 36 TB were promised. With standard compression (2.5:1), up to 75 TB per tape can even be stored. For archiving large amounts of data, such as those generated when filming, magnetic tape storage can be very attractive.
Spectra Logic LTO-10 Drive
However, the data transfer still takes place at a maximum of 400 MB/s, which means that a complete tape can theoretically be written in less than 24 hours. The writing speed has therefore not accelerated significantly since LTO-8. Several manufacturers such as IBM, Symply and Spectra Logic have already announced LTO-10 products - drives and tapes.
Technically, LTO-10 is based on a completely revised design. In addition to a new read/write head, an optimized substrate for the tape material has been introduced, which enables the higher data density. The physical length of the tape remains unchanged compared to LTO-9 (1,035 meters), which indicates an efficiency gain in data storage per area. Although the maximum reading speed is 400 MB/s, a data transfer rate of up to 1000 MB/s can be achieved via SAS and even up to 1200 MB/s via Fibre Channel when working with compressed data.
LTO Roadmap
A practical advance: LTO-10 media can be used directly without prior calibration - a clear advantage over LTO-9, where this step took up to two hours. Another change concerns compatibility, but to its detriment: LTO-10 breaks with the tradition of backward compatibility. While earlier generations could read and write one or two previous formats, LTO-10 drives can only be used with LTO-10 media. This makes the migration of existing magnetic tape archives more difficult.
The next generation (LTO-11) is not expected until 2029 at the earliest, a step back compared to the two-year rhythm of capacity doubling that was valid before LTO-10. There is also a lack of the cheaper half-height drives for LTO-10, which are not expected to come onto the market until 2026.
IBM LTO-10 Tapes
First LTO-10 drives from Symply and IBM
Symply will be the first provider to launch LTO-10 drives and tape library systems - three drives are scheduled to appear in June: the SymplyPRO Ethernet (with 10 Gbit/s Ethernet), the SymplyPRO Thunderbolt (including Thunderbolt and SAS connection) and the SymplyPRO XTL 40/80 (modular library system with SAS, Ethernet, Thunderbolt and Fibre Channel) at prices from 12,000 US dollars to just under 27,000 US dollars for the Enterprise version. IBM has also announced drives - these are optionally available with two SAS connections (12 Gbit/s each) or two fiber optic channels (Fibre Channel, 32 Gbit/s each). However, neither the launch date nor the prices have been announced here.
Symply LTO-10 Drive
LTO or hard drive - what is better for the archive?
Depending on the application and the storage volume required, magnetic tape can be a sensible alternative to conventional storage on hard drives. The disadvantages of data tapes, such as the very slow access (a tape must first be inserted from an automatic tape archive and then wound to the correct position - access takes 50-60 seconds compared to 5-10 milliseconds for hard drives) and the high acquisition costs for a tape drive are offset by several advantages. In addition to high energy efficiency, longevity and data reliability (error rates that are 4-5 times lower than those of hard drives), storage on magnetic tapes also offers high data security - the offline nature of the tapes has already prevented many a total loss of data - whether due to hacking attacks or programming errors.
However, the main argument for tapes when archiving very large amounts of data is the price, as an LTO cassette is much cheaper than a classic hard drive. For example, an LTO-9 cassette with a capacity of 18 TB costs around 85 euros, while a comparably large hard drive costs over 300 euros.
IBM LTO-10 Drive
The capacity increase through the new LTO-10 format has long been awaited by users, but unfortunately it falls short of the original targets. And as nice as the increased capacity and simplified commissioning are, the lack of backward compatibility and the initial lack of support from cheaper drive types are drawbacks for potential users who are looking for an optimal solution for their data archive.
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