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Unique LTO Technology.m4v (by RecycleYourMedia1)

Video on the IT SUmmit Conference in Long Beach, Huge Event that took place last week

(Source: recycleyourmedia.com)

Any business must secure its mission critical data to satisfy the present day governmental norms. But, in times of any disaster like software/hardware malfunctioning, virus affecting, hacking, etc., all the mission critical data might get lost. It is, therefore, much required to have a back up facility of all the major business documents. This will surely provide you an opportunity to get back on your feet once again and continue operating the business successfully.

There are basically two mediums that can be used as a backup storage technology: tape media and disc media. However, before selecting one technology, you need to make adequate research so that you can get hold of the medium that will be apt to your organization’s demands.

As promised last week in the article Two LTO Consortium Studies Reveal the Benefits of Tape Storage, and to help the the world wide IT managers in this respect, below is a comparative study of both these media:

Cost has always been a major factor in taking any decision. So, you need to calculate the acquisition and operational costs involved before selecting any particular back up storage technology. Tape media can save up to 75 per cent of your acquisition cost and also have proved to require 7 times lesser operational charges when compared to the disc media over a time frame of 5 years.

Tape industry also supports a wide variety of file formats. These include Super AIT, DLT, DDS/DAT, Travan, DLT, LTO, and VXA. And the major file formats that are supported by disc media include RDX removable disk cartridge, SATA hard drive, and RAID.

Data compression is one of the most essential functionality that increases both data transfer speed and media capacity to a great extent. In most of the tape formats, their capacity and speed almost gets doubled with data compression.

In terms of storage capabilities too, tape media surpass that of the disc media. The introduction of 2 TB SATA drives in the market is aptly met with the ultrium 5 cartridges of tape media technology. They have a humongous storage capacity of 3 TB (compressed).

Tape media also offer a great solution in protecting the mission critical data of your organization through data encryption functionality. Both the LTO ultrium 4 and LTO 5 are standard tape media formats that make tape media technology the best option to store your business data.

Durability is also a major issue that always ranks tape media higher than disc media. Tape media can quite easily withstand shocks and vibrations, and are also less prone of getting damaged from accidental drops. Whereas, disc media is more fragile and require careful handling.

Tape media also enjoy a larger life cycle. The usual time frame of the back up tape cartridges are calculated to be 30 years.

So, the study clearly shows that tape media technology should be preferred over disc media as a backup storage option.

It was just announced that SpectraLogic has released the most exciting tape library in history!

The company’s all-new T-Finity ExaScale powered by BlueScale 12 supports 3.6 exabytes of data, which equals 3.6 million TB. What’s more, the T-Finity ExaScale supports 400,000 tape cartridge slots that sit within eight libraries. For those looking for redundancy and protection, they’ll be thrilled to know the library supports the Redundant Array of Inexpensive Tapes. The T-finity boasts of 8-node clustering and all-new BlueScale software to support exabyte capacity with RAID protection between all tape cartridges. Additionally, the T-Finity works perfectly with LTO-5, LTO6, and IBM S1140 tape drives.

Performance and power-on times are at a definite all-time high with the T-Finity! If you are unfamiliar with BlueScale 12, it allows for 35 percent to 60 percent faster robotic performance and 15 percent to 20 percent faster power-on times. It also provides an XML Open Library API that opens the door for customers to utilize software management apps in conjunction with Spectra Logic’s. Also, the T-Finity makes use of Spectra Logic’s cutting-edge Carbide Clean technology that works to extend the life of tape cartridges. The cleaning system is included with Spectra Logic’s Certified Media without an extra charge.

Spectra Logic also announced that now customers can import tape cartridges into their T-950 and T-Finity libraries and export quickly with a Bulk TeraPack Access Port System (TAP). Bulk Tap allows for users to import/export 500 TBs of data all at once rather than importing and exporting individually. Imagine how much time and energy this saves!

Finally, the company has created a guarantee program for T-Series libraries that assures customers that their maintenance contract will stay below the rate of inflation. “PriceLock” helps make budgeting easier and more effective. Spectra Logic is a proven leader in tape development solutions that have been successful in numerous environments, especially in high-performance computing and media/entertainment arenas. Some of the company’s top customers generate between 5TB to 10TB of content a day and archive 90 percent on a Spectra Logic T950 array.

The company’s closest competitor is Oracle, which don’t come close to offering as robust a system as Spectra Logic’s 400,000 slot monster…Oracle only provides a 100,000 slot.

Once again, it is possible to say that the tape is definitely not dead! Many leading organizations are realizing that that they are unable to archive hundreds of petabytes of data or more in the “cloud.” The tape continues to be king in such scenarios!

(Source: recycleyourmedia.com)

LTO (Linear Tape-Open) is one of the most well-known magnetic tape data storage technologies in the world. Created in the late 1990s in order to replace the magnetic tape formats that existed at this period, LTO is today manufactured by many brands, such as HP or Imation, and is widely used in small and large industries, such as banks, hospitals and universities.

This type of tape media is especially useful for data backup. LTO tape media is made very well, the manufacturers state that LTO Ultrium tapes have a 30 year life and can withstand 1,000,000 + passes and these are just a couple of great reasons why it is that essential to recycle them. Not to mention the cash back you will receive, you will save on shredding costs and it’s much better for the environment.

LTO is therefore a key product, and we are always looking to buy any formats, that is to say LTO-1, LTO-2, LTO-3, LTO-4 and LTO-5.

Don’t shred them! Sell them to us so that we recycle them in order to re-use them, after the data being completely erased of course. Indeed, we can certify this thanks to our unique Certified for Reuse® LTO Tape Erasure and Reconditioning.

So that you better understand this exclusive technology, we will post a new article and a video on the subject next week, so keep posted! In the mean time, you can get a glimpse here.

Below is a short video showing some LTO tape media, and what we are looking for.

If you are curious and would like to understand the way we recycle tapes, please check this article: The RYM 12 step recycle process.

It has been announced that the Linear Tape-Open (LTO) Program has released two separate studies revealing significant benefits for tape storage solutions over disk. According to the LTO Consortium comprised of IBM, HP, and Quantum, the technology provides lower cost per GB, less expensive operating costs, and major savings in energy usage/costs.

Two completely separate entities, the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) and The Clipper Group, independently revealed unbelievable value of tape. Both studies evaluated costs associated with usage of tape and disk storage, while concluding that tape has definite long-term cost advantages.

ESG Senior Analyst Mark Peters shared that “the notion that ‘tape is dead’ ignores the substantial evidence that favors tape as a lower cost, environmentally friendly removable medium that is well suited for offline data protection…high growth compliance, fixed content and archiving applications.”

The ESG study compared the industry-standard deduplication system with the tape library with LTO-5. The group ran nightly backups as done by most substantial organizations. Amazingly, findings uncovered the LTO-5 tape library was between two and four times less expensive to maintain.

In the second study conducted by The Clipper Group, it was revealed that a 12-year tape storage solution will average 15 times less in cost than a disk-based solution. Additionally, it confirmed that tape utilizes less energy per petabyte. Experts were amazed to find out that over a 12-year period energy on a disk solution alone will run about $4 million, while only $18 thousand for a tape solution.

In today’s challenging economy, the two information-rich studies are extremely important for leading and emerging companies as they try to cut their bottom lines. It is vital to get the word out there to help IT departments make educated decisions as they work to save costs, improve efficiency, and develop highly secure systems.

(Source: recycleyourmedia.com)

Video made by a company explaining why one should choose them as a tape media recycling service. Pretty interesting!

(Source: recycleyourmedia.com)

When you want to make sure your equipment is recycled safely and your stored data is completely erased, choosing the right equipment recycling service is essential. And according to Brian Musil, founder and director of sales and purchasing at Recycle Your Media, there is no way for companies to properly handle recycling themselves.

Equipment recycling helps the environment and can slow down the amount of materials unnecessarily ending up in landfills. And the biggest problem is that some of this e-waste is toxic. The need to recycle your unused equipment is about much more than simply cutting costs. Musil notes that e-waste is still the fastest growing municipal waste stream in the United States. Recycling old or unused equipment can also help your company save money and make room for new equipment.

Given that, here’s what to look for when choosing an equipment recycling service.

Accepted equipment and services provided. The first things you should look at are what services the recycling company provide and whether your equipment is accepted by the company for recycling. If you’re looking to recycle used tape media or equipment, for example, make sure the service company you choose can handle the type of media you have. The same goes for other equipment such as computers and servers.

Different companies also provide different services. Most will pay you for equipment that can be reused or let you donate your proceeds to charity. Some equipment can’t be reused, but you can still pay to have it recycled and receive data destruction reports or other docu- ments showing that data was erased. The payment you receive or costs you incur will depend on what you are recycling, so be sure to contact the company to get a quote in advance.

The process. Recycling companies have different ways of getting rid of your IT equipment. Musil says that the first step is contacting one of the company’s specialists who can help you decide whether you need onsite destruction or if you want to send equipment to the company for recycling. Most equipment recyclers are flexible and let you choose the easiest option for your individual needs. And if your company or one of your facilities is international, you’ll want to be sure the service provider can arrange and pay for shipping from anywhere in the world.

Check for transparency. You’ll likely want as much transparency as possible, so you should make sure the recycling service you choose keeps a history of all the equipment it recycles. You can track your equipment from start to finish and know that your data hasn’t been compromised. And as an added bonus, if you want to buy equipment from one of these companies, some of them can provide information showing when it was recycled and where it came from.

Key Terms

Data destruction report/certificate. A document proving that data has been safely and completely deleted from equipment you have submitted for recycling.

Data eradication. The complete erasure of data from equipment, such as tapes and disk drives, so that no sensitive information is lost or stolen during the recycling process.

E-waste (electronic waste). One of the biggest problems facing data centers and IT companies. It covers desktop computers, laptops, blade servers, and other larger infrastructure equipment that is thrown away without recycling.

VOLSER (Volume Serial Number Report). A procedure some equipment recycling services use to track equipment from your company to the recycling facility.

(Source: recycleyourmedia.com)