Magnetic tape data storage

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Yes, really - some fascinating advances being made. From IEEE Spectrum. The author - Mark Lantz - is the manager of the Advanced Tape Technologies at IBM Research Zurich.

Why the Future of Data Storage is (Still) Magnetic Tape
It should come as no surprise that recent advances in big-data analytics and artificial intelligence have created strong incentives for enterprises to amass information about every measurable aspect of their businesses. And financial regulations now require organizations to keep records for much longer periods than they had to in the past. So companies and institutions of all stripes are holding onto more and more.

Studies show [PDF] that the amount of data being recorded is increasing at 30 to 40 percent per year. At the same time, the capacity of modern hard drives, which are used to store most of this, is increasing at less than half that rate. Fortunately, much of this information doesn’t need to be accessed instantly. And for such things, magnetic tape is the perfect solution.

Seriously? Tape? The very idea may evoke images of reels rotating fitfully next to a bulky mainframe in an old movie like Desk Set or Dr. Strangelove. So, a quick reality check: Tape has never gone away!

Indeed, much of the world’s data is still kept on tape, including data for basic science, such as particle physics and radio astronomy, human heritage and national archives, major motion pictures, banking, insurance, oil exploration, and more. There is even a cadre of people (including me, trained in materials science, engineering, or physics) whose job it is to keep improving tape storage.

A long and readable overview of the advancements in data storage. An amazing world we live in.

Also, had completely forgotten about the movie Desk Set - a wonderful comedy directed by Walter Lang and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. Don't see it on Netflix but I will try Amazon and see if they have it. Really funny film!

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This page contains a single entry by DaveH published on September 1, 2018 8:26 PM.

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