Backup and Storage: Solutions to Meet Ever-Growing Needs

  

 

There are sweeping changes occurring in the professional broadcast and video market. Video is now accessed by viewers through mobile devices and the Internet, in addition to traditional broadcast and cable outlets, or DVD and Blu-Ray players.

 

Video is for more than entertainment, however. Corporations, museums, libraries, and retail stores have all turned to video to help them gain attention and generate interest.

 

This quantum shift is due in large part to the marketplace turning digital. There is a potential downside, however. From HD footage, 3D computer-generated animation and motion graphics, to still images, the complexity of file formats and their sizes are causing storage and backup challenges.

 

All this growth and large file sizes have created an insatiable need for storage and backup solutions. Tape remains the best method for long-term storage, according to recent studies. Tape, especially LTO, is the best long-term because of its significant Total Cost of Ownership benefits, due to its lower cost per gigabyte, lower operating expenses and lower energy costs.

 

LTO-5 has been developed to meet the market needs for storing and archiving rich media content, not just in the broadcast and video arena but also in medical, video surveillance and other applications.

 

LTO-5 is often referred to as the tape that thinks it’s a hard disk drive since LTO-5 uses the same file structure and directory trees as hard disk drives, for easy data access. LTO-5’s Linear Tape File System has dual partitions. One holds the index for quick file location while the second holds the content. LTO-5 also has a drag-and-drop feature that allows users to manage files directly on tape.

 

For all these reasons, LTO-5 has become the media of choice for archiving and is considered the new RAID. It offers all the benefits of a hard disk drive with the low total cost of ownership and long archival life of tape.

 

Maxell’s LTO-5 features NeoSMART. This innovative technology platform continues Maxell’s legacy of innovation established and strengthened by the 1,500 patents Maxell holds worldwide. It also brings a host of added benefits to archival applications.

 

For post-production professionals looking to backup large files and free up server space, an external desktop hard disk drive is a smart choice. External drives have capacities of up to three terabytes, so they have the space to easily and cost-efficiently backup HD files. Things to consider when selecting an external drive are:

 

• Durability – drives should be for professional environments. Maxell’s maxdata quad hard disk drives have a durable aluminum housing and excellent shock resistance.

 

• Wide temperature range – the drives should be able to meet industrial-grade temperatures, such as minus 20 degrees to 60 degrees Celsius.

 

• Compact – space is at a premium in the post suite. External drives should be small and be able to be positioned vertically or horizontally.

 

Digital technology has reshaped the video and broadcast landscape. It has created new opportunities and an equal amount of challenges, particularly for storage and archiving. To understand the technologies that are best for your backup needs, visit www.maxell-usa.com.

A Look Into the Future of Media and Storage: Bigger Images = Bigger Budgets

 

In our continued efforts to forecast top trends of 2012, we’ve been talking to broadcast and media professionals of all kinds. Included in that group, of course, are those who are “in the trenches,” shooting, producing and editing media on a day-to day-basis.

 

This week, we learn what Randall Dark, President and CEO of Randall Dark Productions, believes the biggest emerging trend will be this year. An undisputed globally recognized pioneer in emerging technologies, Randall was the co-founder of HD Vision Studios in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Television Arts and Sciences Academy and is one of a select few members of the Consumer Electronics Association’s Academy of Digital Pioneers, a group recognized for their efforts implementing Digital Television in the United States.

 

According to Randall, "Creating 4K images and 3D images increases the complexity of workflow and the amount of storage dramatically, and will ultimately be reflected in overall budgets.”

 

We thank Randall for his insight. No doubt, 4K and 3D images will require more storage capacity. From a workflow perspective that may mean more post-production suites will have an even greater need for external hard disk drives (HDDs). Thankfully, many HDDs now have capacities of up to 3TB to better accommodate these large files.

 

Large files will also increase the cost of archiving, which will place greater importance on selecting the right media technology for the job. As you may recall, there were two studies at the end of last year that stated LTO is the best media for long-term storage and archiving. The main reason? LTO has significant Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) benefits over disk, including lower cost per GB, lower operating expenses and lower energy costs.

 

Selecting LTO-5 is one way to control archiving costs. Stay tuned for more predictions, coming soon!

 

To read a full interview with Randall, click here: http://www.maxellpromediablog.com/weblog/2010/04/ten-questions-with-randall-dark.html

 

Have something to say about this post? We’d love to hear it. Leave a comment here or find us on Twitter or Facebook.

Tape Once Again Shown to Be Best for Long-Term Archiving

 

Broadcast professionals who face the ongoing challenge of ever-growing archive libraries, this post is for you.

 

In an August Broadcast Engineering article, Brad Dick shared some IDC estimates. According to those estimates, in 2007 worldwide data volume was at 281 exabytes—100 times more than just eight years prior—and by 2012 is expected to mushroom to 2,855 exabytes.

 

In related news, two recent studies revealed by the Linear Tape-Open (LTO) consortium have revealed that, contrary to popular opinion, tape continues to thrive and is, in fact, the best method for long-term storage. The LTO Program technology provider companies announced that the results from two separate studies showed that tape has significant Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) benefits over disk. Among those benefits are lower cost per GB, lower operating expenses and lower energy costs. While this may be a surprise to some, it only confirms what we at Maxell have been stating for years.

 

Both studies by the LTO group evaluated the costs of long-term storage for various scenarios that included tape and disk as the primary storage medium. In each case, tape boasted the optimal long-term cost advantages.

 

“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 as well as high growth compliance, fixed content and archiving applications,” said Senior Analyst Mark Peters, who conducted an ESG study.

 

The Clipper Group study on archiving very large data collections also found that tape is much less expensive than disk, and uses far less energy. The TCO under The Clipper Group’s 12-year scenario found the disk solution to be 15 times greater than the cost of a tape solution. One of their reports stated, “Storing infrequently-accessed data on disk is equivalent to keeping your car running in the driveway – it wastes energy and it costs money.”

 

As the studies confirm, tape is the optimal low cost storage medium for long-term data retention. One of the more popular – and best suited – tapes for long-term archiving is LTO Ultrium 5. It has the capacity (up to 3TB) and performance necessary for archiving, with all the benefits of an open standard.

  

Like all LTO Ultrium 5 tape, Maxell’s product features all the benefits of LTO, including Write Once Read Many (WORM), which prevents data from being erased or overwritten.

 

Maxell’s LTO Ultrium 5 offers:

-  Patented corrosion resistant Ceramic Armor metal particles for superior data life

-  High coercivity mico-particles for a high level of output, a superior signal-to-noise ratio and a low, stable error rate

-  Advanced Dispersion Technology (ADT) for strong signal strength and consistent high-density recording

-  Superior tape strength and a heavy duty cartridge that is rated for over 1 million head passes with a 30+ year storage life.

 

The Bottom Line: Certainly, each set of storage circumstances warrants an appropriate solution. For long term archiving, all signs point to tape. We’d like to hear what you think about this. Comment on this post or find us on Twitter or Facebook.

Broadcast Engineering: Backup vs Archive

Thanks to Brad Dick, editorial director of Broadcast Engineering, for his insightful article on “Tape Archive Technology.” The post examines speed and capacity differences in LTO tape technology, specifically between LTO-5, LTO-4 and LTO-3.

There’s more to the article, though. It also details the differences between backup and archival as well as discusses online backup alternatives.

Take a look at the article and we’d be interested to read your thoughts and comments about the type of backup you use,or if your organization has implemented an archival system.


To learn more about Maxell’s complete line of backup solutions, visit www.maxell-usa.com.