Another big year for tape as ... oops. 2020 sales dropped 8% thanks to 'global shutdowns'
- Reference: 1629388867
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/08/19/lto_tape_sales_drop/
- Source link:
Tape shipments over the past few years have been increasing, and have been projected to grow considerably by 2025 by industry analyst IDC, which estimates data generated to the tune of a potential 175 zettabytes a year by then. With many vendors shifting to a hybrid cloud model, and all the data in the cloud needing to be backed up, much of this is cold storage – and currently this means the (relatively) cheaper option of tape.
However, in a statement accompanying the release of the report, the LTO consortium – comprising Program Technology Provider Companies HPE, IBM, and Quantum – conceded they'd been "optimistic for 2020," adding that "global shutdowns and other factors outside of our collective control led to a reduced performance."
[2]
The [3]LTO report said that 105,198PB of total tape capacity (compressed) shipped in 2020. This compares to [4]114,079PB shipped in 2019 , according to last year's report. Failing to acknowledge the extent of the 7.8 per cent dip, the 2020 report called the new figure "slightly short" of 2019, adding: "For context, real GDP fell to a -5 per cent growth rate during the same time period."
[5]
[6]
Eric Bassier, senior director at tape storage bigwig Quantum, said: "Coming off record capacity shipped in 2019, we were optimistic for 2020 – but global shutdowns and other factors outside of our collective control led to a reduced performance. We're optimistic that there will be a return to the prior capacity growth trend in 2021."
[7]OVH rises to Europe data sovereignty challenge (and AWS) with tape-as-a-service
[8]Sony, Fujifilm storage patent lawsuit is all taped up: Better LTO-8 than never, right?
[9]LTO-8 tape media patent lawsuit cripples supply as Sony and Fujifilm face off in court
[10]Tape vendors feel the cold, clammy hand of AWS on their shoulders. Behind them grins the Glacier Deep Archive
He added: "Despite the unexpected headwinds for many segments of the technology industry produced by the pandemic, overall LTO tape capacity shipped in 2020 was strong in context."
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The 2020 LTO Tape Provider Company chart (plus our additions)
As you can see, the 2021 number was below both the 2019 and 2017 total tape media sales numbers – possibly a little bit more than a "slight drop."
LTO tech is currently in its eight generation, with LTO-8 specs supporting tape cartridge storage compressed capacity of "up to 30TB" and "tape drive data transfer rates of up to 750MB per second for over 2.7 terabytes of storage performance an hour per drive."
Quantum is [12]reporting increased tape library system sales to hyperscalers, so tape media sales should start picking up this year and into the next. Nonetheless, the 2021 total media ship number may not equal the 2019 record.
[13]
Speaking earlier this month about Quantum's results for Q1 '22 (ended 30 June), chairman and CEO Jamie Lerner [14]said : "Demand ... continued to be strong, with a significant sequential increase in customer orders. A large majority of these orders were from hyperscale customers for products that are most affected by the current supply constraints."
He noted that the "dynamic has caused our backlog to reach unprecedented levels" – although he conceded not all backlog represents potential revenue. To give an idea of the scale of the problem, Lerner said: "Historically, our backlog has been 5 per cent or less of our reported quarterly revenue. As of the first fiscal quarter, our backlog has grown to $30m, compared to approximately $14m in the previous quarter and $2m in the year-ago period." ®
Get our [15]Tech Resources
[1] https://blocksandfiles.com/2020/09/10/lto-changes-tape-roadmap-strategy-cuts-capacity-to-build-air-gapped-ransomware-defence-storage/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/storage&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YR7UnoS4iJ2ZVLZAlfDFfQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://blocksandfiles.com/2020/09/10/lto-changes-tape-roadmap-strategy-cuts-capacity-to-build-air-gapped-ransomware-defence-storage/
[4] https://blocksandfiles.com/2020/07/10/lto-tape-shipments-2019/
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/storage&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YR7UnoS4iJ2ZVLZAlfDFfQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/storage&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YR7UnoS4iJ2ZVLZAlfDFfQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/20/ovhcloud-tape-storage-as-a-service/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2019/08/06/sony_fujifilm_storage_patent_lawsuit_settled/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2019/05/31/lto_patent_case_hits_lto8_supply/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2018/11/28/aws_global_tape/
[11] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/08/19/lto-media-ships-inc-2020.jpg
[12] https://blocksandfiles.com/2021/08/10/quantum-turns-the-revenue-corner/
[13] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/storage&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YR7UnoS4iJ2ZVLZAlfDFfQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[14] https://blocksandfiles.com/2021/08/10/quantum-turns-the-revenue-corner/
[15] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: But Why...?
Depends on your business.
If you need to keep data for years or decades there is no alternative
If you business data is totally transitory and all you need is the ability to stay online if HW fails then cloud with region duplication might be the answer
Re: But Why...?
Here, I think you need one of these. --->
Horses for courses
I came her expecting a load of posts slagging off tape as a dinosaur but instead found the witty post above by Wally Dug. How pleasing.
Tape's got a long way to run, especially for users who have petabytes of data to which they don't need immediate access.
Tape
I am still using tape but for listening to music. Nothing beats good Reel 2 Reel and listening to master recordings that never touched digital technology.
Re: Tape
You will drag my wax cylinders out of my elegantly manicured fingers.....
Ransomware
Might help tape make a comeback - ransomware can encrypt your disk or cloud based backup system, but it can't encrypt tapes nearly so easily.
Re: Ransomware
That's just an argument for cold backups. Whether disk or tape, as long as you don't have it online, it can't be encrypted after the fact. Also a good argument for frequently testing such things, as a ransomware operator who recognizes that you have cold backups might hit some of those first so they're unavailable when you go to restore. If you can catch it when your most recent cold backup is encrypted, then you might be able to cut off the attack on the hot systems which are targeted later.
Re: Ransomware
This is why you air-gap your backup network where possible. I remember reading about some guy that removed the routes to the backup server from the switch's routing table when the backups were finished, probably just as effective while retaining some usability and automation.
Re: Ransomware
Also a good argument for frequently testing such things, as a ransomware operator who recognizes that you have cold backups might hit some of those first
Except ransomware can "hit some of those" in a way that they will still verify and restore and run just fine... right up until you hit a certain date when the self encryption locks down.
The real answer is host based intrusion detection systems. You do have Tripwire / Samhain, etc., installed and running reports at least weekly on all your servers, don't you? Required by PCI-DSS if you're handling credit cards, and an excellent idea on all other servers, too. Tells you when your files get silently damaged by corrupt hardware or misbehaving software, even without malevolent intruders.
But Why...?
But why would we need tape now?
We use the cloud for e v e r y t h i n g and it is completely safe and secure and nothing can go wrong with it. That nice salesman told me that, just before he jetted off for his month-long holiday in Barbados, once I signed that lengthy contract that I didn't bother to read.
Tape is dead; long live the cloud!