Spectra Logic Expands Data Storage Solutions Family

Spectra Logic announced a major expansion to its family of automated tape storage solutions with the introduction of two new tape library products, the all-new Spectra Stack, a highly scalable, modular and affordable tape library that allows users to start with a single tape drive and 10 tape slots, growing incrementally as their data needs increase, and the new Spectra T950v Tape Library, an affordable, entry-level model of the popular high-end Spectra T950 Tape Library family.

“Spectra Logic continues to lead the industry in innovation for tape and these advancements showcase how they consistently address storage market needs,” says Fred Moore, president, Horison Information Strategies.

“From products that address the affordability and scalability requirements of entry to midsize customers, to enhancements to their powerful enterprise tape library line that address flexibility and high capacity, Spectra demonstrates why they have been around for nearly 40 years.”

The new tape libraries provide both value and functionality for organizations wrestling with growing data sets and shrinking budgets. In other tape updates, the company announced that all Spectra tape libraries^± — up to and including the new T950v — can now be deployed with lower-cost half-height Fibre or SAS LTO tape drives, potentially saving tens of thousands of dollars per installation. In addition, Spectra plans to offer RoCE 10Gigabit Ethernet connectivity with its IBM^® TS1155 tape drives for Ethernet tape library integration in Spectra’s T380, T950, T950v and TFinity ExaScale Tape Libraries, allowing customers to use their existing Ethernet infrastructure without investing in additional hardware.

Spectra Stack Tape Library

Designed to meet the demanding backup, archive and data protection requirements of today’s midsize to large organizations, the Spectra Stack Tape Library delivers maximum scalability, capacity and performance in a single standard 19-inch rack. The modular design allows users to start with as few as 10 LTO tapes and a single LTO tape drive in a 6U module, and expand the library — module by module -– up to 560 LTO tapes and 42 LTO tape drives per rack.

Self-installable and fully customer upgradable in less than 30 minutes, each module holds up to 80 LTO tapes and up to six LTO half-height tape drives (up to 3 LTO full-height drives). By allowing users to expand capacity in small increments, as few as 10 tape slots at a time, Spectra Stack offers the most flexible growth plan available in today’s storage market. Both scalable and economical, a seven-module Spectra Stack, when fully populated with LTO-8 drives and media, can store up to 6.7PB (16.75 PB compressed*) and transfer data at up to 45TB/hr. (105 TB/hr. compressed*), all in a single standard rack.

The Spectra Stack offers superior flexibility on many levels, supporting both full-height and half-height tape drives; multiple generations of both LTO tape drives (LTO-5, 6, 7 and 8) and media (LTO-3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and LTO-7 Type M); and the ability to use new LTO tape technology or integrate existing LTO tape drives and media into the library for unrivaled investment protection.

Easy to use and manage, the library’s BlueVision software provides a feature set similar to the rest of the Spectra tape library family, including an intuitive color touchscreen, remote web interface, ability to create Shared Library Services (SLS) partitions (up to 20), built-in diagnostics, media lifecycle management, encryption, and encryption key management. In addition, an optional BlueVision camera can be mounted to the top of the library to provide a real-time and remote visual assessment of the robot.

Certified with all major ISV packages for the data center, Spectra Stack also seamlessly integrates with Spectra’s BlackPearl Converged Storage System, allowing users to easily create an object storage ecosystem with tape, archive disk and online disk — all managed by BlackPearl.

Spectra tape library customers are eligible for the Migration Pass program, which helps users consolidate other storage tape library applications, drives and tape cartridges into the Spectra Stack by leveraging SLS, providing greater density, efficiencies and cost savings. In addition to Spectra’s exclusive Assisted Self Maintenance (ASM) option, Spectra Stack is covered by SpectraGuard Support, which reduces downtime and helps users avoid costly disruptions to their operations.

Spectra T950v Tape Library

Based on the Spectra T950 Tape Library, Spectra’s workhorse for medium-capacity library applications, the T950v is a redesign focused on cost reduction and intended for general IT and media and entertainment applications. By removing add-ons primarily used by high-performance computing (HPC), such as the Bulk TAP access port and remote camera monitoring, and adding full support for lower-cost half-height drives, customers can save tens of thousands of dollars per installation. The T950v provides all the same enterprise-grade features and reliability as the T950, but with a new entry-level price point. When fully populated with 120 LTO-8 tape drives and media, the T950v stores up to 120PB (300PB compressed^*) and transfers data up to 155TB/hr. (324TB/hr. compressed*).

Since tape media choice is essential in large-scale environments, the T950v enables users to select between LTO or IBM TS11XX Tape Technology. Feature-rich and economical, the Spectra T950v delivers unsurpassed capabilities, including:

• Superior density, speed and reliability for exceptional digital preservation
• Decreased power consumption
• Reduced media handling through patented TeraPack Technology
• The ability to TranScale to the world’s largest single library – Spectra’s TFinity ExaScale