LTO Program Outlines Upcoming Generation 5 Specifications for LicensingSpecifications Include up to 3TB Capacity*and 280MB/s Performance* along with Integrated Partitioning to Address Growing Needs of Market SegmentsSILICON VALLEY, Calif. -- The Linear Tape-Open (LTO) Program Technology Provider Companies, HP, IBM Corporation and Quantum Corp., today announced details for the licensing by storage mechanism and media manufacturers of the LTO Ultrium format generation 5 specifications.The specifications support tape cartridge storage capacity of 3TB*, a near doubling of capacity over the previous generation, and tape drive data transfer rates of up to 280MB* per second. The LTO Ultrium format generation 5 will also include new partitioning functionality, enabling capabilities that can enhance file control and space management, addressing the growing needs of marketplace segments such as Rich Media. More information on this highly-anticipated technology will be forthcoming later this year.“LTO products have been a core part of storage solutions for over a decade and embraced by organizations to address their backup, archive, compliance and data security needs, so there is great anticipation in the marketplace for the release of the new generation 5 standard,” said Rob Clark, VP Business Operations at Quantum. “The generation 5 specifications are designed to reflect the current and future needs of data managers worldwide while adding new features, such as partitioning, to enable additional control and efficiencies via space management.”LTO Generation 5 also continues to enable LTO tape drive hardware-based writing of encrypted data to the LTO Ultrium tape cartridge, helping protect the storage and transport of sensitive information, along with offering WORM (Write-Once, Read-Many) functionality.The LTO Ultrium format generation 5 drives are designed with backwards-compatible read-and-write capability with the Ultrium format generation 4 cartridges, and backward read capabilities with generation 3 cartridges, helping to protect investments and ease implementation.A strategic blend of disk and tape technologies can help organizations address retention requirements while reducing total cost of ownership. Compared to other storage technologies, tape can have lower acquisition and operational cost and use less power. It’s also a core component of successful data storage practices that utilize multiple technology solutions to avoid potential data errors. Storing a copy of data off-line on tape can help avoid intentional or unintentional on-line corruption.In response to extensive end user research, along with licensee and industry analyst input, the LTO Program has incrementally increased the data rate specification for generation 5, and plan to provide roadmap updates to LTO Ultrium generation 6 and beyond to give users improved tape performance attributes.How to License LTO Ultrium TechnologyThe LTO Program has historically offered several different license packages – from enhanced packages that provide the specifications and licenses to manufacture LTO Ultrium products, to basic packages providing LTO format specifications.Buyers seeking LTO Ultrium format-compliant products should look for the LTO Ultrium format compliance verification trademarks on both tape drives and data cartridges. Storage and media manufacturers interested in licensing LTO formats may obtain information by contacting the LTO Program through www.ultrium.com/contact.php.About Linear Tape-Open (LTO)The LTO Ultrium format is a powerful, scalable, adaptable open tape format developed and continuously enhanced by technology providers HP, IBM Corporation and Quantum Corp. (and their predecessors) to help address the growing demands of data protection in the midrange to enterprise-class server environments. This ultra-high capacity generation of tape storage products is designed to deliver outstanding performance, capacity and reliability combining the advantages of linear multi-channel, bi-directional formats with enhancements in servo technology, data compression, track layout, and error correction.The LTO Ultrium format has a well-defined roadmap for growth and scalability. The roadmap represents intentions and goals only. There is no guarantee that these goals will be achieved. Format compliance verification is vital to meet the free-interchange objectives that are at the core of the LTO Program. Ultrium tape mechanism and tape cartridge interchange specifications are available on a licensed basis. For additional information on LTO, visit and the LTO Program Web site at .* Assuming a 2:1 compression.*Article from BNET