Mass Production of Sony LTO-5
Media Has Started
With cartridge shells
manufactured from recycled resin
Sony Corporation’s Storage Media Division
is announcing its qualification and approval by the LTO TPCs (Technology
Provider Companies) to use the LTO Ultrium logo after passing compliance
verification testing for the
fifth-generation LTO Ultrium 5 (LTO-5) data cartridge, which
is scheduled for availability this month.
With a compressed storage capacity of 3.0 TB, this new
LTO Ultrium 5 cartridge delivers new functionality to support the
ever-increasing requirements of today’s data-rich storage environments. Users
can now create two partitions within the cartridge, addressing both file control
and space management. This feature can help to increase access speed, which is
important for storing rich media files. The LTO-5 cartridge adds this feature
while still retaining the hardware-based encryption introduced with LTO-4
technology, which helps to protect the storage and transport of sensitive
information.
Sony’s new LTO-5 cartridge further
builds on the strong performance and reliability improvements achieved in
previous Sony LTO generations. Two technologies were developed to achieve these
new storage requirements. The first was a newly enhanced super-fine metal
particle, which leads to more stable write/read characteristics in a variety of
usage environments. The other was a strong binder system with high cross-linking
and abrasion-resistance, which increases the durability of the magnetic layer -
helping Sony LTO5 cartridges withstand tens of thousands of passes between the
head and the tape.
The new LTO5 cartridge continues Sony’s goal to develop
environmentally responsible manufacturing processes. Sony`s LTO cartridge shells
are manufactured with recycled resin made from regenerated polycarbonate
materials disposed by and collected from Sony group companies. This helps Sony
reduce virgin resin usage by 95 tons per year.
Sony will also introduce the write once/read many LTO
Ultrium5 WORM and 20 piece Library Packs.