April 3, 2014

NAB 2014: Cache-A showing LTO expansion solution

LAS VEGAS — Cache-A Corporation (www.cache-a.com), manufacturer of archiving appliances for the media and entertainment industry, is showcasing Cache-A Library80+, the first in a brand new range of modular archive expansion appliances that can increase LTO-tape archive storage in 200TB increments up to 1.3PB. 

Cache-A has developed the Library80+ Expansion Option to meet the market need for larger, scalable LTO-tape archive capacity, and is showcasing the technology at this year’s NAB. The 6U, rack-mountable Library80+ Expansion Option can hold up to 80 LTO-5 or LTO-6 tapes, increasing archive capacity to 200TB. However, Cache-A plans to exploit the modular design of the appliance, which allows it to be easily scaled in 80-tape increments, to a total of 560 tape-slots. This makes for a total capacity of 1.3 PetaBytes in a single 19-inch rack, and provides the highest LTO-tape drive density per module of any mid-range tape library. This scale-up architecture also allows users to pay as they grow, by simply adding in additional modules to boost capacity and performance without investing in a whole new library. 

The Library80+ Expansion Option integrates with Cache-A’s Pro-Cache and Power-Cache LTO-5 and latest LTO-6 generation archive appliances. It also works with Simul-Copy, Cache-A’s speedy LTO-tape “read-once write multiple” capability, and the company’s new Workflow Templates and Incremental Archive features, also newly-announced at NAB 2014.

The Library80+ works seamlessly with Cache-A’s built-in, Web-based catalog database, which makes it easy for users to track, search and retrieve content across every tape it ever sees. Administrators can manage, configure and use the library via the Web-based interface for remote management and diagnostics.

As with previous generations of LTO technology, Cache-A’s LTO-6 systems provide backward compatibility with previous generations of LTO tape. The new Library80+ Expansion Option can read/write LTO-5 and LTO-6 cartridges and read LTO-4 cartridges, helping to preserve media investments and ease implementation. The expanded facility of the 200-tape slot Library80+ enables large archives to be kept easily accessible, and offers space-saving advantages for those who do not want to separately shelf-store LTO-tapes.

Cache-A expects to ship Library80+ during summer 2014, and will release further product and pricing information at that time.