LTO tapes (Linear Tape-Open) are the industry standard for high-capacity, reliable, and secure data storage. From LTO-7 to the latest LTO-10, our range of tape storage solutions provides enterprises with air-gapped protection against ransomware, long-term archiving capabilities, and lower total cost of ownership than disk or cloud storage.
Each new generation of LTO tapes doubles capacity and increases speed while maintaining backward compatibility (read/write support for two previous generations). Below is the complete specification table for current enterprise LTO tape generations.
| LTO Generation | Native Capacity | Compressed Capacity (2.5:1) | Native Speed | Compressed Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTO-7 | 6 TB | 15 TB | 300 MB/s | 750 MB/s |
| LTO-8 | 12 TB | 30 TB | 360 MB/s | 900 MB/s |
| LTO-9 | 18 TB | 45 TB | 400 MB/s | 1,000 MB/s |
| LTO-10 | 30/40 TB | 75/100 TB | 400 MB/s | 1,000 MB/s |
LTO tapes remain offline when not in use, providing physical isolation from ransomware and cyberattacks – a feature impossible with cloud or connected disk storage.
Tape storage costs 80% less than disk and 60% less than cloud over a 10-year period, with no ongoing egress fees or power costs for idle drives.
LTO Ultrium tapes are rated for 30+ years of data retention without refresh cycles – ideal for compliance, legal, and medical archives.
Read LTO-7 tapes on an LTO-9 drive and write LTO-8 on LTO-9 – protecting your investment across generations.
📌 New to LTO tape storage? Return to our LTO Ultrium Tape Storage homepage for an overview of enterprise backup strategies, or explore tape storage benefits vs cloud.
No – LTO drives can read/write tapes from their own generation and the previous two generations. An LTO-9 drive can read LTO-8 and LTO-7 tapes, and write to LTO-8 tapes. However, LTO-9 tapes require an LTO-9 or newer drive. LTO-8 specifications - Find out the differences between LTO-9 tape vs LTO-8
LTO Ultrium tapes have a minimum archival life of 30 years under recommended storage conditions (16-25°C, 20-50% humidity).
LTO (Linear Tape-Open) is an open standard with multiple manufacturers, higher capacities, and lower cost than DLT (Digital Linear Tape). LTO tapes have dominated the enterprise tape storage market since 2010.
LTO tapes offer remarkable long-term reliability. These magnetic tapes are designed to withstand environmental factors, ensuring data remains intact over extended periods. Businesses can trust that their critical information will be preserved for years.
Another significant advantage is the cost-effectiveness of LTO technology. Compared to other storage solutions, LTO tapes provide a lower cost per gigabyte. This affordability makes them an attractive option for organisations managing large volumes of data.
Compatibility is also a strong point for LTO tapes. They can seamlessly integrate with various systems and hardware configurations, making it easy to incorporate them into existing workflows without extensive modifications.
Moreover, the high capacity of LTO tapes allows users to store vast amounts of data on a single cartridge. This feature reduces the need for multiple backups and simplifies data management processes significantly.
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