Tape Storage Would possibly Be Computing’s Local weather Savior

This text is a part of our unique IEEE Journal Watch series in partnership with IEEE Xplore.

Information storage has lengthy contributed a good portion of the computing business’s carbon footprint, even representing as a lot as 1.8 p.c of the US’ complete electrical energy consumption in 2014, in line with a report by the
Berkeley National Laboratory [pdf]. Brad Johns, a veteran of IBM’s knowledge storage enterprise and a knowledge storage guide in Arizona, believes that the answer to knowledge storage sustainability, for the foreseeable future a minimum of, lies in a chunk of know-how many may think about already outdated: the magnetic data tape.

“There’s a chance that many organizations have to scale back their carbon footprint and do it in a method that would cut back their prices… that’s sort of a win-win,” says Johns.

At the very least 60 p.c of all knowledge is “chilly,” but stays on HDDs. Which presents a chance to transition to a greener—and cheaper—various.

The necessity for knowledge storage is just rising, too. International Data Corporation (IDC) estimated that the entire quantity of knowledge created would improve from 33 zettabytes in 2018 to 175 ZB in 2025, and that round 10 p.c, or 17 ZB, of that knowledge can be saved in 2025. In accordance with estimates by IDC and Seagate cited in 2021, 62 p.c of knowledge is saved on HDDs, 9 p.c on stable state drives (SSDs), and 15 p.c on tape in 2021.

HDDs are extra handy for storage as a result of data could be retrieved from them a lot sooner than it may be retrieved from tape storage. The tradeoff is larger carbon emissions,
Johns explains in an article for Motion Image Journal—HDDs have a lifespan of roughly 5 years, throughout which period they produce round 2.55 equal kilograms of carbon dioxide per terabyte per yr (based mostly on an estimate from Seagate for the Exos X18 HDD). In distinction, tape media has a lifespan of greater than 30 years, throughout which period they produce simply 0.07 kg CO2e/TB/yr (based mostly on an estimate from Fujifilm for the LTO 9 [pdf]), or 3 p.c that of HDDs.

Tape Storage Saves Carbon

The bars on this graph point out the local weather financial savings accrued in switching out “chilly” knowledge (i.e. knowledge hardly ever accessed however nonetheless indisposable) from arduous drives to magnetic tape. Supply: Brad Johns Consulting

Johns factors out that many of the huge inflow of data being created and saved at present is “chilly knowledge,” knowledge that’s hardly ever accessed however nonetheless has worth and can’t be discarded. In accordance with a
2019 whitepaper by IDC [pdf], 60 p.c of all knowledge is chilly, but stays on HDDs. Johns argues that this presents an necessary alternative for large knowledge firms to transition to an alternate, tape storage, a extra sustainable type of knowledge storage which would scale back their carbon footprint.

If organizations worldwide collectively transitioned all their chilly knowledge, a collective 60 p.c of all knowledge, to tape, the quantity of carbon dioxide emitted by knowledge storage throughout the globe would fall by 58 p.c, a 79 million ton discount in CO₂ emissions, Johns calculates.

Lowering e-Waste

Tape Storage Saves e-Waste

In the meantime, this graph signifies how a lot e-waste can be saved by switching a portion of the world’s “chilly” saved knowledge from arduous drives to magnetic tape. Supply: Brad Johns Consulting

Transitioning chilly knowledge to be saved on fashionable tape media additionally reduces
electronic waste (e-Waste). Since HDDs solely have a 5 yr lifespan, the outdated HDDs will should be discarded for brand spanking new ones to retain the identical knowledge. Tape storage is usually changed each ten years, leading to much less discarded storage. For example, if a knowledge middle must retailer 100 Petabytes of knowledge for 10 years, storing all knowledge on HDDs leads to 7.4 metric tons of e-Waste. If 60 p.c of the information is moved to tape, solely 3.6 metric tons of e-Waste are generated, leading to a 51 p.c discount.

“Tape at present clearly has a compelling benefit over arduous disk drives. And when you have a look at the roadmaps, it’s going to remain that method most likely for the subsequent decade.”
—Brad Johns, Brad Johns Consulting

Additional incentive for this answer is the monetary profit, argues Johns. Utilizing Fujifilm’s total cost of ownership (TCO) tool, he calculated that storing all 100 PB of knowledge on HDD prices US $17,707,468, whereas a combination that features 60 p.c tape cuts the price practically in half to $9,476,339.

Many large firms have already began shifting towards tape storage. For smaller firms, nevertheless, the method of shifting to tape has been slower. The definition of chilly knowledge is variable, and depends upon particular person organizations’ wants and person necessities. Thus, categorizing knowledge as “chilly” in order that it may be moved to tape is tricky–and prices time, cash, and energy. Whereas massive firms could have these sources, smaller firms don’t. This is among the obstacles stopping tape storage from being extensively carried out in smaller scale knowledge facilities.

The opposite impediment Johns describes is the administration problem. “The know-how is fairly confirmed. It’s simply making an attempt to get the momentum amongst all the opposite issues that IT organizations need to do,” he says.

No matter whether or not firms implement the answer, the query stays whether or not tape storage is the answer that’s right here to remain. “Tape at present clearly has a compelling benefit over arduous disk drives, and when you have a look at the roadmaps, it’s going to remain that method most likely for the subsequent decade,” says Johns. However there may be energetic analysis into alternate options.
Microsoft, for example, has invested in research for DNA-based storage options, he factors out. However, “there’s nonetheless quite a lot of analysis to be achieved and engineering to really flip it into one thing,” he says.