<s>
Linear	B-Operating_System
Tape-Open	I-Operating_System
(	O
LTO	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
magnetic	B-Architecture
tape	I-Architecture
data	I-Architecture
storage	I-Architecture
technology	O
originally	O
developed	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
as	O
an	O
open	O
standards	O
alternative	O
to	O
the	O
proprietary	O
magnetic	O
tape	O
formats	O
that	O
were	O
available	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Hewlett	O
Packard	O
Enterprise	O
,	O
IBM	O
,	O
and	O
Quantum	O
control	O
the	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
Consortium	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
directs	O
development	O
and	O
manages	O
licensing	O
and	O
certification	O
of	O
media	O
and	O
mechanism	O
manufacturers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
standard	O
form-factor	O
of	O
LTO	O
technology	O
goes	O
by	O
the	O
name	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
,	O
the	O
original	O
version	O
of	O
which	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
2000	O
and	O
stored	O
of	O
data	O
in	O
a	O
cartridge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ninth	O
generation	O
of	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
Ultrium	I-Operating_System
was	O
announced	O
in	O
2020	O
and	O
can	O
hold	O
in	O
a	O
cartridge	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
physical	O
size	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
introduction	O
,	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
Ultrium	I-Operating_System
rapidly	O
defined	O
the	O
super	O
tape	O
market	O
segment	O
and	O
has	O
consistently	O
been	O
the	O
best-selling	O
super	O
tape	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO	O
is	O
widely	O
used	O
with	O
small	O
and	O
large	O
computer	O
systems	O
,	O
especially	O
for	O
backup	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Half-inch	O
(	O
12.7mm	O
)	O
magnetic	O
tape	O
on	O
open	O
reels	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
for	O
data	O
storage	O
since	O
the	O
1950s	O
,	O
starting	O
with	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
7-track	I-Device
and	O
later	O
IBM	B-Device
9-track	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
called	O
its	O
format	O
the	O
3480	B-Device
(	O
after	O
the	O
3480	B-Device
,	O
the	O
one	O
product	O
that	O
used	O
it	O
)	O
and	O
designed	O
it	O
to	O
meet	O
the	O
demanding	O
requirements	O
of	O
its	O
mainframe	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
DEC	O
originally	O
called	O
theirs	O
CompacTape	B-Device
,	O
but	O
later	O
it	O
was	O
renamed	O
DLT	B-Device
and	O
sold	O
to	O
Quantum	O
Corporation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
late	O
1980s	O
,	O
Exabyte	O
's	O
Data8	B-Device
format	O
,	O
derived	O
from	O
Sony	O
's	O
dual-reel	O
cartridge	O
8	O
mm	O
video	O
format	O
,	O
saw	O
some	O
popularity	O
,	O
especially	O
with	O
UNIX	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sony	O
followed	O
this	O
success	O
with	O
their	O
own	O
now-discontinued	O
8	O
mm	O
data	O
format	O
,	O
Advanced	B-Device
Intelligent	I-Device
Tape	I-Device
(	O
AIT	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
,	O
Quantum	O
's	O
DLT	B-Device
and	O
Sony	O
's	O
AIT	B-Device
were	O
the	O
leading	O
options	O
for	O
high-capacity	O
tape	B-Architecture
storage	I-Architecture
for	O
PC	O
servers	O
and	O
UNIX	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
counter	O
this	O
,	O
IBM	O
,	O
HP	O
and	O
Seagate	O
formed	O
the	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
Consortium	I-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
introduced	O
a	O
more	O
open	O
format	O
focusing	O
on	O
the	O
same	O
mid-range	O
market	O
segment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
plans	O
called	O
for	O
two	O
LTO	O
formats	O
:	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
with	O
half-inch	O
tape	O
on	O
a	O
single	O
reel	O
,	O
optimized	O
for	O
high	O
capacity	O
,	O
and	O
Accelis	O
with	O
8	O
mm	O
tape	O
on	O
dual	O
reels	O
,	O
optimized	O
for	O
low	O
latency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2000	O
,	O
and	O
around	O
the	O
time	O
of	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
LTO-1	B-Operating_System
,	O
Seagate	O
's	O
magnetic	O
tape	O
division	O
was	O
spun	O
off	O
as	O
Seagate	O
Removable	O
Storage	O
Solutions	O
,	O
later	O
renamed	O
Certance	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
subsequently	O
acquired	O
by	O
Quantum	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
the	O
initial	O
plans	O
for	O
two	O
form-factors	O
of	O
LTO	O
technology	O
,	O
only	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
was	O
ever	O
produced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
's	O
(	O
short-lived	O
)	O
3570	B-Device
Magstar	I-Device
MP	I-Device
product	O
pioneered	O
this	O
concept	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
real-world	O
performance	O
never	O
exceeded	O
that	O
of	O
the	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
tape	O
format	O
,	O
so	O
there	O
was	O
never	O
a	O
demand	O
for	O
Accelis	O
and	O
no	O
drives	O
or	O
media	O
were	O
commercially	O
produced	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2008	O
,	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
Ultrium	I-Operating_System
was	O
very	O
popular	O
and	O
there	O
were	O
no	O
commercially	O
available	O
LTO	O
Accelis	O
drives	O
or	O
media	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
common	O
usage	O
,	O
LTO	O
generally	O
refers	O
only	O
to	O
the	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
form	O
factor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
first	O
generation	O
of	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
tapes	O
were	O
going	O
to	O
be	O
available	O
with	O
four	O
types	O
of	O
cartridge	O
,	O
holding	O
10GB	O
,	O
30GB	O
,	O
50GB	O
,	O
and	O
100GB	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
2020	O
,	O
nine	O
generations	O
of	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
Ultrium	I-Operating_System
technology	O
have	O
been	O
made	O
available	O
and	O
five	O
more	O
are	O
planned	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Format	O
LTO-1	B-Operating_System
LTO-2	B-Operating_System
LTO-3	B-Operating_System
LTO-4	B-Operating_System
LTO-5	B-Operating_System
LTO-6	B-Operating_System
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
Type	O
M	O
(	O
M8	O
)	O
Previously	O
unused	O
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
tape	O
,	O
not	O
an	O
independent	O
generation	O
,	O
part	O
of	O
LTO-8	B-Operating_System
generation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
13LTO-14	O
Release	O
date	O
2000	O
2003	O
2005	O
2007	O
2010	O
Dec	O
.	O
2012	O
Dec	O
.	O
2015	O
Dec	O
.	O
2017	O
Sep	O
.	O
2021	O
TBA	O
TBA	O
TBATBATBA	O
Uncompressed/Native	O
capacity	O
100	O
GB	O
200	O
GB	O
400	O
GB	O
800	O
GB	O
1.5	O
TB	O
2.5	O
TB	O
6.0	O
TB	O
9	O
TB	O
12	O
TB	O
18	O
TB	O
36	O
TB	O
72	O
TB	O
144	O
TB288	O
TB576	O
TB	O
Compressed	O
capacity	O
200	O
GB	O
400	O
GB	O
800	O
GB	O
1.6	O
TB	O
3.0	O
TB	O
6.25	O
TB	O
15	O
TB	O
22.5	O
TB	O
30	O
TB	O
45	O
TB90	O
TB180	O
TB360	O
TB720	O
TB	O
1,440	O
TB	O
Max	O
uncompressed	B-General_Concept
speed	O
(	O
MB/s	O
)	O
Maximum	O
uncompressed	B-General_Concept
speeds	O
valid	O
for	O
full	O
height	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
20	O
40	O
80	O
120	O
140	O
160	O
300	O
360	O
400	O
1,100	O
TBA	O
TBATBATBA	O
Max	O
compressed	O
speed	O
(	O
MB/s	O
)	O
40	O
80	O
160	O
240	O
280	O
400	O
750	O
900	O
1,000	O
2,750	O
TBA	O
TBATBATBA	O
Time	O
to	O
write	O
a	O
full	O
tape	O
at	O
max	O
speed( 	O
hh:mm	O
)	O
1:23	O
1:51	O
3:10	O
4:20	O
5:33	O
8:20	O
9:16	O
12:30	O
12:07	O
TBA	O
TBATBATBA	O
Compression	B-General_Concept
capable	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
Yes	O
,	O
"	O
2:1	O
"	O
Yes	O
,	O
"	O
2.5:1	O
"	O
Planned	O
,	O
"	O
2.5:1	O
"	O
WORM	B-Device
capable	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
Yes	O
Planned	O
LTFS	B-Device
capable	O
?	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
data	O
capacity	O
and	O
speed	O
figures	O
vary	O
with	O
uncompressed	B-General_Concept
or	O
compressed	B-General_Concept
data	I-General_Concept
,	O
most	O
manufacturers	O
list	O
compressed	O
capacities	O
and	O
speeds	O
on	O
their	O
marketing	O
material	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Capacities	O
are	O
often	O
stated	O
on	O
tapes	O
as	O
double	O
the	O
actual	O
value	O
,	O
assume	O
that	O
data	O
will	O
be	O
compressed	O
with	O
a	O
2:1	O
ratio	O
(	O
IBM	O
uses	O
a	O
3:1	O
compression	B-General_Concept
ratio	O
in	O
the	O
documentation	O
for	O
its	O
mainframe	O
tape	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
See	O
Compression	B-General_Concept
below	O
for	O
algorithm	O
descriptions	O
and	O
the	O
table	O
above	O
for	O
allowable	O
LTO	O
compression	B-General_Concept
ratios	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
to	O
other	O
tape	O
technologies	O
,	O
an	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
cartridge	O
is	O
rigidly	O
defined	O
by	O
a	O
particular	O
generation	O
of	O
LTO	O
technology	O
and	O
cannot	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
any	O
other	O
way	O
(	O
with	O
the	O
exception	O
of	O
LTO-M8	O
,	O
see	O
below	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
drives	O
are	O
also	O
defined	O
by	O
a	O
particular	O
generation	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
required	O
to	O
have	O
some	O
level	O
of	O
compatibility	O
with	O
older	O
generations	O
of	O
cartridges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Up	O
to	O
and	O
including	O
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
,	O
an	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
drive	O
can	O
read	O
data	O
from	O
a	O
cartridge	O
in	O
its	O
own	O
generation	O
and	O
the	O
two	O
prior	O
generations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO-8	B-Operating_System
drives	O
can	O
read	O
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
and	O
LTO-8	B-Operating_System
tape	O
,	O
but	O
not	O
LTO-6	B-Operating_System
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
drive	O
can	O
write	O
data	O
to	O
a	O
cartridge	O
in	O
its	O
own	O
generation	O
and	O
to	O
a	O
cartridge	O
from	O
the	O
one	O
prior	O
generation	O
in	O
the	O
prior	O
generation	O
's	O
format	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
LTO-8	B-Operating_System
drives	O
may	O
write	O
previously	O
unused	O
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
tapes	O
with	O
an	O
increased	O
,	O
uncompressed	B-General_Concept
capacity	O
of	O
9TB	O
(	O
Type	O
M	O
(	O
M8	O
)	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Only	O
new	O
,	O
unused	O
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
cartridges	O
may	O
be	O
initialized	O
as	O
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
Type	O
M	O
.	O
Once	O
a	O
cartridge	O
is	O
initialized	O
as	O
Type	O
M	O
it	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
changed	O
back	O
to	O
a	O
6	O
TB	O
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
cartridge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
Type	O
M	O
cartridges	O
are	O
only	O
initialized	O
to	O
Type	O
M	O
in	O
an	O
LTO-8	B-Operating_System
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
drives	O
are	O
not	O
capable	O
of	O
reading	O
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
Type	O
M	O
cartridges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
Ultrium	B-Operating_System
drive	O
cannot	O
make	O
any	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
cartridge	O
from	O
a	O
more	O
recent	O
generation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
an	O
LTO-2	B-Operating_System
cartridge	O
can	O
never	O
be	O
used	O
by	O
an	O
LTO-1	B-Operating_System
drive	O
and	O
even	O
though	O
it	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
an	O
LTO-3	B-Operating_System
drive	O
,	O
it	O
performs	O
as	O
if	O
it	O
were	O
in	O
an	O
LTO-2	B-Operating_System
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO	B-Operating_System
Ultrium	I-Operating_System
tape	O
is	O
laid	O
out	O
with	O
four	O
wide	O
data	O
bands	O
sandwiched	O
between	O
five	O
narrow	O
servo	O
bands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
back	O
and	O
forth	O
pattern	O
,	O
working	O
from	O
the	O
edges	O
into	O
the	O
middle	O
,	O
conceptually	O
resembles	O
a	O
coiled	O
serpent	B-General_Concept
and	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
linear	O
serpentine	O
recording	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
an	O
LTO-2	B-Operating_System
tape	O
has	O
16	O
wraps	O
per	O
band	O
,	O
and	O
thus	O
requires	O
64	O
passes	O
to	O
fill	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
LTFS	B-Device
is	O
an	O
open	O
standard	O
,	O
LTFS-formatted	O
tapes	O
are	O
usable	O
by	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
computing	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
LTO-1	B-Operating_System
and	O
LTO-2	B-Operating_System
,	O
this	O
logical	O
structure	O
has	O
CRC	O
codes	O
and	O
compression	B-General_Concept
added	O
to	O
create	O
blocks	O
of	O
403,884	O
bytes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO-3	B-Operating_System
and	O
LTO-4	B-Operating_System
use	O
a	O
similar	O
format	O
with	O
1,616,940	O
-byte	O
blocks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
specifications	O
vary	O
somewhat	O
between	O
different	O
drives	O
,	O
a	O
typical	O
LTO-3	B-Operating_System
drive	O
will	O
have	O
a	O
maximum	O
rewind	O
time	O
of	O
about	O
80	O
seconds	O
and	O
an	O
average	O
access	O
time	O
(	O
from	O
beginning	O
of	O
tape	O
)	O
of	O
about	O
50	O
seconds	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO	B-Operating_System
tape	I-Operating_System
is	O
designed	O
for	O
15	O
to	O
30	O
years	O
of	O
archival	O
storage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Depending	O
on	O
the	O
generation	O
of	O
LTO	O
technology	O
,	O
a	O
single	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
tape	I-Operating_System
should	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
sustain	O
approximately	O
200-364	O
full	O
file	O
passes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regularly	O
writing	O
only	O
50%	O
capacity	O
of	O
the	O
tape	O
results	O
in	O
half	O
as	O
many	O
end-to-end	O
tape	O
passes	O
for	O
each	O
scheduled	O
backup	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
thereby	O
doubles	O
the	O
tape	O
lifespan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO	O
uses	O
an	O
automatic	O
verify-after-write	O
technology	O
to	O
immediately	O
check	O
the	O
data	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
being	O
written	O
,	O
but	O
some	O
backup	B-Protocol
systems	O
explicitly	O
perform	O
a	O
completely	O
separate	O
tape	O
reading	O
operation	O
to	O
verify	O
the	O
tape	O
was	O
written	O
correctly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
separate	O
verify	O
operation	O
doubles	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
end-to-end	O
passes	O
for	O
each	O
scheduled	O
backup	B-Protocol
,	O
and	O
reduces	O
the	O
tape	O
life	O
by	O
half	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
release	O
of	O
LTO	O
technology	O
defined	O
an	O
optional	O
data	B-General_Concept
compression	I-General_Concept
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequent	O
generations	O
of	O
LTO	O
have	O
introduced	O
new	O
optional	O
technology	O
,	O
including	O
WORM	B-Device
,	O
encryption	O
,	O
and	O
partitioning	O
features	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Compression	B-General_Concept
The	O
original	O
LTO	O
specification	O
describes	O
a	O
data	B-Algorithm
compression	I-Algorithm
method	I-Algorithm
LTO-DC	O
,	O
also	O
called	O
Streaming	O
Lossless	B-Algorithm
Data	I-Algorithm
Compression	I-Algorithm
(	O
SLDC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
very	O
similar	O
to	O
the	O
algorithm	O
ALDC	O
which	O
is	O
a	O
variation	O
of	O
LZS	B-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO-1	B-Operating_System
through	O
LTO-5	B-Operating_System
are	O
advertised	O
as	O
achieving	O
a	O
"	O
2:1	O
"	O
compression	B-General_Concept
ratio	O
,	O
while	O
LTO-6	B-Operating_System
and	O
LTO-7	B-Operating_System
,	O
which	O
apply	O
a	O
modified	O
SLDC	O
algorithm	O
using	O
a	O
larger	O
history	O
buffer	O
,	O
are	O
advertised	O
as	O
having	O
a	O
"	O
2.5:1	O
"	O
ratio	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
inferior	O
to	O
slower	O
algorithms	O
such	O
as	O
gzip	B-Application
,	O
but	O
similar	O
to	O
lzop	B-Application
and	O
the	O
high	O
speed	O
algorithms	O
built	O
into	O
other	O
tape	O
drives	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WORM	B-Device
New	O
for	O
LTO-3	B-Operating_System
was	O
write	B-Device
once	I-Device
read	I-Device
many	I-Device
(	O
WORM	B-Device
)	O
capability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
LTO-3	B-Operating_System
or	O
later	O
drive	O
will	O
not	O
erase	O
or	O
overwrite	O
data	O
on	O
a	O
WORM	B-Device
cartridge	O
,	O
but	O
will	O
read	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
WORM	B-Device
cartridge	O
is	O
identical	O
to	O
a	O
normal	O
tape	O
cartridge	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
generation	O
with	O
the	O
following	O
exceptions	O
:	O
the	O
cartridge	O
memory	O
identifies	O
it	O
to	O
the	O
drive	O
as	O
WORM	B-Device
,	O
the	O
servo	O
tracks	O
are	O
slightly	O
different	O
to	O
allow	O
verification	O
that	O
data	O
has	O
not	O
been	O
modified	O
,	O
the	O
bottom	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
cartridge	O
shell	O
is	O
gray	O
,	O
and	O
it	O
may	O
come	O
with	O
tamper-proof	O
screws	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WORM-capable	O
drives	O
immediately	O
recognize	O
WORM	B-Device
cartridges	O
and	O
include	O
a	O
unique	O
WORM	B-Device
ID	O
with	O
every	O
dataset	O
written	O
to	O
the	O
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
nothing	O
different	O
about	O
the	O
tape	O
medium	O
in	O
a	O
WORM	B-Device
cartridge	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Encryption	O
The	O
LTO-4	B-Operating_System
specification	O
added	O
a	O
feature	O
to	O
allow	O
LTO-4	B-Operating_System
drives	O
to	O
encrypt	O
data	O
before	O
it	O
is	O
written	O
to	O
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
All	O
LTO-4	B-Operating_System
drives	O
must	O
be	O
aware	O
of	O
encrypted	O
tapes	O
,	O
but	O
are	O
not	O
required	O
to	O
support	O
the	O
encryption	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
algorithm	O
used	O
by	O
LTO-4	B-Operating_System
is	O
AES-GCM	B-Algorithm
,	O
which	O
is	O
an	O
authenticated	O
,	O
symmetric	O
block	O
cipher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tape	O
drives	O
,	O
tape	B-Device
libraries	I-Device
,	O
and	O
backup	B-Protocol
software	O
can	O
request	O
and	O
exchange	O
encryption	O
keys	O
using	O
either	O
proprietary	O
protocols	O
,	O
or	O
an	O
open	O
standard	O
like	O
OASIS	O
's	O
Key	B-General_Concept
Management	I-General_Concept
Interoperability	I-General_Concept
Protocol	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Partitioning	O
The	O
LTO-5	B-Operating_System
specification	O
introduced	O
the	O
partitioning	O
feature	O
that	O
allows	O
a	O
tape	O
to	O
be	O
divided	O
into	O
two	O
separately	O
writable	O
areas	O
,	O
known	O
as	O
partitions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO-6	B-Operating_System
extends	O
the	O
specification	O
to	O
allow	O
4	O
separate	O
partitions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linear	B-Device
Tape	I-Device
File	I-Device
System	I-Device
(	O
LTFS	B-Device
)	O
is	O
a	O
self-describing	O
tape	O
format	O
and	O
file	O
system	O
made	O
possible	O
by	O
the	O
partition	O
feature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
metadata	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
a	O
standard	O
XML	B-Language
schema	I-Language
,	O
is	O
readable	O
by	O
any	O
LTFS-aware	O
system	O
and	O
can	O
be	O
modified	O
separately	O
from	O
the	O
data	O
it	O
describes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linear	B-Device
Tape	I-Device
File	I-Device
System	I-Device
Technical	O
Work	O
Group	O
of	O
the	O
Storage	O
Networking	O
Industry	O
Association	O
(	O
SNIA	O
)	O
works	O
on	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
the	O
format	O
for	O
LTFS	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Without	O
LTFS	B-Device
,	O
data	O
is	O
generally	O
written	O
to	O
tape	O
as	O
a	O
sequence	O
of	O
nameless	O
"	O
files	O
"	O
,	O
or	O
data	O
blocks	O
,	O
separated	O
by	O
"	O
filemarks	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Each	O
file	O
is	O
typically	O
an	O
archive	O
of	O
data	O
organized	O
using	O
some	O
variation	O
of	O
tar	B-Application
format	O
or	O
proprietary	O
container	O
formats	O
developed	O
for	O
and	O
used	O
by	O
backup	B-Protocol
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
contrast	O
,	O
LTFS	B-Device
utilizes	O
an	O
XML-based	O
index	O
file	O
to	O
present	O
the	O
copied	O
files	O
as	O
if	O
organized	O
into	O
directories	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
means	O
LTFS-formatted	O
tape	O
media	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
similarly	O
to	O
other	O
removable	O
media	O
(	O
USB	O
flash	O
drive	O
,	O
external	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drive	I-Device
,	O
and	O
so	O
on	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
LTFS	B-Device
can	O
make	O
a	O
tape	O
appear	O
to	O
behave	O
like	O
a	O
disk	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
change	O
the	O
fundamentally	O
sequential	O
nature	O
of	O
tape	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
spite	O
of	O
these	O
disadvantages	O
,	O
there	O
are	O
several	O
use	O
cases	O
where	O
LTFS-formatted	O
tape	O
is	O
superior	O
to	O
disk	O
and	O
other	O
data	O
storage	O
technologies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
copy	O
a	O
large	O
file	O
or	O
a	O
large	O
selection	O
of	O
files	O
(	O
up	O
to	O
1.5TB	O
for	O
LTO-5	B-Operating_System
or	O
2.5TB	O
for	O
LTO-6	B-Operating_System
)	O
to	O
an	O
LTFS-formatted	O
tape	O
,	O
allows	O
easy	O
exchange	O
of	O
data	O
to	O
a	O
collaborator	O
or	O
saving	O
of	O
an	O
archival	O
copy	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
colors	O
of	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
Ultrium	I-Operating_System
cartridge	O
shells	O
are	O
mostly	O
consistent	O
,	O
though	O
not	O
formally	O
standardized	O
;	O
HP	O
is	O
the	O
notable	O
exception	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WORM	B-Device
(	O
write	B-Device
once	I-Device
,	I-Device
read	I-Device
many	I-Device
)	O
cartridges	O
are	O
two-tone	O
:	O
the	O
top	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
shell	O
is	O
the	O
normal	O
color	O
of	O
that	O
generation	O
for	O
that	O
manufacturer	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
bottom	O
half	O
of	O
the	O
shell	O
is	O
a	O
light	O
gray	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
made	O
up	O
of	O
511	O
,	O
255	O
,	O
or	O
128	O
blocks	O
of	O
memory	O
,	O
where	O
each	O
block	O
is	O
32	O
bytes	O
for	O
a	O
total	O
of	O
16KiB	O
for	O
LTO-6	B-Operating_System
to	O
8	O
;	O
8KiB	O
for	O
LTO-4	B-Operating_System
and	O
5	O
;	O
and	O
4KiB	O
on	O
LTO-1	B-Operating_System
to	O
3	O
and	O
cleaning	O
cartridges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Every	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
drive	I-Operating_System
has	O
a	O
cartridge	O
memory	O
reader	O
in	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
External	O
readers	O
are	O
available	O
,	O
both	O
built	O
into	O
tape	B-Device
libraries	I-Device
and	O
PC	O
based	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
LTO	O
cartridge	O
label	O
in	O
tape	B-Device
library	I-Device
applications	O
commonly	O
uses	O
the	O
bar	O
code	O
symbology	O
of	O
USS-39	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
tape	O
is	O
attached	O
to	O
a	O
perpendicular	O
leader	O
pin	O
that	O
is	O
used	O
by	O
an	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
drive	I-Operating_System
to	O
reliably	O
grasp	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
tape	O
and	O
mount	O
it	O
in	O
a	O
take-up	O
reel	O
inside	O
the	O
drive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Older	O
single-reel	O
tape	O
technologies	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
9-track	B-Device
tape	I-Device
and	O
DLT	B-Device
,	O
used	O
different	O
means	O
to	O
load	O
tape	O
onto	O
a	O
take-up	O
reel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO	B-Operating_System
drives	I-Operating_System
have	O
an	O
internal	O
tape	O
head	O
cleaning	O
brush	O
that	O
is	O
activated	O
when	O
a	O
cartridge	O
is	O
inserted	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
drives	O
are	O
frequently	O
packaged	O
into	O
external	O
desktop	O
enclosures	O
or	O
carriers	O
that	O
fit	O
into	O
a	O
robotic	B-Device
tape	I-Device
library	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
course	O
of	O
its	O
existence	O
,	O
LTO	O
has	O
succeeded	O
in	O
completely	O
displacing	O
all	O
other	O
low-end/mid	O
-range	O
tape	O
technologies	O
such	O
as	O
AIT	B-Device
,	O
DLT	B-Device
,	O
DAT/DDS	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
VXA	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
And	O
after	O
the	O
exit	O
of	O
Oracle	B-Application
StorageTek	O
T10000	O
of	O
the	O
high-end	O
market	O
,	O
only	O
the	O
IBM	B-Device
3592	I-Device
series	O
is	O
still	O
under	O
active	O
development	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
LTO	O
also	O
competes	O
against	O
hard	B-Device
disk	I-Device
drives	I-Device
(	O
HDDs	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
its	O
continuous	O
improvement	O
has	O
prevented	O
the	O
predicted	O
"	O
death	O
of	O
tape	O
"	O
at	O
the	O
hands	O
of	O
disk	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
,	O
at	O
any	O
capacity	O
,	O
the	O
cost	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
LTO	B-Operating_System
tape	I-Operating_System
drive	O
plus	O
one	O
cartridge	O
is	O
much	O
greater	O
than	O
that	O
of	O
a	O
new	O
HDD	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
or	O
greater	O
storage	O
capacity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
tape	O
is	O
pulled	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
tape	B-Device
library	I-Device
,	O
blocked	O
from	O
writing	O
after	O
making	O
copy	O
or	O
using	O
WORM	B-Device
technology	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2019	O
,	O
many	O
businesses	O
used	O
tape	O
for	O
backup	B-Protocol
and	O
archiving	O
.	O
</s>
