Over the last six years, JDV Solutions (JDV) has designed numerous archival storage products using LTO (Linear Tape Optical) technology. LTFS (Linear Tape File System) has become a common standard for archiving content onto LTO tape. LTFS makes a tape cartridge behave like a file system — but with certain constraints. We have the experience to leverage LTFS in designing archive and retrieval systems and have a foundation in the real-world application of LTFS. If you are considering using LTFS in a product or looking for a stand-alone LTO-based LTFS solution, contact us and see if we can help.
JDV has also worked with tape automation solutions: from small library systems to library systems that handle hundreds of tapes and petabytes of storage. We have the background to design systems that incorporate tape automation technology into a seamless and easy-to-use product or software-based solution.
Initially JDV focused on SSD-based storage solutions and is now looking at new architectures that combine SSD storage with a tape-based backend. This brings together high performance storage on the frontend with intelligent data management policies that migrate lightly-used data to tape, again leveraging LTFS. Some analysts are calling this FLAPE (Flash (SSD) + tape).
LTFS brings the advantage of an open, cross-platform storage format for LTO (and other) tape technologies. Prior to LTFS, tape-based storage used a variety of different storage formats: from open-source solutions like tar to proprietary solutions offered by backup vendors. LTFS will enable a new era of archiving where you can rely on a tape-based storage format that is supported by multiple vendors. LTFS also gives you peace of mind because accessing and retrieving content that leverages LTFS does not present you with a vendor locked-in solution. JDV is committed to creating LTFS compliant solutions (SNIA is working to provide a format standard; see http://www.snia.org/tech_activities/standards/curr_standards/ltfs) in easy-to-use software or software + hardware solutions.
JDV has been developing storage appliances for over 20 years. Most recently focusing on Linux-based storage appliances that tie together open file-based storage using HDDs or SSDs with LTO-based storage as the archiving backend. If you are looking at archival appliances from single tape solutions to multi-tape solutions + automation, we have the experience to design and implement your vision.
JDV is working on Object Storage Solutions that leverage a high performance storage frontend with an LTFS backend for secondary copies of objects or for deep archiving of objects that are rarely used, but must still be accessed through the object storage management system. If you are interested in object-based file storage, contact us and we can provide you with further information.
