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Comprehensive Data Protection to Strengthen Cybersecurity and Reduce Business Risk

ActiveScale

In today’s IT environments, ransomware is unfortunately a big business risk with global losses exceeding 10’s of billions of dollars annually. The impact on businesses is real, including the cost of paid ransoms, revenue loss, damage to the brand, and even job losses in the wake of an attack. Even with best efforts to prevent ransomware, it is an unfortunate truth that IT professionals must plan for the day when ransomware gets in. This is one reason why, here at Quantum, we are maniacal about data protection and recovery.

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A well-known best practice to protect your environment from ransomware is the 3-2-1-1 strategy; that is, three copies of your data on two independent storage mediums with one copy offsite and one copy offline. Here at Quantum, we strongly endorse this strategy in our work with our resellers, customers, and prospects on data protection and ransomware recovery projects. And we continue to innovate and expand our capabilities in this area.

Validated Solution Bundles for Atempo Tina

So, without further ado, we are excited to introduce Quantum validated solution bundles for Atempo Tina. These new offerings from Quantum are architected to simplify the design, purchasing, deployment and management of backup infrastructure in conformance with 3-2-1-1 best practices. The solution bundles combine Atempo Tina backup and recovery software (sourced from Quantum), a Quantum media server, and Quantum secondary storage products to meet a wide variety of data protection, ransomware recovery, and disaster recovery needs. Key features include the abilities to:

  • Centrally manage backup sources, targets, scheduling, and recovery
  • Simply protect VMs, databases, bare metal servers, NAS resources, and Microsoft 365
  • Create immutable, air-gapped, offsite copies to protect against ransomware and disasters
  • Easily recover data with fast, intuitive granular restores
  • Support Quantum DXi , ActiveScale , and Scalar backup targets and feature sets
    (plus 3rd party storage and public cloud targets)
  • Simplify procurement and support from a single vendor through Quantum

Quantum Validated Solution Bundles for Atempo Tina

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Unique Software Licensing Simplifies Management and Reduces Cost

One valuable aspect of the solution bundles worth highlighting is our unique Atempo Tina software licensing model that results in lower management overhead and lower overall cost. In contrast to legacy backup software pricing, Quantum provides an all-inclusive Atempo Tina software license, based exclusively on the backup target capacity of the accompanying Quantum storage targets (DXi , ActiveScale , Scalar ).  Moreover, with DXi and Scalar targets, deduplication and compression come into play with the potential to reduce backup storage requirements significantly, resulting in even further savings. All in, our pricing model effectively results in a flat, predictable cost, scaled to your backup storage requirements, irrespective of the number of servers, VMs, application agents, end users, or CPU cores in your environment.

With our validated solution bundles, you have the resources you need to simply and confidently backup your entire virtualized infrastructure, databases, bare metal servers, NAS devices, and your entire Microsoft 365 environment (including Exchange, OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams).

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Immutability and Air Gapping

As we started our discussion on the topic of ransomware, we should consider immutability and air gapping. Net-net, Quantum’s complete secondary storage portfolio (DXi, ActiveScale, and Scalar tape) supports immutable backup copies. In addition, to achieve fully offline data copies, it’s important to consider that tape media is the lowest cost, most durable medium for offline copies, and as such, has seen a bit of a renaissance as the data copy of last resort. Further, Scalar tape libraries are the industry’s most secure solution with their exclusive Ransom Block capability.

So, in closing, here are some of the key benefits of Quantum Validated Solution Bundles for Atempo Tina:

  • Fully validated, end-to-end solutions tailored to your IT environment
  • Reduced TCO with an all-inclusive, target capacity-based software licensing model
  • Advanced integration for greater security, cyber resilience, and storage efficiency
  • Simple procurement and support from a single vendor

Here at Quantum, we invest in our technology alliances because of the value that these partnerships bring to our customers. We not only work to validate complete solutions with our partners, but also work together to help our customers and resellers solve challenging problems with innovative solutions. With our expanded partnership with Atempo, we continue our long tradition of innovation.

To learn more about Quantum validated solution bundles for Atempo Tina, visit the web page for additional resources. https://www.quantum.com/atempo-tina

The post Comprehensive Data Protection to Strengthen Cybersecurity and Reduce Business Risk appeared first on Quantum Blog .

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How “Green” is Tape?  How About a 6.5x Reduction in CO2 Emissions Relative to Disk…

Archive

Environmental Social and Governance, or “ESG” considerations have become a major topic for big corporations and one of the factors is the power consumption and carbon emissions of data center equipment.

The LTO program recently worked with the Enterprise Storage Group to look at the sustainability benefits of replacing disk-based storage with LTO tape storage, in particular for the purpose of long-term data archiving.

The paper looks at some of the overall sustainability benefits of using LTO tape, and in particular compares CO2 emissions of disk arrays versus tape libraries.  As shown the figure below, data from Enterprise Storage Group indicates that tape libraries will deliver a 6.5x reduction in CO2 emissions relative to disk – simply by moving 500 TB of data from disk to tape. 

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Source:  https://www.lto.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ESG-First-Look-Sustainable-IT-with-LTO-Jul-2022.pdf

The takeaway – tape should play a key part in every organization’s ESG strategy

Many of our customers have a lot more than 500 TB of inactive data that could be suitable for long-term archiving on tape, either in a file archive or an object archive.  How much environmental benefit could you achieve by moving your inactive data to tape? 

Check out this quick read to learn more about how to build a private archive cloud with either a file or object interface using tape storage. 

The post How “Green” is Tape?  How About a 6.5x Reduction in CO2 Emissions Relative to Disk… appeared first on Quantum Blog .

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Powerful Data Protection with Half-Height LTO-9 Drives

Archive

Quantum is announcing the availability of LTO Ultrium format generation 9 half-height drives in its Scalar i3 tape libraries, Standalone Drives, and Superloader 3. This announcement is preceded by the recent ransom block feature announced last month that enhances security in the Scalar Tape Library.

Combining security with the high capacity of LTO-9 technology, customers can now have the latest in security innovation and advanced tape solutions to protect data and cope with the massive growth of unstructured data. Quantum Scalar Tape Libraries create a new and higher standard for addressing customers’ capacity and security needs allowing them to future-proof their archives.

The new LTO-9 delivers 18 TB of native capacity per cartridge and up to 45 TB with a typical compression of 2.5:1 – This is an increase of about 33% compared to LTO-8, and 7x more capacity over LTO-6 extending the value of tape with its low-cost, highly efficient storage. Half-height LTO-9 drives boast a transfer rate of up to 400 MB per second.

With cyberattacks on an upward trend, escalating and evolving with stealthy tactics, organizations need an effective method of defending data against ransomware . Tape is beneficial in many ways, but one of its primary benefits is its offline “air gap” inherent nature to isolate and protect data. This helps meet the security requirements of highly regulated industries where an offline copy is crucial to recover from should online copies be compromised. The costs that can be incurred if a ransomware attack is successful can be astronomical and compared to the cost of a half-height tape drive or tape library, it makes sense to add this form of insurance to your security arsenal to mitigate risk.

Quantum is taking orders for LTO-9 half-height drive technology available on Scalar i3, Standalone Drives, and Superloader 3. Please visit the Scalar i3 or LTO-9 webpage to learn more.

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Two Reasons that Tape Has a Bright Future Heading into 2022 and Beyond

Archive

There were two pieces of recent news about tape storage which prove that tape is alive and well, and these articles highlight two reasons why tape has a bright future in 2022 and beyond. 

Reason # 1:  There are Excellent Use Cases for Tape for Long Term Data Archiving and as part of Cyber-Resilient Infrastructures

The first news is a report published in Enterprise Storage Forum:  The Tape Storage Market in 2022 .  This report reinforces why tape is more relevant than ever in 2022, and why enterprises and large cloud providers continue to turn to tape because of its unique benefits.  In short:

  • Tape has emerged as a key technology for long term data archiving and cold data storage.  It can reliably store data for decades, and since most of the data being generated will be “cold” data – meaning inactive data that must be kept for a long time – tape is an ideal storage solution to help large enterprises manage costs and preserve access to this valuable inactive data. 
  • Tape is green.  Although this is one of the benefits of tape for long term data archiving, it deserves its own call out.  Tape consumes about 1/5th the power and cooling of HDD technology, and for any organization archiving data for many years, let alone decades, the costs of this add up.  Power and cooling costs are rising, particularly in large metro areas, and many organizations are also considering the large environmental impact of powering large data centers.  An infrastructure strategy that incorporates tape can address these issues.
  • Tape is Secure.  With the rise in ransomware and cyber-threats, it is no surprise that many organizations that have moved away from tape are now coming back.  Keeping a backup copy, or archive copy of critical data on tape provides a secure location to recover from in the event of a ransomware attack.  More on that below…

Reason # 2:  There is plenty of opportunity for innovation in tape

The second bit of news is that a Quantum tape solution, Ransom Block , has been named one of the 10 Coolest Data Storage Products of 2021 by CRN . 

Wait…what???  Tape is one of the coolest products in 2021???

You bet.  Quantum Scalar Ransom Block is an industry-first and helps to address one of the most pressing challenges facing enterprises today – how to build cyber-resilient infrastructure.  Ransom Block is the first solution to create a physical block between data tapes and the tape robotic system, providing the strongest air-gap solution possible.  So although tape storage systems are inherently more secure than HDD or SSD storage systems, only Quantum tape libraries offer a full suite of features for cyber-protection and cyber-resilience.  You can learn more about these features and how they are part of a comprehensive security framework here . 

Quantum also introduced another breakthrough innovation earlier this year with ActiveScale Cold Storage .  This is a new class of storage for ActiveScale systems that uses tape as the underlying storage medium.  So users get a true object storage system, using S3 Standard and S3 Glacier API sets, and can now build an object store using any amount of HDD and tape storage, based on their needs.  The entire solution can be deployed as-a-Service.

So the future for tape is bright, and Quantum is going to continue to innovate and lead in the use of tape for long term data archiving and cyber-resilient infrastructures. 

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Ransomware Proof Your Data: New Ransom Block and Logical Tape Blocking Features

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In recent alarming news, we’ve learned that U.S. Federal agencies issued a joint cybersecurity advisory over the ‘BlackMatter’ ransomware group targeting critical infrastructure entities, including two U.S. food and agriculture sector organizations. What’s even more alarming is that many organizations are still not prepared to defend their most valuable asset – their data. For those who don’t know, ‘BlackMatter’ seems to have evolved from ‘DarkSide,’ a ransomware gang that shuttered operations after the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack.  

A Multi-Layer Strategy 

The U.S. Government, in the wake of the Colonial and Solar Winds cyberattack, issued an executive order to bolster up U.S cybersecurity defenses to withstand such threats. There is a clear sense of urgency that a multi-layered strategy must be implemented and not just in the government, but this will go deep into the private sector as well. A multi-layered strategy in data protection is a topic I’ve been pushing for quite some time now – definite technologies (cloud, disk, tape) are needed to lay out multi-defenses to combat and defend data against ransomware.  

Introducing Scalar Ransom Block 

For the reasons mentioned above, Quantum has hardened its Scalar Tape Library  and introduced Scalar Ransom Block , an industry-first solution that creates a physical block between data tapes and the robotic tape system. It is a feature that employs a simple and unique concept to create a physical barrier between the data stored on tapes and the network robotic tape system. This feature ensures data stored on tape is completely offline and secure and provides an ultimate level of data security for cyber-resilient archives, after all the endgame is to be cyber resilient.  

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Logical Tape Blocking 

In addition, we also introduced Logical Tape Blocking (middle image), a software-based solution that enables administrators to use software commands to prevent tapes from being loaded or unloaded. This allows the risk window to be reduced from when the magazine waits to be filled to when it can be ejected. Both features are part of Quantum’s comprehensive Scalar Security Framework making Scalar Tape systems one of the most secure tape storage systems available in the market. The combination of employing Scalar Ransom Block and Logical Tape blocking as a deterrence to ransomware along with front-end defenses in your network, where software meets hardware and big data meets intelligence, make for a good strategy in creating a cyber-resilient infrastructure. 

Solutions like these bring a high-value proposition and bonus: Data is kept offline and managed automatically, yet available with a ‘push and a click’ versus long-term data that is kept 100% on always connected spinning disks, costing hundreds of thousands more or the hassle of handling tapes introducing human negligence. Quantum has a secure and reliable solution to help you keep your data secure and available when you need it – Quantum Ransom Block is only available in Scalar Tape Libraries.  

Make sure you check out the press release  to learn more about our recent announcement and stop by our new Scalar Tape Libraries  page where you will find in-depth information related to Scalar Ransom Block, Logical Tape Blocking, and our Scalar Security Framework. 

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Announcing Availability of LTO-9 Tape Drives in Enterprise and Midrange Tape Systems

Archive

Today, Quantum announces the availability of LTO-9 tape drives in its flagship enterprise and midrange tape systems, the Scalar i6000 and Scalar i6. LTO-9 tape drives are now also available for purchase in the Scalar i500 tape systems . LTO-9 tape drives support both LTO-8 media, as well as LTO-9 media, with each tape holding 18 TB of native capacity, and up to 45 TB of compressed capacity. The drives have improved performance with native performance of up to 400 MB / sec. 

Tape in the 2021 Environment

So, why is tape needed in your environment in 2021? The simple answer is ransomware and the growth of unstructured data. Ransomware has evolved from an unintelligent attack aimed at disrupting your business, to a relentless, targeted, sophisticated AI-driven machine that seeks to encrypt and delete your backups to obtain hundreds of thousands in ransom. To meet the heavy demands of our current cyber climate and that of video and other forms of unstructured data, tape provides the assurance that a copy of your data will be available when needed. Tape has an inherent nature to airgap data and is the lowest cost solution for your long-term ‘cold’ storage. An offline copy is critical as an insurance policy should your online copies be compromised. Today, there isn’t technology available that can stop ransomware from attacking your organization, but we can help you prevent you from gaining a foothold. We know your reputation, customers, and their trust are important to you.

Data Growth and Unrelentless Cyber Threats

We understand data is invaluable and we see its exponential climb to stratospheric proportions, but how are you going to store the massive amounts of data being created, because it must be stored and protected (sometimes forever) from cyber threats and other forms of threats without breaking the bank. Quantum LTO-9 Tape is designed to meet the demands of the modern data center. From storing edge and AI-driven analytical data to media and entertainment content and long-term cold storage.  LTO protects your data from the onslaught of ransomware and future proofs your growing deep archives.  LTO tape has a strong history of protecting data and continues to show a solid roadmap to reach greater capacities and performance and be a strong partner in your DR strategy.

The future of LTO looks a lot denser as the innovation continues to provide a cost-efficient solution over alternative solutions that is also cyber resilient. For example, tape has major cost advantages over HDD in terms of $/GB. The capacity of tape can be increased mainly by areal density, the same as with disk, but tape can increase its length, unlike disk, which has reached its maximum platter count. Add to this, its inherent ability to form a natural airgap for securing your data, and the capacities it can store, LTO tape can address the need for an economical off-line solution.

Implement LTO-9 into Your Long-Term Storage Strategy

To learn how you can implement Quantum LTO-9 tape technology for your long-term storage or if you’re on a journey to implement cyber resilient solutions, please check out how we help here .

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