Reliable transportation of data with LTO4 tape cartridge

In the business operations the tape media is transported physically form one location to the other. So, the LTO-4 tape media has the security and encryption features to make sure that the data is transported safely and is protected form unauthorized usage. So, we conclude that the encrypted data is safer for transportation. Without the encryption, the organizations cannot secure the backup data. The other security measures like key and locks are not that reliable as the encryption of the backup data that the LTO-4 tape provides. The reason for the enhanced capacity of the tape is because of the increased length of the tape reel and the base films are also thin. The "head technology" of the LTO4 tape cartridge is also enhanced.

The (PRML) Partial Response Maximum Likelihood encoding feature in the LTO4 tape increases the data density. In the specification of the Linear Tape Open ultrium is included the encryption of LTO 4. In the "formatting chip" of the tape drive is implemented the algorithm of AES-GCM. The AES 256 in the LTo-4 is known as unbreakable, so the valuable data stored in the LTO4 is protected form theft or loss. The cost of encryption function in the LTO4 tape format is very low due to the implementation of the encryption AES 256 in the "buffer management" of the LTO 4 drive.

The tape cartridges can be interchanged among the tape libraries and drives by the implementation of the "key management". In the Advanced Encryption Standard encryption algorithm, single key is used for the encryption of the four byte by four byte array of data. Galois counter mode is the operation mode for the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The GCM seeds a counter, the counter is seeded with random number called the "initialization vector". The element increases by one and on the other hand AES algorithm operates the output.

It is the requirement of GCM that at the each record’s end the initialization vector should be created fresh again. The vector resets the internal counter for the record that is being read during the reading operation. Then afterwards the message of authenticated encryption is generated by the "Galois field mathematics". Additional security is provided to the data record by the tag value. The tag value is called by the spec. In the same way the AAD (Additional Authenticated Data) generates. The AAD works as a hook and helps to retrieve the keys from the "key management".

The AES-GCM couples with the system of "key management" and protects the tapes that are in transit. So, the data decryption cannot be done in case the media is lost. What ever the standard is, the encrypted data is always reliable along with the "key management". This is the best option for the protection of the data from theft or any other loss. The "encryption management" is required for the complete system. Most of the vendors integrate the "encryption management" with in the tape libraries. According to the research done by IDC, the tape drives of LTO generated 883 million dollars in the year 2007. And the IDC predicts that the revenue from the LTO tape format will exceed 1.4 billion dollars by the year 2009.

The powerful features of the fourth generation LTO4 tape format are the WORM technology, encryption technology of AES-GCM, reading and writing compatibility with the 3rd generation LTO3 tape and the reading compatibility with the 2nd generation LTO2 tapes.

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