Data Replication and Removable Media The ALTO Principle, MAID-III writes non-segmented data files with user-selectable Replication The disk drives are individually managed in software, allowing disks to be spun-up and spun-down on Read / Write demand massively reducing power consumption and extending disk lifetime for the most cost-effective long-term storage with the lowest carbon footprint The Replication technique offers user-configurable security, removable media and flexibility to create hybrid archives, distributed archives and vault storage.
Replication Factor 2:1 Replication by default Replication factor 2 is the default replication for an Archive Two non-segmented copies of every file are created and stored on different Disks for protection. The two disks may be in the same enclosure, where media preservation is the primary concern, or in separate enclosures for additional resilience and high-availability. Since MAID-III uses Replication not RAID, the file Replicas can be in geographically separated locations, or one Replica can be on the shelf in a vault Individual disks can be opened for forensic file recovery off the disks with a standard Windows, Mac or Linux Computer
Make More Replicas for for Additional Security Replication factor 3 offers a third copy of your media for even higher security. This can apply to all of the Archive or selectively to content of strategic value ALTO systems can be distributed between different premises or Data centres to create a Disaster Recovery Archive, or the third Replica may be in a vault for “Airgap Security” Media may be restored from the Vault at file-level to eliminate the risk of transporting disks. Open the disk at the Vault site and send the file over a network instead
Make Single Replicas… 1:1 Replication for Hybrids Replication Factor 1 is used to create Hybrid Archives with other Replication-based systems including Tape or Optical storage, to eliminate Technology obsolescence and vendor Lock-In Hybrid solutions with ALTO on the Premises & a second replica in a Cloud provides a combination of affordable high performance, with outstanding DR capabilities Reducing the Replication Factor to 1 allows all, or just part of the ALTO to be used as a highly cost-effective backup for other storage Devices
Off-the-Shelf Disks. Any Size any Vendor any Slot, any Time ALTO uses commodity disk drives that can be purchased locally from suppliers or online and added in batches to provide additional capacity when needed as an operating expense. Buying disks locally in batches allows users to take advantage of falling disk prices and increasing disk capacities over time, with no vendor lock-in. Disk capacity is increasing, driven by economies of scale in social media storage. Price per currently around $15 per TB Use multiple disk vendors, disk types, and performance to increase diversity and optimise performance against cost.
ALTO-III System Enclosure A single ALTO III System Enclosure holds up to 60 disk drives. 1440 TB using 24TB disks in a 4U unit and provides an increment of throughput. Linux Operating System – no Windows Licenses Linux File System - EXT-4 – no vendor lock-in Includes the low-level software to drive the ALTO System and up to 10 Expansions. Front panel LCD screen for admin and monitoring. Adding more ALTO System Enclosures increases the throughput as well as capacity and availability
ALTO-EX 60 Expansion The ALTO Expansion Chassis units scale a single ALTO System Enclosure into a Node with 660 disk slots Each ALTO Expansion Chassis adds an extra 60 slots. 1440 TB with 24TB disks, Up to 10 Expansions per ALTO Node, each with up to 15 PB High density cold storage Scalable to 200 PB and over
ALTO-SX Compact Archive A single ALTO-SX System Enclosure holds up to 24 disk drives. 576 TB using 24TB disks in a 4U unit. Short Enclosure and Front-Loading Disks for applications where Rack Depth is limited, and Rack Aisles are narrow Up to 4 x 24 Slot Expansions to create a 2.8 PB node. Centos OS & EXT- 4 File System – no Windows Licenses System Software & API are fully compatible with ALTO-III Disk Drives are fully Compatible with ALTO-III Disk Externalisation & Vault Management options available
ALTO-EX 24 Expansion Each ALTO-EX 24 Expansion Chassis adds 24 front-loading Disk Drive Slots Any size disk from any vendor listed on the DAC AVL may be used in any slot at any time An SX Expansion fully populated with 22TB disks will add 576 TB Up to 4 Expansions can be added to an ALTO-SX to provide up to 2.8 PB high density cold storage May be used on Prem and managed in a Hybrid Configuration with low-cost Long Latency Cloud Tier to provide the Copy of Last Resort for a 2.8 PM Fully Redundant & Distributed Archive, supporting Partial File Restore
ALTO Manager ALTO Manager software provides monitoring and control of the disks in ALTO units. It drives the LCD on the front of an ALTO III head and provides a web server, making this monitoring and control functionality available for local and remote system administrators ALTOCare Support provides two years inclusive Hardware, Software and Online Operational Support with every ALTO system Optional unlimited renewals. No mandatory Technology Refresh or Media Replacement schedule. No Migration & Fragmentation free
ALTO Vault Storage With Shelf Management ALTO can manage externalized Replica disks held in a physical vault. Use ALTO Connect software to QR Code label externalised disks, and physical shelves then the ALTO Connect Database will track the X-Y coordinates of disks on the shelves down to file level Use the tablet-based Scanner to verify the content on a disk before restoring the disk to an ALTO Optionally restore just the needed files with an external computer to avoid physical transportation from a remote warehouse.
Integration Options for Best of Breed Solutions ALTO API – Offered free of charge to specialist Application Partners ALTO has a low-level API Integration with many MAM Applications and Customer in-house software developments ALTO Protocol Emulation - Middleware Emulation pseudo-standard Protocol for Archive Management ALTO Connect Virtual File System – An embeddable Virtual File System which presents ALTO as a CIFS / SMB File System, offering a simple way to Push and Pull Media Files to the Archive. Using one of these three approaches allows ALTO to be integrated with more than 50 enterprise class applications for best of breed solutions with Escrow options for total future-proofing
Application Partnerships for Media Platforms Best of breed solutions ensure that the Archive is not locked in a closed system 60+ World class Technology Partners have proven Asset Management, Production Management, Video Management and Backup Management applications deployed with DAC. Standards based approach offers the widest range of Archive applications Partial File Restore Options avoid the need to move massive files over the Media Network
RBA – Rwanda Broadcasting A 2 Petabyte Platform to preserve a National Cultural Archive Ingest “as a service” over 2-3 years period Budget made allowance for continued use of the Archive Platform and Media Asset Management system to remain for browsing, searching & restoring as well as archiving newly produced content Two Replicas (copies) of every file are created on disk pairs for protection. 10 TB Disks – the biggest at the time! Future option to externalize one disk from each pair to a secure Vault, creating free space for more disks The Ingest process was managed by EMAM based on ALTO Connect CIFS / SMB VFS
National Film Archive of Thailand Thailand has a very proud Film Heritage and a strong focus on preservation. This ALTO system features an ultra-high security scalable approach. This 1.5 PB Platform is designed to expand over time to house the Royal Heritage Collection in Thailand The Digitised Films and other Content are Triple Replicated in three ALTO Nodes and Distributed in two geographically separated locations for Disaster Recovery. The EMAM Media Asset Management system integrates with the ALTO Cold Storage using ALTO Connect, a Virtual CIFS / SMB File System hosted on dual IT Servers with automatic failover
TV2 Denmark A 30 Petabyte Platform to preserve a TV Channel Archive based on ALTO and DIVA Content was most recently stored on T10K Data Tapes which have been discontinued by the manufacturer, used in a Robotic Tape Library, also end-of-life meant there was an urgent need to migrate to a futureproof storage strategy Storage policy one Replica of every file in the TV Station on ALTO for fast access and no Egress Cost with a Second Replica in a remote Tape Cloud as the Copy of Last Resort for Disaster Recovery. There is no Egress cost with all restores coming from ALTO. Cloud ingress and at-rest costs are affordable Disaster Recovery layer
RTM Media City A 20 Petabyte fully redundant, high availability Platform to preserve Legacy and newly produced content at 2K Resolution for a new Media City project in Kuala Lumpur The house format is AVC Ultra 4:4:4:4 at 220 Mbit/sec 5 x Primary ALTO nodes and 5 x Secondary ALTO nodes provide bandwidth for 20 Concurrent Ingest or 30 concurrent Archive Restore operations. Ingest and Archive Management will use Blue Lucy Media BLM with API Integration supporting Partial File Restore
National Film Archive Currently with 80+ PB storage, and planned expansion to 100 PB, the archive is based on a single Replica of each File. The system relies on ALTOs greatly extended disk life where we have real world examples of original disk drives still functional after10-15 years without replacement Recognising that failures can occur, even if rarely the Organisation retains the original Films which can be re-scanned if necessary to recover from a disk failure. A second Disk Replica is planned for the future, but the priority was on creating the first Digital Replica The system took a Factory Approach” using multiple scanners, working 16 hours per day, managed by Custom Software developed in house using the ALTO API
Saudi Aramco Media Archive Saudi Aramco has an extensive Archive of Cultural content including Film Television and Images which contribute to new productions as well as legacy preservation Initially commissioned in 2016 as a centralised resource for the Aramco Media center, the system was expanded in 2021 to create a Geographically Distributed Disaster Recovery capability The system is used to archive a wide variety of Television and Digital Film Formats including ARRI and RED formats managed by a Media Alliance MediaXplorer MAM and PAM system
Deep Archive for Military IT Backup. ALTO can be used for any form of Data Archive, not just unstructured data for Film Television and Media. The Platform is adapted to specific user requirements at the Application Layer. Application software managing ALTO for IT Backup includes well known solutions from Veeam, Commvault and Retrospect In this use case, the customer, an International Military wanted to replace ageing LTO Tape Archives ALTO in a Headquarters location and 5 Regional Locations with a modern Replication-based Cold Storage solution, with Fully Redundant Hardware and Software
A 14 PB Fully Redundant High Court Evidence Archive. Increasingly Video, Audio and Image Evidence is a core element Legal cases. This evidence will often include high-definition television courtroom coverage, which must be preserved retained and easily accessible for many years In conventional LTO Tape Archives, the storage media must be regularly migrated to avoid obsolescence. The archive itself is very low density and must be housed in an ultra-clean, dust free, humidity-controlled environment and incorporates with an extremely expensive Management layer to manage linear tape storage and a high support overhead for complex robotics. The world's largest High Court Archives are turning to ALTO for a secure, affordable, maintenance free Archive Platform with the lowest Lifetime Cost and Lowest Carbon footprint