Cache-A Introduces LTFS Across LTO-5 Product Line

One of the first companies to demonstrate the new LTFS (Linear Tape Film System) format in product form last year, Cache-A Corporation is announcing that all of its LTO-5 based products will include LTFS capability.  

These include the company’s Pro-Cache5 and the new high-performance Power-Cache and the cost-effective Prime-Cache5.

Based on open source software, LTFS enables digital media professionals to interchange content across different operating systems, software applications and physical locations. It combines the economy, robustness, high density and low power of tape with much of the functionality and usability of a hard drive.

"Through our collaboration with HP, Pro-Cache5 and our other new LTO-5 based products now combine the benefits of LTFS, which makes tape look like disk, with the convenience of Cache-A’s appliance, which makes tape actually behave like disk," said Ken Fuhrman, Vice President of Engineering and Operations for Cache-A Corporation. "

By a simple software update, all of our existing Cache-A LTO-5 customers will be able to start using LTFS going forward without any additional cost or the need to transfer existing tapes.

"Once our LTFS release is installed in any Cache-A LTO-5 archive appliance," he added. "Customers will have the choice of using the mature tar format with Cache-A’s enhancements or the new LTFS format. Like Cache-A’s tar implementation, LTFS provides a self-describing file system on an LTO cartridge."

LTFS: Improving Workflows,
Asset Management, Interchange
Cache-A’s LTO-5 based products with LTFS make an archiving and interchange solution, enhancing both production and post-production workflows as well as improving asset management and interchange.  

The open-standard LTFS makes the contents of the tape compatible and accessible to any facility with an LTO-5 tape drive. As a result, it provides a self-contained content delivery system along every stage of the workflow. This ensures the integrity of the shoot by creating an insurable and bondable media deliverable while providing the standard for content delivery and final archive.

The Cache-A Difference

• Cache-A goes beyond the basic capabilities of LTFS and provides the features necessary for professional digital media workflows:
• The Cache-A approach eliminates the need for client-side software as opposed to standard LTFS that must be installed on each client system
• Cache-A’s appliance provides networked hard disk storage and a layer of software that makes LTFS much easier to use
• Cache-A archive appliances are networked and available to an entire facility or workgroup, whereas LTFS on a workstation will only work on that workstation
• Cache-A archive appliances have a built-in server that does not need to tie up a user workstation to perform archive and restore tasks
• The Cache-A appliance includes a built-in catalog, maintained in a database, that enables users to keep track of every file, folder and tape ever seen by the device; content can be searched and easily located many years in the future

Cache-A’s archive appliances also allow multi-user access to any archived data so that editors in a workgroup can archive or access assets from any computer on the network. Furthermore, because Cache-A’s archive appliances are platform-agnostic, they provide heterogeneous workgroup compatibility between Apple Mac, Microsoft Windows and Linux/Unix systems. They also offer workflow compatibility with Avid, Final Cut Pro and digital intermediate software systems. Once created, an editor using a Mac OS, for example, can share the tape with a digital effects company using Linux.