Cerabyte, a company founded in Munich, Germany in 2022, has made significant strides in the realm of archival storage solutions with its innovative ceramic on glass storage system. Recently securing $10M in seed funding and establishing a headquarters in Silicon Valley, Cerabyte has unveiled prototypes of this cutting-edge technology, which promises to revolutionize data storage.
Fred Moore of Horison LLC commends Cerabyte for addressing a critical need in the storage industry – the creation of a removable, random access, air-gapped, energy-efficient, mass storage solution. This innovation comes at a time when reducing energy consumption in data centers is a top priority.
The ceramic on glass storage system developed by Cerabyte is designed to be a write-once, fast retrieval active archive solution. Unlike traditional magnetic tape storage, this optical media does not require specific storage conditions for longevity, making it a practical option for long-term data storage without the need for frequent data migration.
Utilizing ultra-short blue laser pulses and digital multi-mirror technology, Cerabyte’s system can write up to 2 million bits per pulse in parallel at high repetition rates. With the potential to achieve speeds exceeding 1GB/s while consuming less than 1W of power, Cerabyte’s technology showcases impressive efficiency and performance capabilities.
The company’s semiconductor-like scaling approach involves adapting semiconductor fabrication tools for data storage purposes, allowing for increased storage density over time. By incorporating advanced laser technologies and particle beam technologies, Cerabyte aims to achieve even finer spots and higher storage densities in the future.
Cerabyte’s projections for rapid technology development suggest that their system could provide faster access times and higher data rates than current storage solutions. With the ability to store 1PB in a rack and access data in under 90 seconds, Cerabyte envisions even greater performance benchmarks by the end of the decade.
In terms of cost efficiency, Cerabyte asserts that their ceramic on glass media will offer lower costs compared to HDDs or magnetic tape, with reduced hardware replacement and data migration requirements. Additionally, the media’s resilience to extreme temperatures, corrosion, and radiation make it a durable and reliable storage option.
As the technology landscape continues to evolve, Cerabyte’s ceramic on glass optical storage system represents a significant advancement in archival storage solutions, promising fast access to high-density media libraries with unparalleled efficiency and reliability.