Editing Linear Tape-Open (section)

{{Short description|Magnetic tape-based data storage technology}}
{{Infobox media
| name = LTO
| logo = LTO Ultrium logo.svg
| image = LTX400G Sony.jpg
| caption = A 400 GB LTO-3 cassette by Sony
| type = [[Magnetic tape cartridge]]
| encoding =
| capacity = Up to 18 TB
| standard =
| owner = LTO Consortium ([[Hewlett Packard Enterprise]], [[IBM]], [[Quantum Corporation|Quantum]])
| manufacturer = [[Fujifilm]], [[Sony]] (tapes)<br>[[IBM]] (drives)
| dimensions = 102.0 × 105.4 × 21.5 mm<br>(4.0 in. x 4.1 in. x 0.8 in.)
| use = Archival storage
| released = {{Start date and age|2000}}
}}

'''Linear Tape-Open''' ('''LTO'''), also known as the '''LTO Ultrium''' format,<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is LTO tape technology? |url=https://www.lto.org/what-is-lto/ |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=Ultrium LTO |language=en-US| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240820202759/https://www.lto.org/what-is-lto/|archive-date =2024-08-20| url-status=live| publisher= Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, International Business Machines Corporation and Quantum Corporation}}</ref> is a [[magnetic tape data storage]] technology used for [[backup]], data archiving, and data transfer. It was originally developed in the late 1990s as an [[open standard]]s alternative to the proprietary magnetic tape formats available at the time. Upon introduction, LTO rapidly defined the ''super tape'' market segment and has consistently been the best-selling super tape format.<ref name="freemanreports-1" /><ref name="freemanreports-2" /> The latest generation as of 2021, LTO-9, can hold {{val|18|ul=TB}} in one cartridge.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sony develops world's densest magnetic tape |url=https://www.sony.com/en/SonyInfo/News/Press/201404/14-044E/index.html}}</ref>

Cartridges contain hundreds of meters of half-inch (12.65&nbsp;mm) wide tape media wound onto a single reel. Mechanisms (a.k.a. [[tape drive]]s, streamers) extract the tape from the cartridge and spool it up on a second reel in the mechanism, reading or writing data as the tape moves between reels. Robotic [[Tape library|libraries]] exist that can hold hundreds or thousands of LTO cartridges and dozens of mechanisms.

The original version of LTO Ultrium, called LTO-1, was released in 2000 and stored {{val|100|ul=GB}} of data in a cartridge; throughout newer generations, the capacity has increased while maintaining the same physical size. They feature built-in [[encryption]] for safer storing and transporting of data, and the partition feature enables usage of [[Linear Tape File System|LTFS]], generally having higher capacity, better long-term stability, and lower unit cost than other data storage formats. There are also [[write once read many]] LTO cartridges, useful to protect against accidental or malicious deletion.