ALTO Archive & Content Library

A secure, high performance media archive with low total

cost of ownership and excellent green credentials.

ALTO is a scalable, flexible & affordable alternative to a Tape Archive offering

faster access for many more users and a very low total cost of ownership
The Tape Archive Legacy and Background

Superior Performance Disk Archive

A number of historical arguments favoured data tape as a backup

ALTO is a Disk Archive system based on hard disks with

superior performance and lower total cost of ownership
than a Data Tape Archive

medium for hard disks, including low cost, high capacity and
robustness. But ultimately the performance of a Data Tape Library
is limited by the complex mechanical systems for selecting and
loading the data tapes; sequential access to the data and the need

Lower Cost of Ownership

to share a limited number of Reading and Writing decks. Tapeless

ALTO Archives use green disk drives which support spindown operation. Any disk which is not reading or writing is
switched off saving power and extending the life of the
disks. Good for the environment and good for the budget.

workflows are already firmly established in Media acquisition and

production and with ALTO the same benefits are now available for
the Archive and Content Library.

Alternatives to Data Tape

Hard Disk Drives offer the advantage that each disk is inherently a
self-contained reading and writing device capable of randomaccess rather the sequential access of data tape. The next
generation Green drives used in ALTO are designed to be spun

Faster Access for more Concurrent Users

ALTO is a purpose-designed Archive with similar data rates
to a Tape Library but much faster access for many more
concurrent users and no planned maintenance

down and switched off when not reading or writing, reducing

power consumption and greatly extending disk life, but new

Higher Security than RAID

techniques are needed to protect the media from disk failure.

The ALTO user-configurable Replication offers higher

security than simple RAID systems without the cost and
complexity of Clustered storage, and the ability to remove
disks for vault storage, or project transportation. Media
can be read offline with PC or Mac computers.

Data Replication for Archive Protection

Following a disk failure, the lengthy rebuild time for a simple RAID
array can leave content vulnerable to subsequent disk failures.
Alternative protection strategies significantly increase capital cost
and running cost. ALTO uses Data Replication techniques to

Simpler installation

offering user selectable protection, minimal recovery time, and

ALTO is easy to install and easy to integrate. It uses lowcost off-the-shelf Disk Drives which can be added as
needed without downtime. ALTO supports any current or
future disk drive capacity in any combination.

disaster recovery configurations in geographically separated

locations. ALTO disks can be removed for vault storage, or project
transport. Media files can be accessed on an external computer.

NEWS PRODUCTION - POST PRODUCTION - VOD - INTEGRATED PLAYOUT - ARCHIVE

ALTO Archive & Content Library

A secure, high performance media archive with low total

cost of ownership and excellent green credentials.
ALTO is a scalable, flexible and affordable local storage or enterprise
archive solution, that makes your media assets more accessible.
Compact, High Density Storage Up to 150 Terabytes in 5U
Scalable for Enterprise Archives Up to 1.2 Petabytes per Rack
Secure Content Replication No RAID Rebuilds No Robotics
User Selectable Protection 2x and 3x Replication
Distributed Systems High Availability & Disaster Recovery
Random Access Faster Find and Load Partial File Restore
Removable Media with Encryption Shelf Storage Options
Powerful Internal Database and Media Management
MAID Architecture Low TCO Good Environmental Credentials
Standard Green disk drives Extended life and low maintenance
Hot Swappable Disk, Fans and Power Supplies
Plug and Play Connectivity Easy to interface and expand
Embedded 64 bit Linux OS Fast & Secure
48 Slots, any Disk Drive size No Migration, no Repack, full utilization
Hybrid solutions Extend the Life and Reduce TCO of Robotic Archives

ALTO IN BROADCAST OPERATIONS

CONTACT US

Making your media assets more accessible makes good

ALTO Archives & Content Libraries are available through

business sense. News Sports and factual programs are more

Broadcast System Integrators and Resellers worldwide. Disk

appealing and your content can be more easily re-purposed

Archive Corporation Ltd partners with the industrys leading

for new revenue streams.

Media Asset Management; Archive Management and

For High capacity Local Storage or Enterprise Archives ALTO is

the most cost effective and proven solution for a totally
tapeless workflow.
ALTO is in use in Broadcast operations around the world,

Workflow Automation specialists to offer high value best-ofbreed solutions for Broadcast & Media operations
Disk Archive Corporation Ltd.
1210 Parkview, Theale, Berkshire
RG7 4TY United Kingdom

optimised for longevity and security of media assets combined

with low total cost of ownership and low environmental
impact.

Tel:
+44 7712 586543
Mail: no_more_tapes@diskarchive.com
Web: www.diskarchive.com

Disk Archive Corporation Ltd. Registered in England & Wales No. 07594902. Copyright 2011 - All Rights Reserved.
Disk Archive Corporation reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without prior notice.

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