Trends in mass storage technology and possible impacts on high energy physics experiments

Abstract

The reasons for the wide-spread use of magnetic tapes to record data from high energy physics experiments are analysed. Problems due to the sequential nature of the medium and to the large amount of human intervention required are discussed. It is suggested that a high capacity removable disk might resolve these problems. An analysis of track-to-track spacing in magnetic recording shows that multi-track tape is unlikely to be of major interest. A discussion of helical recording shows that the proposed Ampex Super High Bit Rate Recorder might allow for extremely high data rates at future general-purpose facilities. A review of optical disk recording shows that it has great potential for physics data recording. Several areas needing careful attention to product design are indicated. Holographic tape storage is briefly reviewed.