The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced that it has updated its BDXL format specifications to include a double-sided recordable version that stores up to 200GB per disc.
Intended for data centre and other archiving applications, each Blu-ray Double-Sided Disc (BD-DSD) accommodates 100GB per side and can be housed in a protective cartridge typically used by large-scale optical storage libraries with robotic handling systems.
For more information visit: www.blu-raydisc.com
Unedited press release follows:
Blu-ray Disc Association Announces New Double-Sided Disc Specification for ‘Big Data’ Storage
LOS ANGELES– August 18, 2014 – The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) today announced the finalization of a new double-sided disc specification (BD-DSD), a commercial specification that enables storage of 200GB of data on a double-sided Blu-ray Disc™ for professional usage. The BD-DSD discs are designed to work in large configurations built to store petabytes of data, and also provide a cost effective, highly reliable alternative to traditional HDD and tape storage systems for data center operators. Optical discs have inherent reliability advantages over other media as the discs do not make physical contact with a read/write head, like tape, and do not continually spin like HDDs.
“With the explosion of social media services, the move toward cloud computing services, and the overall ‘digitization’ of our social and business lives, institutional data storage requirements today are simply staggering,” said Kei Yamashita, chairman of the BDA’s DSD Task Force. “The new BD-DSD specification can provide an extremely cost-effective and dependable way to meet this need while providing manufacturers of BD-DSD products the ability to help reduce a data center’s carbon footprint.”
According to estimates based on a current single-sided disc, operating costs for 100 terabyte class storage system could be significantly reduced by using BD-DSD as opposed to other media options. This estimation considers cost of media as well as data migration, power consumption, IT, hardware and software costs. The reductions in power consumption, both for operation and cooling, also result in a significant reduction in CO2 emissions when compared to HDD and tape centric data centers.
“From its inception, Blu-ray Disc™ has been an extremely flexible and extendable format,” said Victor Matsuda, chairman, BDA Global Promotions Committee.“ The same flexibility and capacity that have helped Blu-ray Disc™ set the standard for in-home entertainment make it well suited to help the growing needs in commercial data storage.”
With each BD-DSD disc holding 200GB of data (100GB/side), the discs are likely to be contained in cartridges of several discs or hundreds discs, enabling data centers to use multiple cartridges to create storage systems capable of handling petabytes of data in a single array. Cartridges could be accessed via robotic arm and carried to a laser read/write head for data access. Once mounted, disc access times are likely to be comparable to typical HDD access times and considerably faster than typical time to access data within a tape.
The specification and licensing terms will be available on August 18, 2014. Licensing inquiries can be directed to agent@blu-raydisc.info or to License Office, 4444 Riverside Drive, Suite 103, Burbank, CA 91505.
About Blu-ray Disc™
Blu-ray Disc™ is a trademark owned by the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) and licensed for use on discs, players and other products that use BDA’s optical disc format for high definition audio-video and high capacity data software applications. Single-Layer disc holds up to 25GB of data, Dual-Layer discs up to 50GB of data, Triple Layer discs up to 100GB of data, Quadruple Layer up to 128GB of data and double-sided discs can hold up to 200GB of data.
About the Blu-ray Disc Association
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is responsible for promoting and developing business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc™ – the BDA’s optical disc format for high definition audio-video and high capacity data software applications. The BDA has over 100 members. Its Board of Directors consists of individuals affiliated with the following member companies: Dolby Laboratories Inc., DTS Inc., Hitachi, Ltd., Intel Corporation, Koninklijke Philips N.V., LG Electronics Inc., Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Oracle Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Pioneer Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Sony Corporation, Technicolor, Twentieth Century Fox, The Walt Disney Studios, and Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.