The (im)probable future of data storage

• Introduction
• A brief history of storage mediums
  • The old stuff
  • Modern technology
• Experiments
  • Natural crystals
  • Water and wires?
• What's really coming
  • Infinite USB memory drive
  • Holographic discs
• Conclusion
• Update (04-06-2010)
  • Eye-Fi X2 endless memory SD cards
  • BDXL and IH-BD
• References

Introduction

It is a fact that computers and the surrounding technologies are in constant evolution, but when looking at the increasing processing speeds and storage capacities, we often overlook how storage mediums have changed. We have come a long way since the IBM punch cards and we even have discarded floppy disks a long time ago already. In this age of USB thumb drives and Blu-Ray? discs, researchers are still hard at work trying to find new technologies that will increase storage capacity, bring faster read/write speeds or other practical qualities.

So let's first take a look at how we have come up with the discs and flash memory drives that we currently use. Then we will examine what are the works in progress and what we can expect to come our way in the future. Some researches involve working with materials at the atomic level or crystals that remind of Superman's crystal cave, which seem much more like science-fiction than reality. However, we also see some more realistic technologies that are likely to be commercialized in a couple of years only.

A brief history of storage mediums

In a way, we could say that a phonograph cylinder is some kind of storage medium, as it stores data (music) to be read at a later date. However, the evolution of music storage mediums is not really pertinent to us so we will concentrate on the computing world. There are some links between the two domains, though, as most of the technologies or their variants are used for both.

The old stuff

The IBM punch card is considered to be the first real computer data storage medium. The system consisted of paper cards with of columns of punched or un-punched holes, representing the 0s and 1s of digital data. It was slow and bulky, but it served well the needs of the time, when a box of cards was not much compared to a computer as big as a house. The punch card later evolved into punched paper tape and was ultimately replaced in the 1970's by magnetic tape.

Magnetic tape comes in a wide variety of forms, but usually consists of a band of magnetically charged tape stored on reels. While common examples are audio and video cassettes such as VHS, which were widely popular in the 1980's and 1990's, they have also been used for computer data storage. Sun even introduced the T10000 magnetic tape drive as recently as 2006, with cartridges holding as much as 1 terabyte of data. Floppy disks also make use of magnetic charges but consist of rotating discs inside a plastic casing. They have been in use for more then thirty years and only recently have manufacturers stopped offering floppy drive-equipped computers.

Modern technology

Today, most computers are using hard disk drives (HDDs) for storing data. HDDs read and write data, again using magnetism, on metal plates using precise needles. The latest technologies allow for high data densities, but the fragile mechanisms cannot sustain too much shock so other mediums are used for transporting data. The compact disc (CD) first appeared in 1982 for audio but has now earned its place as a major, portable computer data storage medium. These discs are called "optical" because they use lasers for "burning" and reading data. Optical discs have evolved into the DVD and more recently the Blu-Ray? Disc (BD), which can hold up to 100 GB of data and is mainly used for high definition movies distribution.

However, all of these storage mediums include moving parts, which increase the risk of mechanical failure. And with PCs and electronic devices constantly shrinking in size, we needed other solutions for storing data. The development and use of non-volatile random-access memory (RAM) have therefore become increasingly popular. The most common devices utilizing this technology are USB flash drives and memory cards such as Secure Digital (SD) and Compact Flash (CF) cards, mainly used in digital cameras. Solid state drives consist of a bunch of big memory chips put together to have the same role as a hard disk drive in a computer. They have the advantages of having impressive read-write speeds and being highly resistant to physical shocks, but the inconvenient of being much more expensive than "regular" hard drives. However, as the cost-per-byte goes down, they are expected to replace them.

Experiments

Of course, scientists are hard at work to find new, better storage solutions. Actually, they better hurry because at this rate, we will end up exceeding the limit of today's technologies and storage will become a bottleneck for the advancement of computer science.

Natural crystals

One recent discovery that is worth mentioning is crystals found by researchers at Florida State University. These naturally-occuring crystals could be used to store data both magnetically and electrically, which would render them very effective for encryption, because data would be very hard to retrieve if such a process was used. In addition, the researchers believe that they could greatly expand the capacity of storage devices, cramming 1 Exabyte of data into the space required today for 1 Gigabyte, therefore multiplying data density by a factor of 1 billion.

Unfortunately, this is all theoretical speech because it has only been observed that there were crystals that had those properties, but they have not been put into practical use. Still, on top of their cryptographic and data density capabilities, these crystals could help bring greener computing, as they would use components of manganese and iron instead of more toxic substances like lead. Finally, a minor drawback: the useful properties of the crystals have only been seen to occur at -150 degrees Celsius.

Water and wires?

What would you think of 12.8 TB of data, stored into a single cube centimeter? Researchers at Drexel University in the U.S. claim they can achieve this kind of data density, using ten atoms thick wires enclosed in a water molecules jacket. Apparently, nanoscale ferroelectrical materials can have their magnetic poles spontaneously reversed, so opposing potential directions of charge on the wires could be used to represent binary 0s and 1s. The water is necessary to make the materials stable.

This is all well and beautiful, but these three billionths of a meter wide wires would each need an additional nanoscale wire for reading and writing data, which means 12.8 trillions external connections would be needed for a cubic centimeter of storage. So as interesting as it may be, we surely won't be seeing this technology in our homes in years to come.

What's really coming

Technologies like these two are arguably improbable to ever go beyond the experimental stage. However, researchers do, of course, work on some more down-to-earth storage solutions. Since solid-state drives are just starting to have some share of the market, it is rather unlikely that we will see a revolution in the domain of desktop storage anytime soon. Portable storage is due for evolution though, and here are two innovations that should gather some interest in the months or years to come.

Infinite USB memory drive

Counting data storage capacity in Exabytes with crystals is great, but what about we do not have to count at all because we have infinite capacity? That would be amazing, but that is not really how the Infinite USB memory (IUM) drive works. Actually, Infinitec's USB drive, which is scheduled for release July 1st 2010, does not hold data itself. Instead, it serves as a wireless link between a computer (to which it is paired) and any USB-capable device within range of its wi-fi connection.

Alright, computers that are within wi-fi range will probably just connect to each other using a wireless router, but the IUM drive can also be used on other devices like printers, televisions and game consoles. That eliminates the need for a print server or a centered data repository like a network-attached storage (NAS) device altogether, since everything that is available on the paired computer is available to the device to which the UIM drive is connected. Streaming video or watching photos on a TV without the need of burning a DVD, for instance, are among the possibilities. Devices like this one could replace portable data storage mediums that we usually use only once or that we erase all the time.

Holographic discs

We still need portable data storage solutions that can be brought away from home or the office, though, and software distribution cannot be made entirely through Internet, at least not for now. Blu-Ray? Discs (BDs) are still relatively new, and even if they can sport an impressive 100GB of storage, researchers are already thinking ahead and developing holographic discs.

Instead of "burning" ridges on a layer (or two) of the disc as usual, lasers of holographic discs drives burn through the whole depth of the disc, spreading data into a three-dimensional area instead of on a flat surface. The data is written at the meeting of two lasers into the disc instead of at the meeting of a laser and the disc. It is hoped that this technique will allow for putting as much as 1000GB (or 1TB) of data on a single disc. However, limitations such as shrinkage of the material when writing data make real-world use of holographic technology tricky. But it is only a matter of time before they come to everyday use, as researchers have already started cutting the distortion percentage.

Conclusion

Data storage mediums have evolved a lot since the days of the IBM punch card, and it is of course meant to keep going this way. Actually, Kryder's law, drawing from Moore's law, says digital data density doubles each year, which means we should see 64TB hard drives by 2015 and Exabyte (remember those crystals?) drives before 2030. Will we really develop the technology required to achieve such numbers? Even if we don't, maybe we will not need it because after all, we now use less portable storage devices than ever.

Local area networks, corporate intranets and the Internet have made an astounding job on stopping us from relying solely on portable storage devices. For example, instead of passing a CD to a colleague, we now send them a file as an email attachment. And with cloud computing, we can access our data from anywhere with any Internet-connected device, therefore reducing the need for transporting data. Additionally, digital distribution services such as iTunes and Netflix slowly render the use of discs obsolete.

However, many people like to have a physical copy of their data, their movies or their music, so the extinction of portable storage mediums is not scheduled for anytime soon. They are expected to evolve, though, and we are already seeing this evolution with experiments like holographic storage. And we can only imagine what will come next.

Update (04-06-2010)

Two new variations on existing technologies have gathered some well-earned attention recently, and they are also worth noting here. Another kind of "infinite" storage media and new Blu-Ray? Disc specifications are the two technologies of interest.

Eye-Fi X2 endless memory SD cards

Much like Infinitec's IUM drive, the Eye-Fi? X2 offers an illusion of infinite memory by using Wi-Fi?. However, the Eye-Fi? SD card is meant to be used just about anywhere and is not intended for streaming, to the contrary of the IUM drive. Instead, the new cards, released in early 2010, are designed for use with digital cameras.

The way they achieve "endless memory" is that whenever the user comes near a wireless hotspot, he can upload the contents of the card over to his or her home computer (if connected to a home wireless router) or to an online storage Web application such as Picasa. The card then automatically deletes the uploaded pictures off of itself in order to make room for more.

BDXL and IH-BD

As for the two new Blu-Ray? Disc specifications, they are more about functionality rather than capacity, as they will have recording and rewriting capabilities.

With three to four layers, BDXLs will be able to hold 100GB or 128GB of data. While the larger 128GB discs will be "write-once", 100GB discs will be rewritable, much like CD-RW and DVD-RW discs. While initial BDXLs are aimed "at commercial segments such as broadcasting, medical and document imaging enterprises with significant archiving needs," the Blu-Ray? Disc Association also expects a consumer version to come out.

Intra-Hybrid? Blu-Ray? discs (IH-BDs), for their part, will sport no more than the usual 50GB of a regular BD. They will consist of one BD-ROM layer and one BD-RE layer. The former is a standard read-only layer on which manufacturers can write data to distribute software and the latter if a write-once layer. This specification could allow for releasing video game discs on which users can add game patches, for instance.

The sad note is these new discs will also need new players and recorders too, because the added functionalities require a more powerful laser.

References

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