LTO-10 is the latest generation of LTO tape. It stores up to 30TB or 40TB per cartridge, costs little to keep, and gives you an offline copy of your data that ransomware can't reach.
Fortuna Data has been supplying UK businesses since 1994. We can help you choose LTO-10 drives, libraries and cartridges, and plan the move from older tape.
LTO (Linear Tape-Open) is the industry-standard tape format for backup and archive. It is made by several manufacturers, including IBM, HPE and Fujifilm, so you are not tied to one supplier.
LTO-10 is the tenth generation. It holds more data per cartridge than any LTO tape before it, which means fewer cartridges, fewer library slots and lower cost per terabyte for large archives.
30TB or 40TB native per cartridge, or up to 75TB or 100TB with 2.5:1 compression.
A cartridge on a shelf uses no power, and there are no monthly fees or charges to get your data back.
A tape taken out of the library can't be reached over the network, so it can't be encrypted by ransomware.
LTO-10 supports WORM (write once, read many) tapes that can't be changed once written.
| Specification | LTO-10 |
|---|---|
| Native capacity | 30TB or 40TB per cartridge |
| Compressed capacity (2.5:1) | 75TB or 100TB |
| Native transfer speed | Up to 400 MB/s |
| Compressed transfer speed | Up to 1,200 MB/s |
| Data tracks | 15,104 |
| Encryption | Hardware encryption (AES-GCM 256) |
| WORM | Supported |
| LTFS | Supported |
| Works with | LTO-10 drives only |
Source: LTO Program.
LTO-10 drives cannot read or write LTO-9 or older tapes. Earlier generations could usually work with the tape before them, but LTO-10 breaks that pattern.
If you have archives on older tape, keep a drive that can read them or plan to migrate the data. We can help you work out the simplest route.
Here are example list prices for two Qualstar LTO-10 tape libraries. They are the manufacturer’s list prices (MSRP), rounded, as at November 2026. Your quote will depend on the drives, connection, cartridges and support you choose.
| Library | What you get | List price |
|---|---|---|
| Qualstar Q40 (3U) | 1 × LTO-10 SAS drive, 40 cartridge slots (1.2PB native with 30TB tapes) | around £25,350 |
| Qualstar Q80 (6U) | 2 × LTO-10 drives, 80 cartridge slots (2.4PB native with 30TB tapes) | around £52,800 |
Both libraries can be expanded with extra modules as your data grows. Cartridges are priced separately, so ask us for current 30TB and 40TB cartridge prices.
Specifications: Qualstar Q40 and Qualstar Q80.
Tell us how much data you store, how fast it's growing and what tape you use today. We'll recommend the right drives, library and cartridges.
Ransomware often targets backups first, so a business has no clean copy to restore from. The NCSC recommends keeping at least one backup offline at any given time. Tape is one of the simplest ways to do that:
Restoring at scale: as a rough guide, copying 1PB over a 1 Gbit/s internet connection takes about 93 days even at full speed. Two LTO-10 drives at 400 MB/s native each could read the same 1PB in about 15 days, and faster if the data compresses well. Real times depend on your setup.
Work out how much data you need to store, how fast it grows and how quickly you need to restore it.
A standalone drive, an autoloader or a tape library, depending on how many cartridges you need and how much you want automated.
Decide how to handle older tapes, how to connect (SAS or Fibre Channel), and whether you need WORM tapes.
30TB or 40TB natively, depending on the cartridge, and up to 75TB or 100TB with 2.5:1 compression.
Up to 400 MB/s natively and up to 1,200 MB/s with compression.
No. LTO-10 drives only read and write LTO-10 cartridges, so keep a compatible drive for older tapes or migrate them.
Manufacturers rate LTO media for around 30 years when stored correctly. Most businesses also refresh to newer tape every few generations.
As an example, a Qualstar Q40 with one LTO-10 drive has a list price of around £25,350, and a Q80 with two drives around £52,800. Ask us for a quote for your setup.
For large amounts of data you rarely access, usually yes: you buy the cartridges once, with no monthly storage fees or charges to retrieve data.
Yes. WORM tapes can be written once and then can't be changed or deleted, which helps with compliance.
We've been supplying UK businesses since 1994. Tell us what you need and we'll give you a clear quote.
Prefer email? Write to solutions@fortunadata.com
