HP

HP Q2078A LTO Ultrium Green Storage Media Tape

5.0 (7 reviews)

Store up to 30 TB of encrypted data on a single LTO-8 cartridge with transfer speeds reaching 2.7 TB per hour.

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Overview

The HP Q2078A LTO Ultrium 8 cartridge is an enterprise-grade data storage tape designed for organizations that need high-capacity backup, archival, and disaster recovery at scale. Each cartridge holds up to 30 TB of compressed data (12 TB native), and the LTO-8 interface delivers transfer speeds of up to 2.7 TB per hour, making it practical for environments where backup windows are tight and data volumes are measured in petabytes across the tape library. Built-in AES 256-bit encryption meeting the IEEE 1619.1 standard ensures that sensitive data is protected at the hardware level without requiring separate encryption software or additional processing overhead.

Reliability is a defining strength of the LTO-8 format. The Q2078A achieves a bit error rate of 1×10^19, which is four orders of magnitude better than enterprise SATA hard drives, reducing the risk of silent data corruption in long-term archives. For organizations subject to regulatory retention requirements, a WORM version of the cartridge provides tamper-proof storage that prevents data from being overwritten or altered after it is written. The cartridge also supports the Linear Tape File System, allowing it to be mounted and browsed like an external drive for simpler file-level access. As part of HPE's standardized LTO Ultrium ecosystem, the Q2078A integrates with a broad range of tape libraries and backup software, making it a dependable building block for 24/7 data protection strategies.

Key Features

HPE LTO-8 Ultrium can write or read data at a blistering 2.7 TB/hour, storing, encrypting and protecting up to 30 TB on a single cartridge, making it ideal for large-scale, 24 x 7

Tape is more reliable than Enterprise SATA disk. With a BER of 1x10 to the power of 19 for LTO-8 versus 1x10 to the power of 15 for Enterprise SATA HDD's.

Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) version provides tamper-proof, compliant data storage.

Standardizing on HPE LTO Ultrium delivers the capacity to meet shrinking backup windows, industry-standard, AES 256-bit encryption (IEEE1619.1), and interchangeable RW or WORM media

Specifications

Brand
HP (HPE)
Model
Q2078A
Format
LTO Ultrium 8
Native Capacity
12 TB
Compressed Capacity
30 TB
Data Transfer Speed
Up to 2.7 TB/hr (compressed)
Encryption
AES 256-bit (IEEE 1619.1)
Bit Error Rate
1×10^19
WORM Option
Available
File System Support
Linear Tape File System (LTFS)

Pros & Cons

👍 Pros

  • 30 TB compressed capacity stores massive datasets on a single cartridge
  • 2.7 TB/hr transfer speed keeps backup windows short
  • AES 256-bit hardware encryption secures data without additional software
  • Bit error rate of 1×10^19 provides significantly higher reliability than enterprise SATA drives
  • WORM option available for regulatory and compliance-driven archival needs

👎 Cons

  • Requires an LTO-8 compatible tape drive, which is a significant upfront investment
  • Sequential-access format is not suited for frequent random data retrieval
  • Cannot be written to by older LTO-7 or earlier generation drives
  • Physical tape media requires controlled storage conditions to maximize lifespan

Frequently Asked Questions

The cartridge stores up to 30 TB of compressed data (12 TB native) on a single tape, making it suitable for large-scale backup and archival workloads.
It supports transfer speeds up to 2.7 TB per hour (compressed), allowing large backup jobs to complete within tight maintenance windows.
Yes, LTO-8 supports AES 256-bit encryption compliant with the IEEE 1619.1 standard, so data is encrypted at the drive level without a separate software step.
Yes, HP offers a Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) version of this tape for environments that require tamper-proof, compliance-grade data retention.
LTO-8 drives can read LTO-7 tapes but cannot write to them. This cartridge requires an LTO-8 compatible drive for both read and write operations.