CERN’s Tape Library Upgrade Signals New Era for Scientific Data

According to DCD, CERN has installed an IBM Diamondback tape library at its Geneva data center, marking what senior IT service delivery manager Vladimír Bahyl calls a “real shift in how CERN thinks about large-scale data archiving.” The deployment enables the research institute to explore a scale-out model rather than scale-up approach as it manages enormous data volumes, including a 1.3 exabyte data archive and 15 petabyte backup service. Bahyl revealed that in August 2025 alone, CERN archived approximately 50PB of new data, equivalent to about 1.7PB or nine LTO-9 tape cartridges daily. The IBM Diamondback system, launched in 2022, can store up to 46PB in a single rack using LTO Ultrium 10 cartridges, packing 1,548 usable cartridges into just eight square feet of floor space. This strategic infrastructure upgrade reflects CERN’s evolving approach to managing exponentially growing scientific data.

The Scale-Out Revolution in Scientific Computing

The shift from scale-up to scale-out architecture represents a fundamental change in how research facilities approach data management. Scale-up models traditionally involved adding capacity to existing systems, which becomes increasingly complex and expensive at petabyte scales. Scale-out approaches instead distribute data across multiple, smaller systems that can be managed independently. For CERN, this transition is particularly crucial given the organization’s role as one of the world’s largest generators of scientific data. The Large Hadron Collider experiments produce staggering amounts of raw data that must be preserved for decades of analysis by global research teams. Moving to a scale-out tape library architecture provides the flexibility to expand capacity incrementally while maintaining performance and reliability.

Why Tape Endures in the Age of Cloud

Despite the proliferation of cloud storage and flash technologies, tape libraries remain indispensable for scientific and research applications for several compelling reasons. The physical air-gapping capability mentioned in the deployment provides inherent security against cyber threats – a critical consideration for valuable research data. Tape also offers dramatically lower total cost of ownership for cold and warm data storage, with energy consumption being a fraction of disk-based systems. For organizations like CERN that must preserve data for decades, tape’s proven longevity and backward compatibility across generations provide assurance that data will remain accessible. The Diamondback’s ability to store 46PB in a standard rack footprint addresses one of tape’s traditional limitations – physical space requirements – making it competitive with dense disk arrays for massive-scale archival.

The Unprecedented Data Challenge of Modern Science

CERN’s data growth statistics reveal the staggering scale of modern scientific computing. Archiving 50 petabytes monthly translates to approximately 1.6 petabytes daily, or nearly 20 gigabytes per second continuously. This volume would fill a typical 1TB laptop hard drive every 50 seconds. The comparison to managing “a whole herd of cattle” rather than “a few pets” perfectly captures the paradigm shift from carefully managed individual systems to automated management of massive distributed resources. This challenge extends beyond CERN to facilities like the Square Kilometer Array radio telescope and next-generation genomic sequencing centers, all of which are pushing the boundaries of data management. The success of future scientific discoveries increasingly depends on the underlying data infrastructure’s ability to scale economically.

IBM’s Strategic Focus on High-Density Storage

IBM‘s Diamondback represents the company’s continued commitment to tape technology despite market perceptions of it as legacy infrastructure. The 2022 launch positioned IBM to capture the growing market for ultra-high-density archival storage driven by research, media, and regulatory requirements. The system’s ability to store 116PB per library with compression demonstrates how tape density continues to advance even as other storage technologies face physical limitations. For IBM, these high-end tape systems complement their broader storage portfolio and maintain their presence in scientific and research computing – a market where they have historically maintained strong relationships. The CERN deployment serves as a powerful reference case for other research institutions and data-intensive enterprises considering similar infrastructure upgrades.

Implications for Global Research Infrastructure

CERN’s architectural shift has broader implications for how research facilities worldwide design their data center infrastructure. The scale-out model enables more flexible capacity planning and potentially lower capital expenditures by allowing incremental expansion rather than large periodic upgrades. This approach also enhances resilience through distribution and redundancy across multiple systems. As scientific collaborations become increasingly global and data-intensive, the ability to efficiently manage and share petabytes of data across international research networks becomes critical. The lessons learned from CERN’s deployment in their Geneva facility will likely influence storage architecture decisions at other major research institutions facing similar data growth challenges. The success of this transition could accelerate adoption of scale-out tape architectures across the scientific computing landscape.