The Magical DVD
Imagine a DVD-sized disc that can store data 10,000 times the amount of a Blu-ray disc, this would be a miracle that can save a lot of storage space and energy in the era of big data and artificial intelligence.
A research group in China has developed a technology that allows storing a massive dataset – equivalent to about 5.8 billion indexed web pages – in a device the size of a desktop computer.
To put it into perspective, if the aforementioned data was stored using 1TB hard drives, the amount of hard drives would cover an area the size of an average playground.
“This technology achieves exabit-level storage capacity by stacking nano-sized discs, which is crucial in large data centers with limited space,” the research team writes in a paper published in the journal Nature this week.
Scientists from institutions such as the University of Science and Technology of Shanghai, Peking University, as well as the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Mechanics and the State Key Laboratory of Optics and Fine Mechanics, all part of the China Academy of Sciences, contributed to the research.
In data storage units, 1,024 gigabytes (GB) equals 1 terabyte (TB) and 1,024 terabytes make up 1 petabit, while 1,024 petabytes make up 1 exabit.
According to the global market information provider International Data Corporation, the global data volume is projected to reach 175 zettabytes in 2025. A zettabyte is 1,000 billion gigabytes.
Optical Data Storage (ODS) is a storage method commonly used in DVDs. It is cost-effective and durable, but it has limited capacity as it usually stores data in a single layer.
In the new study, the Chinese group said they have developed a three-dimensional architecture to store data on hundreds of layers instead of one layer, resulting in optical data storage capacity reaching petabit for the first time.
The layers of the disc are just 1 micrometer apart, allowing it to be as thin as a regular DVD.
“ODS has a capacity of up to 1.6 petabit for a DVD-sized disc by writing 100 layers on both sides of our ultra-thin disc,” the researchers highlight, adding that it can store data 24 times more than the most advanced hard drives available today.
“Therefore, it would be possible to build an exabit data center inside a room instead of a space the size of a sports stadium by stacking 1,000 petabit-level nano discs together… creating a large number of cost-effective exabit data centers.”
Data Centers for Everyone
Current data centers require a huge amount of energy to operate, while the devices inside generate a tremendous amount of heat, requiring even more energy for cooling.
The International Energy Agency estimates that data centers worldwide will consume about 1% of the total global electricity demand by 2022.
In China, the National Energy Administration said the total power consumption of the country’s data centers will reach 270 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) by 2022, nearly triple the amount of electricity generated in the same year by the Three Gorges Dam – the world’s largest power plant. The total consumption accounts for about 3% of China’s total power usage.
The research team said the new technology can reduce the need to transfer data, a complex process that data centers have to carry out every three to 10 years, making data vulnerable to tampering or loss.
Wen Jing, a professor from the University of Science and Technology of Shanghai, estimated the new technology will provide a more energy-efficient data storage capability.
“Energy will only be needed when data is written to or read from the disc instead of when storing data, thanks to the inherent characteristics of ODS,” Wen said.
“These discs also have high stability so no special storage requirements are needed. The new discs are expected to have a lifespan of 50 to 100 years, unlike hard drives that require data to be transferred to new devices every five to 10 years.”
Hard drives can also be damaged by physical damage, such as being dropped or exposed to excessive moisture.
While Wen said this new type of disc may one day allow individuals and households to set up their own databases without hassle.
“Previously, operating a database took up a lot of space and investment. But in the future, families could keep a disc to store a large amount of photos, videos, and documents instead of keeping them on separate external hard drives.”
Although the manufacturing process of the new disc is compatible with existing DVD technology, Wen said the team will continue to improve the speed and reduce the energy needed to write and read data from the disc.
They will also work to make the devices that access data on the disc more affordable, with hopes of bringing it to the market in the near future.
