Cool tech: Storing data on glass with Microsoft's 'Project Silica'

Project Silica Source: Windows Central

At Ignite 2022, Microsoft unveiled 'Project Silica', a venture that Microsoft Research has been working on for the final several years that uses laser optics to store virtual data on quartz glass. This is tech designed primarily for storing archival information in the deject and benefits from long-lasting reliability that stretches into centuries.

This is a huge deal, every bit storing data for a prolonged time today is a process that needs to exist repeated to ensure that data stays good. Hard drives don't last forever and will deteriorate over time. Microsoft hopes that Projection Silica will replace record and optical drives for companies looking to store information for long durations in the cloud.

Unlike record and optical drives, Project Silica is a cake of high-purity quartz glass, which has information etched into information technology via femtosecond lasers. The data is stored in three-dimensions within the glass and is read using a microscope imaging and polarized light source. The drinking glass itself is stored in cold storage and tin can last for longer than a century.

It'due south early days for Project Silica

Source: Microsoft

The tech is all very futuristic, but information technology'due south still very early days for Projection Silica. I was shown a pocket-size piece of glass that had the Windows 10 ISO stored on it. This equates to around 3.5GB of data, which according to Principle Researcher at Microsoft Research, Dr. Pismire Rowstron, took an entire dark to write to the glass. That's not very fast, but Microsoft is hopeful this tech will improve and mature over time.

The machinery required to write the data to the glass today is huge, but Microsoft says this tech will be miniaturized over time, with read and write speeds also improving. Microsoft hopes to have this tech in use in Azure data centers within the next decade, so this isn't something you should look to run into in commercial use tomorrow.

It's of import to point out that this method of storing data isn't intended for consumers. This is for big companies looking to shop archival data. You move data onto it once and rarely touch it over again. Microsoft doesn't anticipate this tech volition supervene upon storage solutions inside laptops or phones, for example, as that's not what it'south indented for.

How is this improve than traditional storage mediums?

SSD Source: Windows Central

And then why is glass better than what we already accept for archiving data? Tape works just fine, as practice optical drives. The problem with those forms of data storage is that they deteriorate over fourth dimension. Tape doesn't last forever, and optical drives last even less time than that. Project Silica solves this trouble every bit, well ... it's glass. It doesn't degrade over time, meaning y'all can store data on information technology for as long as it doesn't get smashed or cook.

It's likewise unaffected by things like h2o or magnets. Information technology'southward very like shooting fish in a barrel to destroy tape or optical drives accidentally, but glass, when stored in an archival data center, should be pretty safety from any exterior elements. So that'southward what Projection Silica aims to solve: become the best archival cloud storage solution for big companies looking to store large amounts of information.

Project Silica is still a long mode from being a commercial product. Yet, Microsoft has signed a partnership with Warner Bros that will see the entertainment behemothic store its information, such as movies, on Project Silica when it's prepare. At Ignite 2022, Microsoft showcased the Superman motion picture stored on a tiny piece of glass, equating to 76GB of data

This project is hands one of the coolest things I was shown during my time at Ignite 2022 and is just one instance of how Microsoft is innovating in spaces I didn't think twice about. What are your thoughts on Projection Silica? Permit u.s. know in the comments.

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