Spectra Cube.
Spectra Cube occupies the ground between the entry class and the midrange enterprise frame: a high-density library in a single-rack form factor, for institutions that have outgrown a stackable system but do not yet require, or have room for, a multi-frame deployment. What it offers is enterprise capability — partitioning, TeraPack media handling, API-driven operation — in one enclosure.
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Density in a single frame.
A single Cube enclosure carries 1,670 LTO slots and up to thirty half-height drives. That envelope overlaps the low end of the enterprise class while retaining a footprint most machine rooms can absorb without reorganization, which is frequently the actual constraint rather than capacity. Media is handled in TeraPack magazines of ten cartridges — the same handling model used across the Spectra enterprise line, so practice established on a Cube carries forward if the institution later moves up.
Up to sixteen SLS partitions allow one enclosure to be divided across workloads that must stay administratively separate: a backup target, an archive tier, and a research-data holding, each presented to its own application with its own media pool. Partitioning is what allows a single library to earn its total cost of ownership across several roles rather than sitting underutilized in one.
Management is through a touchscreen and a REST API. The API is the relevant interface for research computing, where library operations are driven from the storage platform rather than by hand, and the Cube additionally supports S3-compatible object formats. Encryption is available through BlueScale Standard and BlueScale Professional, and field-replaceable units are serviceable in under five minutes.
What one enclosure will hold.
The figures below describe a fully populated Cube. Density is the specification that distinguishes this library, so the numbers that matter in practice are slots and drives per enclosure rather than an aggregate ceiling. Unique Checksum sizes drive count against required throughput and slot count against retention horizon — not against the maximum the frame will accept.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Maximum slots | 1,670 |
| Maximum native capacity | 66.8 PB (LTO-10) |
| Maximum compressed capacity | 167.0 PB (LTO-10, 2.5:1) |
| Maximum native throughput | 32.4 TB/hr (half-height); 23.0 TB/hr (full-height) |
| Maximum compressed throughput | 81.0 TB/hr (half-height); 69.1 TB/hr (full-height) |
| Tape generations | LTO-6 through LTO-10 |
| Maximum drives | 30 half-height, or 16 full-height |
| Robotics | Single robot |
| Maximum partitions | 16 (SLS) |
| Media handling | TeraPack magazines, 10 cartridges per magazine |
| Object support | S3-compatible object formats |
| Dimensions | 35.9 in W × 45.4 in D × 79.4 in H; 1,028 lb |
| Power / heat | 1,186 W maximum at 200–240 V AC; 4,047 BTU/hr |
| Encryption | BlueScale Standard; BlueScale Professional |
| Reliability | MTBF 250,000 power-on hours; FRU service under 5 minutes |
| Management | Touchscreen; REST API; auto-clean and queued eject |
Figures are Spectra Logic published specifications for the maximum configuration of this library family using current tape generations.
When floor space is the constraint.
The Cube is specified where density matters more than frame count: a site with one machine-room aisle to work with, an archive that has passed the entry-class ceiling, or a deployment that must serve several workloads through partitions without the floor space an enterprise frame demands.
The trade against a T950 is expansion rather than capability. A Cube is one enclosure; when it is full, growth means a second library or a migration. A T950 grows by frame within the same system. Institutions whose data is growing predictably past a single frame are usually better served starting at the T950 tier; institutions whose growth is uncertain, or whose floor space is fixed, are better served by the Cube and a decision deferred.
The full library family is set out on the Spectra Logic page; the next tier is Spectra T950.
Specifying a single-frame library.
Unique Checksum sizes single-frame deployments around the constraint that is actually binding — usually floor space, power, or the number of workloads that must be kept separate, rather than raw capacity. Partition design is the part of a Cube specification most often got wrong, and it is difficult to change once the library is in production.
For a Spectra Cube conversation — configuration, capacity planning, media generation, or integration with an existing storage platform — write to sales@uniquechecksum.com.