This section describes how to create new virtual tapes using AWS Storage Gateway. You can create new virtual tapes manually using either the AWS Storage Gateway console or the Storage Gateway API. You can also configure your Tape Gateway to create them automatically, which helps decrease the need for manual tape management, makes your large deployments simpler, and helps scale on-premises and archive storage needs.
Tape Gateway supports write once, read many (WORM) and tape retention lock on virtual tapes. WORM-activated virtual tapes help ensure that the data on active tapes in your virtual tape library cannot be overwritten or erased. For more information about WORM protection for virtual tapes, see the section following, Write Once, Read Many (WORM) Tape Protection.
With tape retention lock, you can specify the retention mode and period on archived virtual tapes, preventing them from being deleted for a fixed amount of time up to 100 years. It includes permission controls on who can delete tapes or modify the retention settings. For more information about tape retention lock, see Using Tape Retention Lock.
Note
You are charged only for the amount of data that you write to the tape, not the tape capacity.
You can use AWS Key Management Service (AWS KMS) to encrypt data written to a virtual tape that is stored in Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). Currently, you can do this by using the AWS Storage Gateway API or AWS Command Line Interface (AWS CLI). For more information, see CreateTapes or create-tapes.
Write Once, Read Many (WORM) Tape Protection
You can prevent virtual tapes from being overwritten or erased by activating WORM protection for virtual tapes in AWS Storage Gateway. WORM protection for virtual tapes is activated when creating tapes.
Data that is written to WORM virtual tapes can't be overwritten. Only new data can be appended to WORM virtual tapes, and existing data can't be erased. Activating WORM protection for virtual tapes helps protect those tapes while they are in active use, before they are ejected and archived.
WORM configuration can only be set when tapes are created, and that configuration cannot be changed after the tapes are created.
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