Nearline storage

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Nearline storage (where Nearline is a contraction of Near-online) is a term used in computer science to describe an intermediate type of data storage. It is a compromise between online storage (constant, very rapid access to data) and offline storage (infrequent access for backup purposes or long-term storage). It is called so because the storage system knows on which volume (cartridge) the data is, and usually asks a robot to retrieve it from his physical location (usually: a tape library) and put it into a tape drive to access it and thus bring the data it contains online. This process is not instantaneous, but it does only require a few seconds, hence the initial description.

The term NEARLINE, in stylized form or as a typed drawing, is a registered word mark (trademark) of the Storage Technology Corp (now STORAGETEK, recently acquired by Sun Microsystems). (United State Patent and Trademark Office, Trademark Electronic Search System(TESS))

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The term NEARWARE is now being used to describe the equipment used for this NEARLINE storage. As with firmware, middleware, shareware the term '...ware' handle has been adopted by the storage community to desribe the general product range associated with Nearline storage