Microsoft Project Silica

2023: Product Announcement

In mid-October 2023, Microsoft announced the development of a new type of media for storing information in data centers. The solution, created as part of the Project Silica initiative, looks like a rectangular piece of glass the size of a palm.

The process of writing/reading information to the presented drives is multi-stage and involves the use of complex equipment. In particular, a special laser system is used to store data, which forms volumetric pixels in the glass structure - the so-called voxels. The files recorded in this way are read by means of another installation equipped with a powerful microscope. After transferring information to a computer, it is decoded using special algorithms. Only then are the voxels converted into a species suitable for further use.

Project Silica

Since the laser physically changes the internal structure of the glass, scratches on the surface of such a storage device do not lead to data damage. It is also noted that information on devices of a new type can be safely stored for 10 thousand years or more.

The created drive has a capacity of approximately 7 TB (as of October 2023), but in the future the capacity will be increased. It is assumed that in the data center such storage devices will be placed on special racks and removed on request using a special robotic manipulator. Glass drives themselves are passive, which reduces power consumption in the data center. The devices are immune to water, electromagnetic pulses, extreme temperatures and other negative environmental factors, which indicates their high reliability.^[1]

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