Nearline storage

Nearline storage (a portmanteau of "near" and "online storage") is a term used in computer science to describe an intermediate type of data storage that represents a compromise between online storage (supporting frequent, very rapid access to data) and offline storage/archiving (used for backups or long-term storage, with infrequent access to data).

Nearline storage dates back to the IBM 3850 Mass Storage System (MSS) tape library, which was announced in 1974.