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Follow UsHow Tape Scores
Tape is less expensive and one of the most portable media for high capacity
needs, especially for backup purposes.
Buying Tips for Backup Software
- Calendar-based scheduling to customize backup strategies at the click of a
mouse. - Easy wizards to configure, backup and restore files and applications.
- Ability to backup and restore multiple servers and operating systems from
a single console. - Rotation schemes to easily manage daily, weekly and monthly backup jobs
without user intervention. - Easy to install with the ability to start conducting backups
out-of-the-box
Why Upgrade My Tape?
Capacity of each tape cartridge roughly doubles with each generation (about
18 months) which means the current technology stores four times as much data as
three years ago.
Performance of tape drives also usually doubles with each
generation so that the latest drives are also four times faster. So not only
will your backups now fit on one cartridge, they will finish four times sooner.
|
Media |
Native |
Native |
Cost per |
Cost per |
|
CD-RW |
0.7 |
0.00276 |
1 |
1.5 |
|
DVD-RW |
4.7 |
0.0162 |
4 |
0.9 |
|
DDS-4 |
20 |
3 |
10 |
0.5 |
|
ZIP |
0.8 |
7.3 |
10 |
13.3 |
|
AIT-3 |
100 |
12 |
80 |
0.8 |
|
DLT VS160 |
80 |
8 |
45 |
0.6 |
|
DLTtape IV |
40 |
6 |
40 |
1.0 |
|
Super DLTtape I |
160 |
32 |
60 |
0.4 |
|
SDLT--II |
300 |
36 |
130 |
0.4 |
|
LTO-1 |
100 |
15 |
40 |
0.4 |
|
LTO-2 |
200 |
30 |
90 |
0.5 |
|
LTO-3 |
400 |
80 |
115 |
0.3 |
Reliability has advanced with a number of new features making
errors extremely rare, and in the unlikely event of one, easier to recover from.
Compatibility is not a worry as SDLT, LTO and DDS drives have
read compatibility to data created two generations back.
Compliance has driven WORM (Write Once, Read Many) technology
forward, allowing data to be recorded and appended to a tape cartridge but
prevent erasure or modification to meet audit requirements.
Archiving Data-What's the Cost?
Archived data is retained for years, not weeks or months like traditional
backup data. Therefore, organizations need to factor in the cost of storing data
records over the life of the record retention period, not just the initial
software/hardware costs of implementing the data archive.
Hardware Requirements
-
How much data must be archived? What is the projected growth
rate? How long will data be stored? Will the data be backed up to
onsite/offsite tape or disk? Should extra capacity be allocated for
unanticipated growth? -
Will data be stored on disk (generally Serial ATA variants),
specialized appliances, or a combination of disk and tape? What is the
projected average disk and tape cartridge utilization? -
Is WORM support required?
-
What level of RAID protection is necessary for disk-based
systems?
Purchase and Maintenance Costs
-
What is the initial cost of the equipment?
-
What is the warranty period and what are the maintenance
costs after the warranty expires? -
What is the lifespan of the equipment? Will disk systems be
replaced every three years, and tape drives every five years? Will new
equipment need to be purchased before the data expires and is deleted?
|
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Software Requirements
-
Is the archive software compatible with the proposed
equipment? Are any other software products or options required? If so, what
are the costs of these products?
Environmental Information
-
What is the square footprint of the device(s)? How much
does data center space cost (per square foot) in your area? -
What are the power consumption and cooling requirements
for the equipment? What are current electrical costs (kilowatts per hour)?
Source: Data Mobility Group Team DQ