RE: tape backup

[Paul Bunn <Paul UltraBac com>]

It depends on how much you want to spend, and the capacity/speed you require.  (My
favorite drive is the STK 9840 which stores 20GB at 9MB/sec (native) and locates
files on tape in usually 3-5 seconds, but the five-figure pricing understandably
puts off most punters).
I think one of the best value drives on the market today is the solutions offered
by Ecrix (http://www.ecrix.com) which uses a high-reliability 8mm helical
solution.  I think the street-price of these are around $750 or so for the
internal units.  33GB capacity and 3MB/sec (native figures without compression).
For a cheaper solution, the Travan5 drives aren't too bad -- 10GB capacity,
reasonable speed ... but Travan/QIC drives aren't as reliable as some of the other
technologies, but they're available for $250-350 for the bare drives, and are
available SCSI, USB, ATA.
Most tape drives, providing they're attached to a linux-supported host adapter are
plug'n'play.  There are of course exceptions if the hardware is funky -- OnStream
(RIP) springs to mind.
The HP DAT drives too are excellent, especially because of the nice OBDR
capability (not sure if there are any linux backup solutions that capitalize on
this yet).
DLT drives are usually chosen by installations that demand *proven* reliability.
They are expensive, and laboriously slow at seeking/locating files, but they've
been around since the turn-of-the-last-century (or at least it seems like it).
Developed by DEC, back in the day... now owned by Quantum.  In this ~$3500
territory AIT1/2 by Sony (and Exabyte's similar M2) are making inroads as the
technology stabilizes and proves itself as a reliable medium.

Regards,

Paul Bunn, UltraBac.com, 425-644-6000
Microsoft MVP - WindowsNT/2000
http://www.ultrabac.com
 


-----Original Message-----
From: James Fowler [mailto:santiago@cx908962-l.mesa1.az.home.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 25, 2001 9:44 AM
To: axp-list@redhat.com
Subject: OT: tape backup


Based on my recent experiences, I want a more robust backup solution.  I
am looking to aquire a tape drive.  As this is not being payed for by a
buisness I need a cost effective solution.  I prefer SCSI (I am using the
Qlogic isp1020 as reported by /proc/scsi).  Any suggestions or ideas?
What is the best drive for the money?  I will be backing up FAT32, EXT2,
Reiserfs, UFS, HPFS, (and maybe other) filesystems.  I would like to
manage it all on my alpha, although I can put it in a x86 box that I have
if necessary (cost/performance driven, etc.).  My apologies for the two OT
posts in one weekend.  Thanks for your help.