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Thread: What backup system?

  1. #1
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    What backup system?

    I have a network of 2 workstartions and 1 server, currently without any backup system in place.

    What backup system should I buy? To me, it seems like I have 3 major choices:

    1. Buy a Tape drive system

    2. Use a disk drive based system such as the Maxtor one (cannot remember model number - is it their Personal Storage System or something?) that has 250gb capacity and one button record.

    3. Write to CD

    I have a CD writer already but that seems slow. But perhaps I could use that in conjunction with the disk drive based system. That way, I can back up the critical data every month or so and keep it offsite using CD's. But have the hard drive based system doing daily backups.

    Or, a tape system but are they not slow and costly?

    Your thoughts please.

    Regards,

    Jon

  2. #2
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    Well, this really might depend on how much data you need to back-up. Sure a tape drive isn't the fastest option, but if its a significant amount of data, it is probably as fast as burning to cd's, and definetley easier.

    Tape is also safer than another hard drive. For instance, you can take a tape home at night, so incase something happens to the office, and it burns down or something, you still have all of your data, but with another hard drive, it would be left there and would be just as volnerable.

    If I were you, I would look into a seagate tape drive, possible a dds4, but I am not sure how much data you have, and then a software program like ArcServe. Also make sure you get enough tapes to due a rotation. This prevents from over use on one tape, and also leaves you with a tape to take off site.

  3. #3
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    Disk backup - remember that one backup is no backup. You need a rotation of at least three, better five or six media, to have a really safe and working backup scheme.

    CDs simply don't hold enough data.

    Best low cost tape drives currently are the ADR series drives from OnStream - by far not as fragile as DAT drives, 30 to 120 GBytes (compressed) capacity. From the 50 GByte drive upward, they come with very usable server backup software.

  4. #4
    Senior Member kazuza's Avatar
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    GHOST 7.5 CE + Tape

    Best Solution among all of the above...

  5. #5
    Ultimate Member SPEEDO's Avatar
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    A DVD Burner should give you plenty of space although it would be quite costly.

  6. #6
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    4 GByte (8 compressed to be fair) is nowhere near plenty given today's HDD sizes. No alternative to tape drives, because only unattended backup is reliable backup.

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    I am now thinking about buying an HP SureStore DAT 40i Int 40Gb SCSI Tape Drive. It is probably twice as much as I was anticipating on spending but it might be a worthwhile investment since I will have it for a number of years.

    Questions:

    1. It is SCSI. What do I need to buy to get it to work in my PC? Some kind of SCSI card or something?

    2. Will backup be pretty much automated?

    3. Does backup software come with these devices?

    4. Will it be able to backup my entire network with the standard software they supply?

    Thanks,

    Jon

  8. #8
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    1. You'll need a (rather minimal) SCSI card. Like Tekram's 315U, going for $29 or something.

    2. 4. depends on your software

    3. Drives come bulk or w/ software. Check what you buy.


    HOWEVER. DAT is a highly fragile technology. The fast spinning head drum makes the drives not live very long, and wears the tapes quickly. The tape also is pulled out of the cartridge video tape style, which increases the likelihood of tape spaghetti.
    Even worse, tapes written to by an old, almost-dead drive often cannot be read back from a new replacement drive.

    I repeat: In that price segment, get an ADR drive. They use the proven mechanical solution of MiniQIC cartridges (where the entire tape drive mech is in the tape cartridge, and the tape is kept in the cartridge), drives are half as much as DAT drives of comparable capacity and live MUCH longer. OK, tapes are more expensive, but they also live a lot longer than DAT tape media.

    And they're available in IDE, FireWire, SCSI and USB interfaces, internal and external. As you please.

    www.onstreamdata.com

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    Thanks for the recommendation Peter. Great price for the storage capacity.

    Is it new technology or something? Seems so much cheaper than DAT and I wondered why.

    Jon

  10. #10
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    I told you why. Much simpler mechanical approach, most of the moving parts being in the tape media. This is the exact same mechanical solution that has been used in PC tape drives ever since - both the original QIC 5.25" drives and their MiniQIC miniaturization (remember the 40 MByte drives that hooked up to the floppy controller?) used the exact same arrangement, so did the popular Travan drives. Talk about proven technology.

    ADR drives also use the same stationary head assembly, but replace the old analog recording head with a multitrack digital unit. That paired with advanced ECC tactics makes your data secure. They have auto-adaptive tape speed to avoid excessive tape wear on slow systems.

    Onstream have been around for a few years now; drive capacity has gone from 30 to 120 GBytes. I've been giving them to people, and I own one myself (a 30 GByte SCSI unit).
    Last edited by Peter M; 08-11-2003 at 01:19 PM.

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    Yes, I understand that a simpler tape system should keep costs down. But in reality market forces often dictate price.

    Why would people buy a DAT system if Onstream have a better device at considerably lower cost? Why don't the other manufacturers just do the same?

    Jon

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    Stark Raving MOD Midknyte's Avatar
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    I don't mean to burst your bubble, but didn't onstream file for bankruptcy?

    http://www.smalltimes.org/print_doc.cfm?doc_id=6040

    I wouldn't want you to buy something and then find that out after the fact.

  13. #13
    Ultimate Member SPEEDO's Avatar
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    What I have heard about tape dives is that they have a very high failure rate. Way higher than should be expected............

  14. #14
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    DAT drives, yes. Travan, ADR, and all the unaffordable big iron technologies are sturdy. These drives usually get retired when they're becoming too small or too slow, but rarely ever because they're broken.

    Onstream Data going bankrupt? Hmmm ... seems you're correct, their parent company dragged the tape biz down along with it. Seems they'll be back soon, though.
    [edit: Panic mode engaged. Onstream tape media seem to be in drastic short supply. Excuse me while I order a bunch ...]

    Here's another alternative: Exabyte VXA or VXA2 technology (formerly from Ecrix). Drive cost is in the same ballpark as Onstream's. I have no personal record on their sturdiness though. They have made quite some inroad on the tape streamer market recently.

    Then there's the aging Travan technology, with drives available up to 40 GB compressed.

    So depending on whether Onstream will vanish or not, you have two or three DAT-avoidance alternatives.
    Last edited by Peter M; 08-12-2003 at 06:45 AM.

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    Peter, I once had an Iomega ditto, parallel interface, with the "VCR" style tapes, metal baseplate, exposed spools. 2GB compressed capacity, (roughly) USD $16/tape.

    Well, after a while, the drive just started eating up tapes. The motor would make the tapes spin past the end, snapping them. I don't know if this was due to the technology, or just a really sh*** drive.

    All I know is several years worth of information (96-99) is now all gone. I would have invested in several different media for backup, but I didn't have the time/money/concern.

    Oh well.

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