[NTLUG:Discuss] Question about tape drives

[Kelledin]

On Friday 14 March 2003 07:26 pm, Jack Snodgrass wrote:
> On Fri, 14 Mar 2003 19:02:50 -0600, David Ross wrote:
> > I hear you guys/gals talk about tape drives,but why not
> > back-up to cd-r? i'd like to hear some pros and cons
> > and i thank you for your time
> > David
>
>    650MB ish is kind of small. That's the downside.
>
>    I just got a DVD+R for work and plan on doing some
> 4Gig backups.

Even 4GB is smallish for some backup needs.  Plus, before you 
reach the point of needing 4GB backup media, the write speed of 
optical media holds you back.  Fast tape drives actually 
approach the write speeds of desktop hard drives, which is 
something optical media just can't touch.

That, and CD-R/DVD-R media is one-time-write.  Equivalent 
rewriteable media is rather more expensive and has much slower 
write speeds.

Permanent one-time-write has its advantages, though, especially 
if the media is cheap and you like having WayBack-style 
archives.  Barring accidents and abuse, optical media (even 
burned media) is supposed to last far beyond any mortal 
lifespan.  Magnetic tape media OTOH tends to lose data integrity 
over time, even if you lock it in a bulletproof, air-tight, 
lead-lined vacuum chamber.

I personally use both types of backup.  I periodically archive 
work snapshots on CD-R, and I regularly back up /home to 20GB 
DAT cartridges.  I could use CD-RW if I wanted, but so far I've 
had no such desire.

-- 
Kelledin
"If a server crashes in a server farm and no one pings it, does 
it still cost four figures to fix?"