Tape Storage Technology Is More Reliable Than Disk-based Backup Systems

By Author: Frank Miller
Total Articles: 598
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Backup storage system is vital if you want to secure your business's future and gain competitive edge. The major backup storage mediums are tape-based systems and disk-based systems. I am going to compare both these backup technologies and provide you a clear picture that how come the tape-based technology is more superior and cost efficient.

Backup tape technology is the most economical and reliable solution for data intensive environments. As compared to the disk base systems, the tape storage formats deliver significantly lower operating and acquisition costs. Backup tape formats offer initial savings of 75% and their operational costs have been significantly reduced by 7 times over the past five years. The industry leading tape formats are LTO ultrium tape, DLT tape, DDS tape, VXA tape, SDLT tape, Travan tape and AIT tape.

Advancements in the magnetic recording has significantly increased the storage capacity and reduced the manufacturing cost of tape storage technologies, thus making the tape formats more cost efficient in terms of cost per GB. The backup tapes feature more storage capacity than the ...
... hard disks. The development of latest LTO-5 tape generation has enabled the users to store enormous 1.5 TB information. Data compression technology extends the storage capacity in tape storage formats. LTO, DLT, VXA and SDLT tape formats feature 2:1 compression while the AIT tape format delivers 2.6:1 compression.

Traditionally, the hard disks deliver faster transfer speed that the tape technologies. Therefore the transfer speed of the LTO tape drives have been significantly enhanced to deliver transfer speeds of well over 100 MB per second. This data transfer speed is greater than the SATA RAID-6 and the SATA RAID-5 systems that deliver roughly half the transfer speed.

Data protection is a vital feature in backup storage system. Losing stored information is simply not acceptable. RAID disk systems offer varying levels of data protection. Combination of speed and security versus cost is a key consideration. RAID-10 disk system provides security and performance but is very expensive. The RAID-5 disk technology is more economical but its data protection capability provides far lower assurance that your sensitive information is truly safe. Industry leading backup tapes are listed below:

Sony DDS-4 tape
DGD-150P

HP DAT-72 tape
C8010A

Exabyte VXA-2 tape
11100221

Maxell LTO 5 tape
229323

TDK LTO-2 tape
D2405-LTO2

Quantum SDLT-2 tape
MR-S2MQN-01

Fuji DLT-4 tape
26112100

HP AIT-3 tape
Q1999A

Sony AIT-5 tapes
SDX5-400C, SDX5-400W

Tape storage formats feature read-after-write and error correction systems that ensure superior integrity. You can even restore the information from the damaged tapes, which is not possible in the disk storage technologies. Tape libraries feature housing media technology that helps to remove the risk of damage caused during tape handling. The tape storage cartridges have longer working life reaching up to 30 years.

Tape storage technologies are more advantageous as you can create multiple copies of the backup tape. Creating multiple copies in backup tape storage environment is inexpensive. This does not add much to the overall operational cost and provides a fail-safe protection to your valuable data. On the other hand the disk storage technologies are highly expensive for producing multiple copies.

Frank Miller is the Marketing Manager of Backuptape and markets DLT Tape and SDLT Tape. He has vast experience in the marketing and trading industries and has been helping buyers who have the backup needs and guide clients about the technology.

Frank Miller
3984 Washington Blvd #503 Fremont CA 94538
Tel: 888-686-8273
Fax: 888-449-5050
Email: sales@backuptapes.net