Re: Tape/DVD Backup Suggestions?

On Wednesday, July 17, 2002, at 03:54 PM, Tony Reina wrote:

> Yes, I'm a little wary of hard disk based systems as my sole backup. I
> prefer something that allows me to have at least 2-3 different media
> backups (e.g. one this week, one last week, and one the week before
> last). Also, I like to be able to take a copy of the media home just
> because I'm paranoid that the lab will burn down or something silly
> like that ;>)
>
> I've been looking at the Exabyte systems which hold 80G/160G and write
> at about 10G/hour. Anyone have experience with these? How onerous is
> it to look at the table of contents or restore a specific file from
> these tapes?
>

[Disclaimer: I don't know what kind of drive the Exabyte is, but I'm
guessing it's some proprietary technology.]

My current thoughts on backups are to stay away from anything
proprietary. With standard stuff like DDSx, you can buy the drives from
different vendors (HP, LaCie, probably more) and the tapes from
different vendors (Sony, Verbatim, 3M, etc). The tapes aren't "exotic"
in any way, so you can find them at Office Depot in a pinch. Just look
at DDS1. How long has it been around? 10+ years? I like that kind of
lifespan.

If you get proprietary stuff, you (and your data) are at the vendor's
mercy. If they go belly-up or decide your product isn't worth
supporting anymore, tough luck.

--Jeremy