Backups To Disk: Four Tape Alternatives Put To The Test

The continuing trend towards higher capacity hard drives with lower prices is causing more and more decision-makers to ask themselves whether tape drives really make sense for backup. Streaming tape drives, also called "streamers," have some disadvantages. Handling is relatively fiddly, and in the case of a drive defect, a matching spare part must be obtained before the drive can be used again.

Even a cursory Internet search yields repeated horror stories that users have already suffered. DLT volumes, for example, can be pulled far out of the cartridge, placing a great strain on the tape material. With DAT tapes, reports have surfaced again and again of tapes which cannot be read by all drives. In short: you can't simply trust that your backup tapes will work when you need them. To make backups really safe, you need care, attention and detailed planning - right up to testing for an emergency