| Is tape dead?
Title : Is tape dead?
Audience : Small Medium Enterprise non technical decision
maker level with concerns about tape back .
User I.T. Knowledge 2/10 :Source : http://www.backupanytime.com/whitepaper.htm : Posted : Jan 07 : Reviewed July 07 : Updated Oct 08
Redistribution of text as is : No permission required (with
credits) : Modification of text: With written permission. Image courtesy JE Phandler & Co.
Update October 2008. I can't believe how popular this page is.
So, is tape backup dead? Unfortunately not. Despite
the advances of technology over the past years, never
mind decades, some people continue to rely on tape alone
to backup their data. Tape is in some cases acceptable
as a failsafe. This is where it is not the main backup
system and does not interfere with the main backup system.
- It was at one point in time an acceptable if not
cutting edge way of backing up data and was a long
time in being superceded. This answer was acceptable
some years back but the weakness of tape and strength
of newer options have been obvious for some time.
- It is the only affordable solution. This answer
never had much credence. Tape is not cheap from a
hardware point of view, quite expensive from a media
point of view and very expensive from a management
point of view. None of this however addresses the
main cost of losing data and not being able to restore
it.
- Our I.T. people recommend keeping tape. Ask them
to sign off on the suitability of tape regarding any
data loss in your organization. Their reaction will
be a very good reckoning of their confidence in tape
when they need to depend on it.
- We know it has been superceded for some time and
are looking out for a solution. The acceptability
of this answer depends on the lookout period. Everyday
of inactivity brings you closer to depending on tape
in a real data loss scenario. You don't want to do
that.
So, what can I replace tape with?
There are a multitude of superior options. Granted,
many of them are relatively recent when considering
how long tape backup has been around for. You may have
looked at Disk to disk, N.A.S. or external Raid among
others.
Ultimately, you should be moving to online backup.
You can mix this to retain local backup or an element
of local backup but make sure you inform your intended
online backup provider of any other local backup types
being implemented as one backup type or system may "check"
or "mark" files as being backed up causing
the later system not to include them in its' schedule.
Moving to online backup should not be a big deal. There
are three broad online backup setup types.
Single system move to online backup.
Individual standalone computers in a small or
home office require online backup application software.
Generally these types of setup would never have had
tape and the migration is less fraught as they are moving
from effectively no backup (usb key drives etc) to state
of the art systems.
Small medium enterprise move from
tape backup to online backup or addition of online to
tape backup.
For a S.M.E. you would typically install software on
servers and mission critical systems and these would
backup lesser systems through the network.
Corporate / Govt. body online backup
implementation.
It is rare now for corporations to use tape on an enterprise
level but it may be found in sub office level or for
less critical data archives. Corporations would generally
be better of going for agentless online backup. Agentless
online backup ( general) allows all backups to take
place on all linked systems through one system load.This
allows what would previously have been a major enterprise
wide install to be managed at internal I.T. level with
a minimum of interference whilst allowing for non interruptive
outside support.
Tape backup has held out for a long time. Tape backup
may come back as happens in information technology when
old product types come back with new technology benefits.
If it does, it will have to be very different to its'
current guise.
if you have read this article to this point then the
likelihood is that you are a tape backup user. Outside
of the scare mongering you will see all over the internet
regarding tape being the dinosaur of data backup, you
seriously need to reevaluate your entire data management
approach as a tape system not alone offers weak backup
but limits the retention and indexing capability and
ease of verification. Remember that backup is one of
the few non recursive areas of information technology.
Do not wait 'till it is too late. Make that phone call
today and prepare yourself for.....well, nobody knows
when.
If you found this document helpful you may like to
visit www.backupanytime.com/whitepaper.htm
or our website proper at www.backupanytime.com
If you are a system administrator and would like technical
details please register your interest on our contact
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paper area for I.T. Professionals.
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