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 n/a
Copyright : backupanytime original content.
Redistribution as is : No permission required (with credits)
Modification : With written permission from backupanytime.
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.
Do you use tape? If so, why?
Here are the possible answers.
- It was at one point in time an acceptable if not cutting edge way of backing up data and was a long time in being superceded.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- We know it has been superceded for some time and are looking out for a solution.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. Every day 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.
Conclusion of tape backup versus more modern options.
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 backup types information helpful you can avail of more subject specific detail at; www.backupanytime.com/whitepaper.htm or our website proper at www.backupanytime.com
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