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Tape - dead man spinning?
Posted by Mark on Oct 14, 2008
Ever since I became involved in the sometimes arcane art of recovering data from tapes there has been the perpetual sound of people announcing that “tape is dead, long live the …”, promptly followed by a further advance in tape technology and the patient pulls through.
What is the future of tape? Why should we keep using it?
30 years ago tape was used to a large extent because it was cheaper than disk. As soon as a file on a mainframe was not being used it was conveniently archived off to keep disk space free. The industry has changed since then and disk is now as cheap as chips, if not cheaper, and disk based systems are taking ground in the near-line storage and backup market.
Tape or disk?
What are you trying to achieve? De-duplication and fast access are key to many backup systems and whilst companies such as Altirium offer services to de-duplicate data within your existing tape archive, for new data it is a process best done using a filing system where real-time updating is practicable, and that means using hard drives. Also, key user and company files can be stored within a virtual tape environment where the data is really stored on an array of inexpensive disks with some degree of RAID type protection against hardware failure, and can be retrieved with virtually no delay.
So, is there any use for tape?
Data backup is not just about guarding against accidental deletion of files, or the need to quickly rebuild a vital server. Data retention is also important for historical data, where retaining access as securely as practicable is more important than a slight over-head in gaining access. Then there is regulatory compliance, the retention of data for a definite length of time so that it can be referred to in the event of an investigation or court action. Pseudo-live systems do not really cut the mustard when it comes to the indelible archive market.
If you want to know that you have an accurate “snap-shot” of data, with very little question of there having been any interference with it then tape, or WORM tape don’t have any serious competition.
Tape is a mature medium, with a serious level of development behind it to make it a good longer term investment. Tapes are designed to have a long shelf life and are considerably more durable than hard disk drives (vital when off-site backup with transportation is required), so once data is to be kept away from the “always-on” multi-Kw heater that is the on-line backup system tape is the clear winner.
Tape and disk serve different but overlapping purposes, one is not better than the other, they both still have a place.
As a Noob, I am always seeking online for articles that can help me. Thank you
Hello Guru, what entice you to post an article. This article was extremely interesting, especially since I was searching for thoughts on this subject last Thursday.