| With all of the new technologies coming out in both | | | | correct the error. It just doesn't get much simpler |
| the consumer and professional marketplaces, and all | | | | than that! |
| of the talk about Cloudware, it may seem that tape | | | | Some of you may be thinking that today's |
| backup libraries have become obsolete, a thing of the | | | | technology has better ways to do things, but a close |
| past. After all, we have MP3 players that work | | | | analysis shows that these alternatives have fatal |
| entirely off of RAM and little micro-disks. DVDs hold | | | | flaws. A mirror drive, for example, isn't an off-site |
| so much more information than floppies that the | | | | solution; if the computer is compromised, infected or |
| difference can be expressed exponentially. | | | | destroyed, both drives are going to be affected at |
| Regardless, tape backups were our very first | | | | the same time. That may protect you in case your |
| medium, and with good reason. Tape offers a | | | | hard drive itself goes out, but it's not securing the |
| versatility and features that no other medium can: | | | | precious data, and mirror drives won't let you go |
| It's infinitely expandable, very quick, reusable, | | | | back to yesterday either. Without off-site storage, |
| cost-effective, and reliable. The medium still leaves | | | | you risk suffering a total loss of irreplaceable |
| plenty of room for innovation as well. Modern tape | | | | information. The Cloudware concept is likewise |
| backup systems are very different from the ones of | | | | inherently dysfunctional. Uploading your data to a paid |
| even a decade ago. Robotics are advanced enough | | | | service is nowhere near secure enough during |
| to change the tapes for us, adding as much storage | | | | transmission, nowhere near fast enough for large |
| as we could ever possibly need. As we move into | | | | volumes of data, costly and recurring, and still offers |
| terabyte hard drives on our computers, tape drives | | | | no meaningful guarantee that you'll get your |
| are capable of storing petabytes of information at an | | | | information back intact if you do suffer a loss! |
| astonishing rate. In contrast, burning DVDs isn't all | | | | Tape has remained vital archival medium in the world |
| that fast, is nowhere near as reliable as the humble | | | | of professional data management because it works. |
| magnetic tape. The only real way to continue to | | | | Just as your computers have improved and evolved, |
| handle the constantly growing demands for | | | | tape libraries are now quite sophisticated, yet reliable |
| safeguarded data is by tape backups. | | | | and steady. Equally important is the fact that a good |
| Perhaps you're visualizing the antiquated backup | | | | system is expandable, allowing your investment to be |
| systems in your mind's eye. Those enormous | | | | added to when your data storage requirements do. |
| open-face spools of magnetic tape are long gone. In | | | | Existing formats remain valid, there are simply more |
| their place are small, light, dynamic tape cartridge | | | | tapes in each volume. The archived data cartridges |
| arrays. Gone are the days of babysitting a tape | | | | are easily transferred to an off-site location where |
| library as well. No one has to sit and wait for one | | | | the archive is safe. These are all very good reasons |
| tape to finish so that the next can be loaded in. | | | | to continue to use the most reliable and flexible data |
| Cartridges hold a lot more data these days, but if | | | | backup system ever devised. What has served us |
| there's a need for multiple tapes, robotic systems | | | | well in the past is poised to continue to do so well |
| change and store them automatically. These reliable | | | | into our future. Are tape backup libraries still |
| advanced systems even keep everything cataloged. | | | | necessary? Absolutely! A modern tape archival |
| If an error occurs, the tape storage system will | | | | system remains the best security you can have for |
| either handle it on its own or let you know about the | | | | your systems' data. |
| problem, while suggesting what you can do to | | | | |