Tape backups What 's a good option? Looking at backup schemes, and wondering if it 's worth...

[G+_Ben Yanke]

Tape backups.... What's a good option? Looking at backup schemes, and wondering if it's worth it.

 

For example, I'm seeing a Sony LTO-6 with 6.25 TB for $30 on amazon. Is that typical? Things I should stay clear from?

[G+_Pat Hacker]

O

[G+_Black Merc]

It was... Back in the 80's and 90's.

[G+_James Hughes]

Tape Backups are slow and sequential. Many better options today.

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

Tape backups are no longer slow. A modern LTO drive can write faster than it's possible to feed it data.

 

The only issue with tape is the initial expense. Takes some figuring to find where it makes more sense to just use external hard drives or make the investment in a tape drive and tapes. A new LTO6 drive if expect to sell for around$1500 new, plus that$40 per tape. A 6TB external HDD is going too run around $325 new. So figure out how you want rotations done, how many copies will be kept, etc.

[G+_Ben Reese]

That initial cost though... Sounds like a good deal in the long run.

[G+_Rud Dog]

Don't forget the physical storage where these tapes are in a environment allowing them to maintain the data.

[G+_Ben Yanke]

Gotcha, so the deal with tapes is: expensive loader, but cheap per/tb cost.

 

I'm probably not quite there yet, but it's good to consider for the future.

[G+_James Hughes]

Travis Hershberger my experience is from 20+ years ago.

[G+_Ben Yanke]

I'm thinking as well...if google and large businesses are using them, it has to be effective in some situations. I was just curious on what scale it makes sense. Travis answered my question!

[G+_jim hatch]

where do you get a lto 6 for 1500.00?

 

I have LTO 5 fibre and LTO 4 SAS I'd unload my lto 4 and lto 5. for a 1500.00 LTO 6.

 

Been a magnetic media guy all my life, a friend was designing Bigfoot drives hehe 5" 1gig platter in the '80s. And learned a bit from me about vertical recording. Dunno if Bigfoot came from that.

 

Sure, save to spinning power hungry drives, pay for cloud, cloud disappears, or you bump your hard drive, game over.

 

Linear tape is king for archive. I suffer DAT to this day, audio repurposed to data.

 

Actually need to splice a rare dat audio tape this week.

 

I don't miss DAT, but was great tech at the time. I don't miss my chemical color darkroom either.

 

And you have a physical item.

 

Now where is that vacation you have on a micro SD?

[G+_Travis Hershberger]

Still using DAT? Yuck. It was the thing to use back in the 90s, and yes, I remember those days.

 

You should be able to find LTO 5 drives for around that $1500, I know I've seen LTO6 for $2500.

[G+_jim hatch]

That's what I asked, someone on this post said or it read like LTO 6 drive for 1500.00

[G+_Ben Reese]

I have no experience with tapes. Is this it? Quantum LTO Ultrium-6 Tape Drive, Half Height, Internal, Model C, 6Gb/s SAS, 5.25", Black, Bare https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F0RJ2XY/

Ebay would probably be another place to look. I'm not sure why this one is so cheap when the rest on Amazon are >$2,000.