Re: DAT Tape Drive Worries

> David Langley <102456.1106@CompuServe.COM> writes: > Hello, > > I'm new to the P.C. class server world and I would like to > gain some insight on our backup technology. My employer seems to > have a history of DAT tape drive failures. Is the DAT technology > unreliable? If so what is better in the $1k to $3k range. I have seen some other reports on unreliability of DAT drives (not related to PCs, but to the technology). Many others seem to use them with success though. We use them and haven't had any problems yet. > I'd like to hear what hardware and software other 486 or > Pentium class systems use for backup to removeable media. > > We are running informix SE 4.1 on SCO Unix 3.2. with > 4 Gig SCSI hard drive capacity. 30 users max. Another option is QIC-tapes. We use Tandberg drives that we have found very reliable. (Tandberg is a Norwegian company, but i don't think I am biased :). These are available in your price range. I don't remember the maximum capacity that is available now, but it is in the range of several GB. The best technology seems to bee the newer DLT-drives (developed by Digital Equipment i think). They are much more expencive, but they also have a capacity in the 10 to 20 GB range and are faster. We haven't tested these yet. Informix may tell you they support onlye a small selection of tape drives if you use OnLine, but any drives connected via SCSI should work. Using the SE database any tape drive that is supported by your Unix will of course work. Nils.Myklebust@ccmail.telemax.no NM-data, Dalsbergstien 7, N-0170 Oslo, Norway My opinions are those of my company