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Cutting through the tape maze
This article is part of the Storage issue of Vol. 1 No. 5 July 2002
Tape has always been the media of choice for file backup and archiving tasks. Its low cost, portability and simplicity of use make it a perennial favorite with storage administrators. Ongoing improvements in tape drive and media performance, capacity and overall reliability have helped tape maintain its dominating position as the medium of choice for most backup operations. Today, whether employed as an offline safe backup, or online archival storage in automated libraries, tape is an intricate part of any overall hierarchical storage management plan. Following is a brief overview of the most popular tape choices for midrange systems and networking segments, and their technologies, performance parameters and costs. We'll then put on rose-colored glasses and peer into tape's future. Major 8mm formats 8mm tape technology employs helical scan recording methodology and is a reliable method for storing large volumes of computer data. With this approach, data is written in short diagonal tracks across the width of the tape. This is ...
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Features in this issue
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Cutting through the tape maze
All tape is not created equal. Here's everything you need to know about tape formats for corporate backup.
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Chargeback ROI: Does accountability pay?
Chargeback for storage use is attracting a lot of interest. But does it make sense financially?
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Standard IT processes: getting to yes at Intel
How one man helped standardize corporate backup and restore procedures - and lived to tell about it.
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ASK THE EXPERT: What does storage pooling mean? What do you think of it?
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Test before you taste
If you're putting a SAN together, you'll need to test interoperability. Surprisingly, that goes double for open systems products. Some companies are even doing it themselves - here's how
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Storage management building on XML foundation
Storage management software is "like stepping back in time ten years."
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Bona fide iSCSI products ship
With ratification of the standard coming soon, more and more iSCSI products have started surfacing.
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Distance yourself from disaster
Long-distance replication is reachable with new optical and IP storage networking technologies.
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Pushing storage to another level
In the extreme worlds of geophysical computing and genomics, storage managers are learning approaches that will be in the mainstream tomorrow.
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Legato sidles up to Microsoft
Curious about what Microsoft will include for storage management software in its upcoming .NET server?
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HPaq: the upshot for storage
Wondering which storage product the merged Compaq/HP will push?
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Storage industry index
May followed April's dramatic decline.
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NAS: more than just an appliance
New advances in NAS boxes are moving them from mere departmental storage workhorses to servicing mission critical corporate applications.
Columns in this issue
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Don't get burnt in the fire sale
Don't get burnt in the fire sale
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Are your backup processes up to snuff?
Are your backup processes up to snuff? Here's how to rate them.
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Snapshot: How users manage capacity
Do you know how much data you have?