Home |
Last modified: 16-06-2020 |
Soho users who need to back up over 1GB of data have the following options (non-compressed): Castlewood ORB (2.5GB), Iomega Jaz (2GB), OnStream DI30/DI30 Fast/SC30/ADR30/ADR50, Travan Seagate Hornet and TapeStor models, Travan HP Colorado and SureStor models, and DAT drives from various vendors (Seagate, HP, Sony.) Travan drives are more rugged than DAT. DLT and LTO Ultrium are way too expensive for SOHO users.
For smaller needs, Iomega ZIP drive (comes in parallel port, IDE, SCSI, and USB models), the LS-120 floppy drive, CD-R and CD-RW drives, optical drives, and QIC drives connected to the floppy drive.
Yet another alternative is to cluster several hard drives with RAID: Promise provides RAID with IDE drives.
DVD-RAM
Travan
DAT
AIT
Exabyte Mammoth 8-mm drives
Discontinued Products: 8200 | 8200SX | 8500 | 8500c | 8205/8205XL | 8505/8505XL 8700 | 4200 | 4200c | 2501 | 2501c | 1500 | Enspire NS8 Eagle Nest™ External | Eagle Nest™ IDE | Eagle Nest™ LS-120™ Eagle Nest™ Hard Drive | Eagle Nest™ Floppy | Eagle Nest™ Zip® Eagle Nest™ TR-3 | Eagle Nest™ TR-4i Eagle TR-3 | Eagle TR-3 Parallel Port | Eagle TR-4i | Eagle 96
Way too $
Only cartridges?
Only cartridges?
Only cartridges?
Only cartridges?
Tecmar is no longer manufacturing, selling, or servicing Ditto, Travan, or DDS tape technology products.
The PartedMagic live CD contains both the visual partion manager Gparted and the partition/disk cloning application Clonezilla.
After using Gparted to create an empty partition on the hard disk, reboot the PC with PartedMagic, choose to run Clonezilla, and go through the following steps to save partition #1 into an image file in partition #2:
FYI, on a SATA drive in an Atom-based computer, it took CloneZilla 20mn to save a 20GB partition that had 6GB worth of data in it.
Manage partitions and disks with GParted-Clonezilla live CD
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/pclabs/nettools/1711/cover1.html
The Travan models are the Aiwa Travan TD-8001 NS8, the HP SureStore T4e,
the Seagate TapeStor Travan NS8, and the Tecmar OfficeBackup Workstation. In
the DAT category, we tested the HP SureStore DAT 24/e, the Seagate TapeStor
DAT 24, and the Sony WANBacker 9000. All the Travan devices meet the TR4 or
Network Series (NS) specification. And similarly, the DAT devices here comply
with the Digital Data Storage-3 (DDS-3) specification.
Travan, a tape specification developed by Imation, is part of the Quarter Inch Cartridge (QIC) standard that has been around for years. Like QIC, Travan drives are broken down into categories such as TR3 and TR4. These categories actually correlate with a QIC cartridge format. Individual formats are based on the length of the tape, how much data the tape can hold, and how the data is written to the media.
In a nutshell, the Travan specification extends the length of the normal QIC tapes to let them hold more data. The standard QIC 0.315-inch-wide tape, for example, is 400 feet long and has a native (precompression) capacity of 2GB. The TR4 cartridge, the newest Travan specification, uses standard 0.315-inch tape but increases its length to 740 feet; TR4 cartridges can hold up to 4GB of data without compression. With compression, a single TR4 cartridge can hold up to 8GB.
In an effort to make Travan drives more attractive and useful for small networks, Imation later developed the NS8 specification. NS8 uses the same QIC cartridge as the TR4 specification, but in order to have its NS8 stamp of approval, the device must also include internal hardware compression and read-while-write verification. The latter avoids the need for a compare procedure following backup. These enhancements provide increased performance and capacity, two important requirements for a small network. All the Travan drives in this roundup, except for the HP SureStore T4e, adhere to NS8.
What's the appeal of Travan beside the greater capacity of DAT? Travan keeps its following for one important reason: price. Most small networks, after all, are on a tight budget; spending much more than $500 for a backup solution is often out of the question.
On the other side of the argument is bundled software. Travan devices are usually bundled with software that runs on Windows 95 and Windows NT Workstation, but not Windows NT Server or NetWare. And with client PCs coming standard with 4GB and larger hard disks, 8GB of capacity does not seem like a lot. This makes most Travan packages appropriate only for small peer-to-peer networks of five to ten PCs, and for a server-centric workgroup, you should look at the DAT backgroup packages reviewed in this feature.
With a sustained rate of 770 KBps and a total capacity of 8GB, Travan drives are a good choice for both desktop PCs and small workgroups. But for larger networks that need better speed and greater capacity, a DAT drive may be your better choice. Like Travans, DATs are broken down into different categories based on the length of the tapes, as well as speed and capacity. The newest specification, DDS-3, supports storage of up to 12GB of uncompressed data (up to 24GB compressed) and operation at sustained transfer rates of 1.2 MBps. Need more? Autoloader devices are available for holding, and automatically feeding, multiple tapes. For a four-tape DAT autoloader, expect to pay about $2,400--plus some $700 to add this feature to your software.
As speed and capacity increase, so does price. The DAT products in this roundup of products range from $1,569 for the Seagate TapeStor DAT 24 to $2,639 for the Sony WANBacker 9000.
Another advantage to DDS-3 drives is their interoperability. Almost every storage management package, including ARCserve, Legato NetWorker, Seagate Backup Exec, and Stac Replica will work with the DAT drives in this roundup; the only exception is the version of Replica included with HP's Travan model, which works only with its bundled drive. Thus, it's more common for a network administrator to purchase a DAT device without software--springing an extra $695 (list), for example, to buy the Single-Server Edition of Backup Exec. One caveat here is that none of the three DAT vendors provided sufficient information on installing their drives with the reigning backup applications.
On our tests, we found that the SureStore provides high performance at a reasonable price, but it doesn't bundle any software for server-based backup. The WANBacker is also a fast performer, but it's more expensive than the others. The TapeStor proved to be the slower contender, but it offers a reasonable price and will provide server-based software by the time you read this story. From there, it comes down to your own individual needs.
The Travan devices we looked at ranged in price and features from the $299 internal Aiwa Travan TD-8001 NS8 to the $710 external Tecmar OfficeBackup Workstation. Except for the TD-8001, all the Travan packages offered a turnkey solution complete with software that lets you back up your Windows 95 and Windows NT-based workstations. HP and Tecmar also offer packages that include software for protecting NetWare- and Windows NT-based servers. Note that the other drives permit backup of NetWare and Windows NT servers across the network, but this is a slower and less fault-tolerant solution. In addition, whereas the software bundled with the Travan drives typically can work with any other drive, the Colorado Backup included with both of the HP drives is specific to HP-made models.
If you're looking for a turnkey package that will let you back up both client and server PCs, HP's SureStore T4e at first seems best to fill the bill. Unfortunately, it's not an NS8 device and didn't perform well on our tests. The second-best package is Tecmar's, but its options are expensive. Aiwa's TD-8001 offers good performance but no extras, and Seagate's TapeStor is relatively slow and includes only software for use on client PCs. Nevertheless, all of the Travan packages we tested make perfectly decent solutions for small workgroups.
Unless you have a reliable source for DDS-2 120m tapes, the 6000i is kind of a waste of money. The 5000i will put ~4GB on a 90m tape about as well as the 6000i will. If your SCSI bus is terminated elsewhere, and you have a half-height 3.5" drive bay, you can get the C1533A, which is the 6000i without 5.25 mounting kit, SCSI terminator, and Windows backup SW. The 5000i and 2000i are also available bare, C1528A and C1534A, I think. I'm not sure of the mounting requirements of the last two. Any good SCSI backup program should work well. P.S. A DAT repairman told me "I think WangDAT 3400 is better than HP1533. HP gave you faster tranfer rate, but not reliable." I hope he is mistaken, since I already bought a 6000i. I'm happy with it so far...
The C1533 / 6000i will write 60m and 90m tapes twice as fast as DDS or DDS-DC drives. So, even if you don't use the 120m DDS-2 tapes, you will get some benefit. You may or may not think that's worth it.
QIC-type HP Colorado Jumbo 250, Jumbo 700, and Travan T1000 drives
Several nontraditional forms of backup -- CD-R, Zip and ORB removable media -- get a lot of press. A CD-R solution is fine for permanent storage or for creating libraries of material, but a CD-R's capacity is only 650 MB for 74-minute media and 700 MB for 80-minute media; that won't cover most enterprises' backup needs. Castlewood Systems' ORB drives offer 2.2 GB of space, but that's still probably not enough to do a full system backup. And at only 250 MB, Iomega Corp.'s Zip drive certainly isn't adequate.
One viable low-end tape solution is Travan, a QIC (Quarter-Inch Cartridge) technology from Imation Corp. (spun off from 3M Corp. in 1996). Travan cartridges are inexpensive and pervasive, widely available in consumer-electronics stores. Companies that produce Travan drives include Compaq Computer Corp., HP, IBM, Seagate Technology and Tecmar. Travan devices deliver up to 20 GB of compressed capacity (10 GB native), and come in IDE, SCSI, USB and parallel-port versions. Data-transfer rates for the IDE and SCSI versions are about 60 MB per minute in native mode.
A good example of an efficient, low-cost Travan device is HP's 14-GB Colorado tape drive, which is priced at less than $300 and comes with versatile backup software. One feature that keeps the cost down on this drive is its IDE interface. While IDE is slower and less capable than SCSI, the use of an IDE interface takes the cost of SCSI integration off the drive and the cost of a host adapter off the server or client.
This type of solution works very well as an addition to an office manager's or network manager's workstation, letting backups be performed from that location. Another advantage is the relatively inexpensive media, with a 14-GB Colorado cartridge priced at less than $40.
For greater data storage needs, you can step up to the next rung: DDS DAT (Digital Data Storage Digital Audio Tape). In this technology, which is more expensive than Travan, the cartridge is physically much smaller but its capacity is larger. DAT was originally created for audio enthusiasts. Its appeal for the manufacturer is the use of helical-scan components, which became cheap and common during the explosion of VCRs in the 1980s. When opposition to the DAT standard from such august bodies as the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) became too much in the home-audio arena, Sony and other creators of DAT put it to use for computer data applications. As an example of this type of solution, Tecmar's TS9400 DDS-4 DAT drive provides a 40-GB compressed capacity (20 GB native) for around $1,000. Transfer rates are about 165 MB per minute in native mode. Drives such as this generally are offered only in a SCSI version.
A close cousin to DAT is AIT (Advanced Intelligent Tape), developed by Sony. This variant on the DAT standard uses similar internal components but higher-capacity media. AIT comes in two flavors, AIT-1 and the more recent AIT-2, the latter offering increased capacity and twice the speed of the earlier generation. Both versions are still shipping. AIT drives use an 8-mm tape technology called AME (Advanced Metal Evaporated): The tape is coated with a very smooth diamond-like substance, which gives the tape a high resistance to wear while simultaneously reducing wear on the heads. AIT-1 drives can hold up to 35 GB in native format, with a transfer rate of 180 MB per minute. Sony sells its SDX-300c internal SCSI drive for about $1,350.
B U Y E R ' S G U I D E
Buyer's Guide: Tape Backup
February 5, 2001
By Steven J. Schuchart Jr.
In the past, people were periodically sent out into massive warehouses to count inventory and verify their company's assets. Now, more often than not, a company's assets are expressed in a complex sequence of 0s and 1s. All that endless data -- even if you handle physical merchandise -- is itself one of your company's most valuable assets, and you must make sure those assets are protected.
Today, the easiest way to do that is with a tape backup drive. For SOHO, small-business and remote-office environments, a single backup drive is all that's needed, yet data backup in these environments is often neglected, getting little or no attention from corporate IT staff -- or from anyone else, for that matter. That is, until there's a crash.
You need to make sure your solution in such environments makes sense and provides a solid level of protection for your data without costing unreasonable amounts of money. Tape is the standard, reliable, non-work-intensive way to pull this off.
Size Matters
While small-business and SOHO requirements are somewhat different from those of larger enterprises, the data in these environments is no less valuable. Not uncommonly, the term "off-site storage" means the office manager is taking backup tapes home at night. Small companies and SOHO environments can turn to a variety of small, inexpensive tape backup drives to fill their needs; some companies, such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Tecmar, offer drives that suit the needs of these environments perfectly.
Among the first things you must consider when selecting a tape backup drive is size. How much data will you put on the drive? You'll want to avoid having to change tapes; if manual intervention is required to change a tape, your chances of finishing backups on a regular basis decrease. For one thing, it's human nature to forget or ignore a daily repetitive task. Second, tape backups are commonly performed at night, during periods of low end-user activity, so it's likely that no one will be around to change a tape if the need arises.
The easiest way to ensure complete backups is to buy a tape drive with the capacity to back up all your data on one tape. Other important factors are speed, compatibility with your software and price.
A Bewildering Array
Several nontraditional forms of backup -- CD-R, Zip and ORB removable media -- get a lot of press. A CD-R solution is fine for permanent storage or for creating libraries of material, but a CD-R's capacity is only 650 MB for 74-minute media and 700 MB for 80-minute media; that won't cover most enterprises' backup needs. Castlewood Systems' ORB drives offer 2.2 GB of space, but that's still probably not enough to do a full system backup. And at only 250 MB, Iomega Corp.'s Zip drive certainly isn't adequate.
The bottom line: Tape drives are a low-cost, reliable solution for your SOHO or remote environment.
One viable low-end tape solution is Travan, a QIC (Quarter-Inch Cartridge) technology from Imation Corp. (spun off from 3M Corp. in 1996). Travan cartridges are inexpensive and pervasive, widely available in consumer-electronics stores. Companies that produce Travan drives include Compaq Computer Corp., HP, IBM, Seagate Technology and Tecmar. Travan devices deliver up to 20 GB of compressed capacity (10 GB native), and come in IDE, SCSI, USB and parallel-port versions. Data-transfer rates for the IDE and SCSI versions are about 60 MB per minute in native mode.
A good example of an efficient, low-cost Travan device is HP's 14-GB Colorado tape drive, which is priced at less than $300 and comes with versatile backup software. One feature that keeps the cost down on this drive is its IDE interface. While IDE is slower and less capable than SCSI, the use of an IDE interface takes the cost of SCSI integration off the drive and the cost of a host adapter off the server or client.
This type of solution works very well as an addition to an office manager's or network manager's workstation, letting backups be performed from that location. Another advantage is the relatively inexpensive media, with a 14-GB Colorado cartridge priced at less than $40.
For greater data storage needs, you can step up to the next rung: DDS DAT (Digital Data Storage Digital Audio Tape). In this technology, which is more expensive than Travan, the cartridge is physically much smaller but its capacity is larger. DAT was originally created for audio enthusiasts. Its appeal for the manufacturer is the use of helical-scan components, which became cheap and common during the explosion of VCRs in the 1980s. When opposition to the DAT standard from such august bodies as the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) became too much in the home-audio arena, Sony and other creators of DAT put it to use for computer data applications. As an example of this type of solution, Tecmar's TS9400 DDS-4 DAT drive provides a 40-GB compressed capacity (20 GB native) for around $1,000. Transfer rates are about 165 MB per minute in native mode. Drives such as this generally are offered only in a SCSI version.
A close cousin to DAT is AIT (Advanced Intelligent Tape), developed by Sony. This variant on the DAT standard uses similar internal components but higher-capacity media. AIT comes in two flavors, AIT-1 and the more recent AIT-2, the latter offering increased capacity and twice the speed of the earlier generation. Both versions are still shipping. AIT drives use an 8-mm tape technology called AME (Advanced Metal Evaporated): The tape is coated with a very smooth diamond-like substance, which gives the tape a high resistance to wear while simultaneously reducing wear on the heads. AIT-1 drives can hold up to 35 GB in native format, with a transfer rate of 180 MB per minute. Sony sells its SDX-300c internal SCSI drive for about $1,350.
If your data-backup requirements exceed 40 GB, you'll need to look at some of the higher-end technologies typically associated with autoloader systems. (For more information on automatic cartridge-loading systems, see "Buyer's Guide: Tape Autoloaders.") Autoloader devices are available in single- or multiple-drive format. One type of autoloader uses the DLT (Digital Linear Tape) technology, which was originally developed by Digital Equipment Corp. and later sold to Quantum Corp. DLT drives are currently sold by ADIC, Compaq, HP, IBM, Quantum and others. This technology offers up to 40 GB of native storage and transfer rates of 180 MB per minute in native mode. HP's SureStore DLT1i internal tape drive will cost you approximately $1,450.
Another tape system to consider is Exabyte Corp.'s Mammoth tape drive, a helical-scan system on an 8-mm tape that offers 20 GB of native capacity (40 GB compressed), with transfer rates of 180 MB per minute in native mode. The Mammoth drive is available in several SCSI versions; Exabyte's EXB-8900SLCDi, an internal, narrow SCSI drive, runs about $2,050.
Other technologies can accommodate even more data; for example, Exabyte's Mammoth-2 tape system offers 60 GB of native capacity. Priced at around $4,000 per drive, however, such devices are a touch on the expensive side for the small-business environment.
Travan NS20 Imation, HP Travan Colorado, Mamoth Exabyte
Software
Computer Associates International, Legato Systems, Veritas Software and other companies sell high-end backup-software solutions for the enterprise, but these products can cost as much as the drives themselves. An alternate solution to consider is Retrospect Server Backup from Dantz Software; at about $500, this could be the ideal package for you.
If you are running a Unix system, you should check out Backup Central (www.backupcentral.com); this site offers several freeware and open-source backup programs, such as AMANDA (the Advanced Maryland Automated Network Disk Archiver), and it will even help you learn to use the software.
The contenders are HP's Colorado 14GB (IDE and parallel port interface, $355), HP's 20GB SureStore T20i (SCSI, $519), OnStream's 30GB DI30 (IDE, $299) and SC30 (SCSI,$499), Seagate's 20GB TapeStor (IDE and SCSI, $377 and $559, respectively), and Tecmar's classy 20GB NS20 IDE drive ($695). Except for HP's parallel port drive, all the drives we tested were internal models. You can buy external versions of the SCSI drives--but expect to pay from $80 to $100 more for them. Because the internal SCSI models already cost from $150 to $200 more than IDE counterparts, external drives can get expensive. Still, you may need to choose one of them if you're out of drive bays.
http://www.datazonecorp.com/products_dbay_specs.html
http://www.networkcomputing.com/1203/1203buyers2.html
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,11159,00.asp
http://www.tecmar.com/ Tecmar is no longer manufacturing, selling, or servicing Ditto, Travan, or DDS tape technology products.
seagate: Hornet/Travan for workstations & PC servers with capacities from 8 to 20 Gbytes, Scorpion/DDS (DAT) for workstation, PC & midrange servers with capacities from 8 to 240 Gbytes
51000HT WANGTEK Tape Drive, 1.2GB
SLR6 TANDBERG QIC TAPE DRIVE
CONNER
SEAGATE
IBM TRAVAN NS 20
HP C4354A HP 5GB, IDE
EAGLE TR-4 EXABYTE IDE TAPE DRIVE, 4-8GB, TR-4
EXB-8500 EXABYTE Tape drive, 8mm, 5GB
From the Linux FTape HOWTO: While this is my personal opinion, it is based on over 9 years of experience with this very question, I strongly recommend Imation/3M media for QIC/Travan user, Fuji media 4MM users, Exabyte/Fuji for 8MM and DEC labelled media for DLT users.