Looking for Recommendations for a Tape Backup Unot for a 5 1/4" drive Bay

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M

Mike

I need to replace a worn out tape back up unit that fits into a 5 1/4" drive
bay. It'll back up a maximum of 4GB of data daily.
It needs to have configurable software so the users only need to replace the
tape cartridge daily.

Dell PowerEdge server is using NT 4.0 to be upgraded to Dell Optiplex 260 &
MS Server 2003.
Does MS Server 2003 include back up software? If so, what are your thoughts
on using it?

Thanks in advance,

Mike
 
Mike said:
I need to replace a worn out tape back up unit that fits into a 5 1/4" drive
bay. It'll back up a maximum of 4GB of data daily.
It needs to have configurable software so the users only need to replace the
tape cartridge daily.

Dell PowerEdge server is using NT 4.0 to be upgraded to Dell Optiplex 260 &
MS Server 2003.
Does MS Server 2003 include back up software? If so, what are your thoughts
on using it?

Thanks in advance,

Mike
Click to expand...

The usual solution is to install a Travan tape drive (low in
cost) and use 4/8 or 10/20 GByte Travan tapes (expensive).
As an alternative, you could install a 4mm DAT drive (more
expensive) and use 4mm DAT tapes (very low in cost).

Windows Server includes ntbackup.exe to do the job. It's
basic but it works.

Manufacturer suggest that the life cycle of a tape is around
50 operations. Depending on what you buy, you might find
that a tape-based solution is considerably more expensive
over two years than a solution based on buying a few 2.5"
hard disks and installing them in external USB cases. If
treated correctly, hard disk don't wear and their storage
capacity is much greater than tape capacity.

Having a disk-based solution allows you to restore files
in a matter of minutes instead of several hours with tapes.
 
The usual solution is to install a Travan tape drive (low in
cost) and use 4/8 or 10/20 GByte Travan tapes (expensive).
As an alternative, you could install a 4mm DAT drive (more
expensive) and use 4mm DAT tapes (very low in cost).

Windows Server includes ntbackup.exe to do the job. It's
basic but it works.

Manufacturer suggest that the life cycle of a tape is around
50 operations. Depending on what you buy, you might find
that a tape-based solution is considerably more expensive
over two years than a solution based on buying a few 2.5"
hard disks and installing them in external USB cases. If
treated correctly, hard disk don't wear and their storage
capacity is much greater than tape capacity.
Having a disk-based solution allows you to restore files
in a matter of minutes instead of several hours with tapes
Click to expand...
\

External HDDs are a good idea but they won't meet our requirments
Needs to be no more complicated to users than swapping a tape daily.
Expense is not not an issue. Simplicy and dependability are priorities.
Security policy requires back ups must be stored separate from the server.
Currently we're
locking up the tapes daily in a fireproof safe.

Mike
 
Pegasus (MVP) said:
The usual solution is to install a Travan tape drive (low in
cost) and use 4/8 or 10/20 GByte Travan tapes (expensive).
As an alternative, you could install a 4mm DAT drive (more
expensive) and use 4mm DAT tapes (very low in cost).

Windows Server includes ntbackup.exe to do the job. It's
basic but it works.

Manufacturer suggest that the life cycle of a tape is around
50 operations. Depending on what you buy, you might find
that a tape-based solution is considerably more expensive
over two years than a solution based on buying a few 2.5"
hard disks and installing them in external USB cases. If
treated correctly, hard disk don't wear and their storage
capacity is much greater than tape capacity.

Having a disk-based solution allows you to restore files
in a matter of minutes instead of several hours with tapes.
Click to expand...

I was using two sets of Travan 2/4GB tapes which lasts about twenty months
then discarded.

Mike
 
Mike said:
\

External HDDs are a good idea but they won't meet our requirments
Needs to be no more complicated to users than swapping a tape daily.
Expense is not not an issue. Simplicy and dependability are priorities.
Security policy requires back ups must be stored separate from the server.
Currently we're
locking up the tapes daily in a fireproof safe.

Mike
Click to expand...

I have several sites that use USB disks. Clerical staff
simply swap them each morning, same as they used
to swap tapes. They do not think that getting the USB
cable plugged in the right way round is complicated.
 
Mike said:
I was using two sets of Travan 2/4GB tapes which lasts about twenty months
then discarded.

Mike
Click to expand...

It's not the time that matters, it's the number of cycles.
Furthermore, the figure I quoted came from the tape
manufacturer. I your tapes last longer then both you
and the tape manufacturer will be well satisfied.
 
USB is good but if they aren't disconnected properly the data on the drive
may be corrupt. Do they disconnect using software first? Which back up
software are you using? I can buy whatever I want.

Mike
 
On completion of the backup run I dismount the USB
disk with a software command. I use xcopy.exe for
backing up the data, and ntbackup.exe + copy to
back up the system state. Works like a dream!

You need, of course, at least 3 disks. 5 is better: one
for each day of the week.
 
Mike said:
I need to replace a worn out tape back up unit that fits into a 5 1/4"
drive bay. It'll back up a maximum of 4GB of data daily.
It needs to have configurable software so the users only need to replace
the tape cartridge daily.

Dell PowerEdge server is using NT 4.0 to be upgraded to Dell Optiplex 260
& MS Server 2003.
Does MS Server 2003 include back up software? If so, what are your
thoughts on using it?

Thanks in advance,

Mike
Click to expand...

If, as you say, expense is not your primary consideration, I'd get a SCSI
DAT drive. This won't even set you back that much. Much better option than
Travan.
 
Pharmacists aren't going to do that.
What do you know about the current version of Back Up Exec?

Mike
 
Pegasus (MVP) said:
Furthermore, the figure I quoted came from the tape
manufacturer. I your tapes last longer then both you
and the tape manufacturer will be well satisfied.
Click to expand...
Each tape is used about 2 x month x 20 months equals about 40 uses per tape
before it is discarded.
I back up Mon/Sat using twelve tapes per two week cycle.

Mike
\
 
Pharmacists aren't going to do what?

I'm underimpressed with BackupExec. It works fine
for basic stuff but it is sadly lacking when it comes to
generating a backup report: The report is only accessible
from the console.

Backup jobs (like all automatic processes) have a habit
of failing for any number of unforeseen reasons. I therefore
consider it essential that I get a backup report sent to me
automatically at regular intervals without any user
intervention. BackupExec won't deliver but ntbackup.exe
or xcopy.exe will.
 
"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"

Id, as you say, expense is not your primary consideration, I'd get a SCSI
DAT drive. This won't even set you back that much. Much better option than
Travan.
Click to expand...

OK, any recommendations on drive and software?
Or can you point me to where I can get this information?

Mike
 
In
Mike said:
"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
message
Id, as you say, expense is not your primary consideration, I'd get a
SCSI
DAT drive. This won't even set you back that much. Much better
option than Travan.
Click to expand...

OK, any recommendations on drive and software?
Or can you point me to where I can get this information?

Mike
Click to expand...

You might look at Dell, since you have a Dell server....although most tape
drives are actually made by Quantum.
 
Willl do.

Mike

"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
In
Mike said:
"Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]"
message
Id, as you say, expense is not your primary consideration, I'd get a
SCSI
DAT drive. This won't even set you back that much. Much better
option than Travan.
Click to expand...

OK, any recommendations on drive and software?
Or can you point me to where I can get this information?

Mike
Click to expand...

You might look at Dell, since you have a Dell server....although most tape
drives are actually made by Quantum.
Click to expand...
 
Pegasus (MVP) said:
On completion of the backup run I dismount the USB
disk with a software command. I use xcopy.exe for
backing up the data, and ntbackup.exe + copy to
back up the system state. Works like a dream!

You need, of course, at least 3 disks. 5 is better: one
for each day of the week.
Click to expand...

And what if you need something from 9 months ago?

Greg
 
G.T. said:
And what if you need something from 9 months ago?

Greg
Click to expand...

Then you obviously need a solution based on a low-cost
storage medium such as 4mm DAT tapes. Travan tapes,
on the other hand, are very expensive: They cost almost
as much as a 2.5" disk.
 
Pegasus (MVP) said:
Then you obviously need a solution based on a low-cost
storage medium such as 4mm DAT tapes. Travan tapes,
on the other hand, are very expensive: They cost almost
as much as a 2.5" disk.
Click to expand...

Yes, we use DAT and DLT. I haven't bothered with Travan since my 800MB
Conner. But my question was for the other person pushing disk based
backups.

Greg
 
G.T. said:
Yes, we use DAT and DLT. I haven't bothered with Travan since my 800MB
Conner. But my question was for the other person pushing disk based
backups.

Greg
Click to expand...

He never said that he wanted to keep historical backups. Many
of my clients are accountants, and I take a snapshot of their data
twice a year which I keep on an 80 GByte disk. It's cheap and
the capacity is adequate. Best of all: Retrieval is very fast and
very easy.
 
Mike,

You may want to look at Relative Rev Backup (http://www.datamills.com).
Buy three USB disks and rotate them daily. The software will keep as
many daily/weekly/monthly versions as you wish without multiplying the
backup space (incremental forever). It is designed for unattended
operation (automatically clearing outdated backup versions) and can
send an email with the backup log.

Each backup disk will bear backup history that goes months back, each
completely self-sufficient. So it has a considerable amount of backup
redundancy. It also has a built in algorithm to compensate for
non-regular rotation taking, for example, a weekly backup instead of a
daily if the latest weekly was missed.

Joe Rom King
http://www.datamills.com
 
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