[Nottingham] Tape Backup Systems

[Martin]

Jim Moore wrote:
> Consider for a moment:
> 
> Magnetic backup such as tape is pretty much the most robust method,

A very good summary there.

And that has always been the "Achilles heel" of tape. The tape may last
but the drives die and cannot be replaced.

Also, HDD capacities have far outstripped tape capacities and continue
to accelerate away.


That comes to the question of need and cost as to whether you keep
multiple copies of your data on "live HDDs" or whether your need
justifies the expenses and "lock-in" of tape.


[...]
> fast as possible, then you'll need a hard disk. The price of flash is
> coming down like a lead balloon now, so that might be something to
> consider if you need random access to large files. It's all about

Flash may well become an alternative to tape. Another 'disruptive'
technology is whether the various holographic or nanotechnology storage
systems usefully shape up 'soon'.


[...]
> *by "a while", I'll give an example: certain brands of burnable media I
> have used have delaminated in the /drive/. Others have delaminated after
> five years or so. On saying that, I won't knock stamped media; I have
> audio CDs that're better than twenty years old. Still in perfect condition.

Good examples. However, I've had some of the early stamped CDs go bad on
me due to the ink eating through the silver or gold layer from the label
side of the CD. That took about 15 years before suffering playback skips.


Cheers,
Martin

-- 
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Martin Lomas
martin at ml1.co.uk
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