( 1 reviews )
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Posted: Jul 4 2007
Being slightly paranoid about losing data, I have had tape backups for both desktops and servers for years. As my software business grew, I kept adding servers and hard drives, and then the backups went to two, then three, and more tapes. As tape capacity increased, hard drive capacity increased faster. I finally started looking at robotic tape libraries as an investment rather than an incredibly expensive luxury and decided to take the plunge. In the end, the SuperLoader3 was the right choice at the right price. I stuck with proven LTO-2 technology in a compromise between capacity and cost. This year I added a second magazine to increase the capacity to 16 tapes. Integration with BackupExec 10d is seamless and the UltraSCSI interface is fast. I also recommend the Symantec LiveState image backup software. You can't pull an image directly off tape, but keeping images on your backup tapes is true belt and suspenders security. Management of the SuperLoader 3 is easy through a web interface or the controls on the device. I recommend getting a fire safe if you intend to keep backups on site, but for the truly paranoid, keep some backup copies off site as well. In a business that makes money selling time, spending your time rebuilding lost software and data or pulling tapes in an out is not a good use of your time. The investment has proven itself in several recoveries over the last year on desktops and servers, and while I use disk-to-disk backup as well, the tape backups have been invaluable.
