Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2000 11:16:01 -0800 (PST) From: fbsd-dave <fbsddave@mrcaffeine.com> To: Alex Povolotsky <tarkhil@over.ru> Cc: hardware@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Inexpensive tape changer? Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.21.0003131044310.83927-100000@boris.netgate.net> In-Reply-To: <20000313201345.A47256@over.ru>
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The changers I've used supported standard SCSI tape changer commands and were nearly equivalent as far as implementation was concerned. If it's a changer, and it's SCSI, you should be okay as far as 'nix compatibility is concerned, AFAIK. (Has anyone seen a non-SCSI changer?) However, price and dependability are almost proportional. I'll swear on DLT, and _at_ DAT long after the rest of my hairs go grey. I tried numerous manufacturers and models of DAT since it intro'd through late DDS2, (lots of drives & mfgs.) and none were stable enough for daily production use. DLT however has been flawless. Really. Not a single tape/drive failure in ~2.5yrs. But yes, they cost more. (If you're just looking for a few drives, check ebay. New and used DLTs sell there for great prices.) I'd love to hear experiences with production use of modern 8mm or even non-DAT 4mm. To throw in a curve, a hybrid tape/IDE disk backup solution can work well, especially with limited budgets. IDE drives are quickly approaching $5/GB, and they're faster than any tape. Combine cheaper tapes and disks with some kind of epoch/incremental strategy and you can sometimes cheat the changer pricing gods. Depends on your needs of course. Hope you don't mind me throwing in a small rant, but don't forget to plan your backups. Too few admins really think about what should be backed up, or when, and instead rely on cheap tape. The plan and the media go hand in hand; neither do well on their own. Dave On Mon, 13 Mar 2000, Alex Povolotsky wrote: > Date: Mon, 13 Mar 2000 20:13:45 +0300 > From: Alex Povolotsky <tarkhil@over.ru> > To: hardware@FreeBSD.ORG > Subject: Inexpensive tape changer? > > Hello! > > Can anyone recommend inexpensive tape changer (SCSI, of course) for FreeBSD? > > I just never had any experiences wiht changers, and don't know what > particular changers will/wont work. > > Alex. > > > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org > with "unsubscribe freebsd-hardware" in the body of the message > To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-hardware" in the body of the message
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