Re: Why SCSI Tape Drives?

[behrenss@muc.de (Soenke Behrens)]

In article <CM69EE.LII@cbnewsd.cb.att.com>,
j.l.walters <bird@cbnewsd.cb.att.com> wrote:
>From article <fmlinCM4uu0.5oC@netcom.com>, by fmlin@netcom.com (Frank M. Lin):
>>What brand/model of SCSI Tape drive should I look for that
>>will work with a RamFAST rev. D (ROM 3.01e) on a IIgs?
>I'd like to ask the question: Should one consider a tape drive at
>all? I base this on experiences here at work where we have bought
>somewhere around 35 tape drives and over 18 have malfunctioned after
>*very* little use i.e., mine was used to back up my PC one time and it
>then broke. (These are supposidly a good brand.)

If they break down that much, they can't be a good brand. What did you
do, buy that A250EPX crap? :)

I have a stone-old Archive drive here to back up on, and it works without
flaw. Same is true for the Exa that's on the Sun. Tape is a good back-up
medium. Advantages versus disk are:

- Secure backups possible (grandfather-father-son principle)
- Can be stowed away in a safe and fireproof place.
- Is not easily disturbed by shock.

Disadvantage is:

- Is sensitive to magnetic fields

A very good backup medium would therefore be MO (like the 3.5" 128MB
or 256MB disks) ... you can put it away, and it's extremely hard
to damage permanently. It's also, alas, quite expensive.

Soenke