Is tape backup really my best option??

ablelardo · 03-03-2009, 03:04 AM

My techie neighbor always raving about how tape backup is the way to go for data storage. But since I am not really the most “tech friendly” person, I do not know if this is too over my head to practically use.

I have a lot of videos stored on my computer that I do not want to lose. He thinks that I have to do tape backup if I am to store them all in one place. Isn’t there another way?

I heard that tape disk backup could be a solution if I can figure it out.

Or the one I find most appealing server backup online ?

A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold. - Ogden Nash

rbalaji · 03-03-2009, 09:34 AM

Get an external hard drive and backup your videos on them. Tape is so 20th century it is not even worth considering anymore. It is slow, it is expensive, it is next to impossible to verify that your data actually got recorded on tape correctly, and it is impossible to verify whether the tape is deteriorating or holding up. I have a feeling your friend's employer is getting rid of tape backup machines and he is trying to do them a favor by getting you to buy one.

If you want offsite backup, you can always back up on a hard drive and leave it at a trusted friends's place or look at services online like Mozy.com or mybloop.com.

And ask your friend whether he has a tape backup machine at home. If he does, ask him to demo it for you. Ask him tough questions like: how long does it take to back up 1 GB of data? How long does it take to retrieve a specific 1 GB of data from a tape that might contain 1000 GB of data on it (remember, tape is linear access, not random access, so the tape has to forwarded or rewound to the correct section before the transfer of data can even start)? What is the shelf life of the tape? How does he know whether the data was recorded correctly? How does he know whether the tape he has recorded is nearing the end of its shelf life? How expensive are the tape machine and the tapes? How much room do they take up (you can carry a 250 GB laptop hard drive mounted in an external enclosure in your shirt pocket)? How noisy is it?

You can tell that I am not overly impressed with your friend's tech savvy...

Godzmarine · 03-05-2009, 02:36 PM

I would go with a mirrored NAS instead of tapes.

ablelardo · 07-20-2009, 01:00 PM

I've also had another friend recommend this product to me for online data backup . Does anyone have any experience with it?

MikenandezNST · 07-20-2009, 01:05 PM

Why limit yourself to having to be connected to the Internet to access your backup?

I would go with the external HDD since they are pretty fast and surprisingly cheap!

**RobinHamilton** · 07-20-2009, 01:50 PM

ablelardo,

I agree with most of the comments above. Get an external HDD and you have 2 options :-

1. Set up your own automatic backup schedule (if you have a software package such as Norton Ghost).

2. Backup manually at your leisure.

I used to use Norton Ghost but as I don't have a lot of data to back up, and what I do have doesn't change much, I uninstalled it and just back up when I want to.

Also, I only connect the external HDD when I want to backup, meaning it is not vulnerable to any viruses, if they should appear on your pc.

They are simple and easy to use. Simply plug into the mains, and plug into your pc via a usb slot, and, Hey Presto! you have another drive to copy and paste to.

Hope this helps.

Rob.

03-03-2009, 03:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
ablelardo Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Win98	Is tape backup really my best option?? My techie neighbor always raving about how tape backup is the way to go for data storage. But since I am not really the most “tech friendly” person, I do not know if this is too over my head to practically use. I have a lot of videos stored on my computer that I do not want to lose. He thinks that I have to do tape backup if I am to store them all in one place. Isn’t there another way? I heard that tape disk backup could be a solution if I can figure it out. Or the one I find most appealing server backup online ? A family is a unit composed not only of children but of men, women, an occasional animal, and the common cold. - Ogden Nash

03-03-2009, 09:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
rbalaji Tech, Microsoft Support Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Chicagoland Posts: 1,193 OS: Windows XP SP3	Re: Is tape backup really my best option?? Get an external hard drive and backup your videos on them. Tape is so 20th century it is not even worth considering anymore. It is slow, it is expensive, it is next to impossible to verify that your data actually got recorded on tape correctly, and it is impossible to verify whether the tape is deteriorating or holding up. I have a feeling your friend's employer is getting rid of tape backup machines and he is trying to do them a favor by getting you to buy one. If you want offsite backup, you can always back up on a hard drive and leave it at a trusted friends's place or look at services online like Mozy.com or mybloop.com. And ask your friend whether he has a tape backup machine at home. If he does, ask him to demo it for you. Ask him tough questions like: how long does it take to back up 1 GB of data? How long does it take to retrieve a specific 1 GB of data from a tape that might contain 1000 GB of data on it (remember, tape is linear access, not random access, so the tape has to forwarded or rewound to the correct section before the transfer of data can even start)? What is the shelf life of the tape? How does he know whether the data was recorded correctly? How does he know whether the tape he has recorded is nearing the end of its shelf life? How expensive are the tape machine and the tapes? How much room do they take up (you can carry a 250 GB laptop hard drive mounted in an external enclosure in your shirt pocket)? How noisy is it? You can tell that I am not overly impressed with your friend's tech savvy... __________________ Balaji Ramanathan Computers - You can't live with them, you can't live without them!

03-05-2009, 02:36 PM	#3 (permalink)
Godzmarine Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 18 OS: XP SP3/ Windows Server 2003	Re: Is tape backup really my best option?? I would go with a mirrored NAS instead of tapes.

07-20-2009, 01:00 PM	#4 (permalink)
ablelardo Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 2 OS: Win98	Re: Is tape backup really my best option?? I've also had another friend recommend this product to me for online data backup . Does anyone have any experience with it?

07-20-2009, 01:05 PM	#5 (permalink)
MikenandezNST Tech, Microsoft Support Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Posts: 1,148 OS: Win Vista Ultimate EditionSP1/WinXPSP3 Blog Entries: 2	Re: Is tape backup really my best option?? Why limit yourself to having to be connected to the Internet to access your backup? I would go with the external HDD since they are pretty fast and surprisingly cheap! __________________

07-20-2009, 01:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
RobinHamilton I helped the forums. Join Date: May 2008 Location: Ayr, Scotland Posts: 66 OS: XP SP3	Re: Is tape backup really my best option?? ablelardo, I agree with most of the comments above. Get an external HDD and you have 2 options :- 1. Set up your own automatic backup schedule (if you have a software package such as Norton Ghost). 2. Backup manually at your leisure. I used to use Norton Ghost but as I don't have a lot of data to back up, and what I do have doesn't change much, I uninstalled it and just back up when I want to. Also, I only connect the external HDD when I want to backup, meaning it is not vulnerable to any viruses, if they should appear on your pc. They are simple and easy to use. Simply plug into the mains, and plug into your pc via a usb slot, and, Hey Presto! you have another drive to copy and paste to. Hope this helps. Rob.