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   Five Stunning Midrange DLT Libraries Put Your Data Down On Tape |
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By David A. Harvey
When it comes to enterpris
e backup, forget giga. Instead, think in terms of tera and peta. And when it comes to managing terabytes and petabytes of data for offline, nearline and off-site backup, pay serious attention to DLT (digital linear tape) libraries. We're convinced that these soon will wrest the backup crown from DAT (digital audio tape) solutions.
We received Advanced Digital Information Corp.'s Scalar 458 Series, Breece Hill Technologies' Q2.15, Hewlett-Packard Co.'s SureStor DLT Li brary 7215, Overland Data's DLT LibraryXpress and StorageTek's TimberWolf 9730. We also received Compaq Computer Corp.'s DLT Library 15. However, the Compaq product is, at its heart, an HP SureStor Library that has been optimized for the Compaq Insight Manager. Because the unit is an OEM and did not offer DLT7000 drives at the time we tested, we did not include it in our scoring process. These products shared a number of similarities. All shipped with barcode readers and labels; both Overland Data's DLT LibraryXpress and StorageTek's TimberWolf 9730 one-upped the barcode ante by employing a camera system that recorded and deciphered the image of the label, rather than simply scanning the barcodes. These devices also are fast approaching commodity-item status. Plug them in, configure the software and set them about their tasks. Performance is not a differentiator either (see "How We Tested DLT Libraries" on page 124).
The good news is that all six libraries support the power-troika platforms--Windows NT, NetWare and Unix--as well as multiple backup solutions. Most of these libraries broke the average barrier, and two even ventured into the realm of the truly outstanding. But after the tapes stopped spinning in our lab, Overland Data's DLT Library X press stood out. Offering exemplary scalability, an excellent operator panel, superior tape handling and a thoughtful, well-crafted design, the DLT Library Xpress was hard to beat.
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Raiding The Stacks: Array Alternatives 
The DLT libraries features chart
, in Acrobat format.
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To view the Report card.
Communications Breakdo
wn
The missing link for these libraries was alerting and notification via tie-ins to common messaging protocols. The only library to deliver this functionality was Compaq's enhanced version of HP's SureStor 7215. With firmware hooks to its Compaq Insight Manager server management system, the Compaq library can alert administrators to critical hardware information. And, though it's true that tape software, notably ARCserve 6.5, provides a virtual cornucopia of messaging methods, some bits of device-specific information--such as enclosure temperature, drive or robotics failure, or power problems--should be delivered to administrators by means other than the front panel.
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