31 Jan
2023
31 Jan
'23
10:17 p.m.
On Jan 31, 2023, at 10:36 AM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
wrote:
Half-inch open-reel 9 track tape seems to withstand the test of time as
well as anything.
The problem with the high-capacity tape used for server backup will be
finding drives and controllers compatible with it in years to come. I
don't know how many people, for example, squirrel away LTO drives of
various types, but you're not going to read that LTO-2 tape on your
LTO-9 drive. Then there's the matter of finding the apppropriate
controller.
8mm and DDS drives are starting to become uncommon. And we all know the
fate of QIC/Travan tapes.
The rule seems to be that if you want to hang onto something, keep
migrating it to newer storage.
--Chuck
When using tape as an archive medium, you must include a plan for refreshing those tapes.
When creating an archive solution, it’s important that the refresh of the media is an
automated process that doesn’t require headcount.
Having a system in place for tracking where all your archive media is, and what it is, is
equally important. Case in point, I’ve spent the last 3 weekends trying to find some
boxes of floppies. I found “them” on Sunday, only to find that they are apparently no
longer in one of the boxes, and that box must be one of the others I’ve found, and it’s
been reused. <sigh!>
Zane