Ensure Long Term Data Security with Tape Backup
Posted by Eric Bornfriend on Thu, Aug 04, 2011 @ 03:11 PM
Some of you reading this might be thinking, “What? Tape? That is so outdated!” But the reality is, using tape libraries and tape drives to back up data is still the most reliable and secure method. Here are a few reasons why tape, and not disk, is used for prime backup security:
Tapes require much less resources and power than disks, which waste a lot of time on de-duplication and reduplication.- The markets that are using massive amounts of raw data are growing. From military video surveillance to entertainment and the media industry, all are driving demand for larger archive capabilities.
- Using tape backup security is also cost effective, costing less up-front and over time to operate, while offering denser storage than disk.
- 80% of the world’s big data is stored on tape.
- Tape backup security is reliable, and has long-life. It offers 10 to -17th up to 10 to the -19th bits in error correction, basically meaning that for any error in 1 bit of data, it can recover and correct for that error into the minutest of details, thereby maintaining the durability and quality of your data.
- New technology is improving upon the recoverability of tape and helping keep them in intact, such as Media Life Management and the T-Series from Spectra Logic.
- Tapes are still used as the quickest method to read and write data.
Disk does have its place, and is recommended for use in storing search and meta-data as well as cache systems. However, in the long run with data you are going to be looking towards tape for maximum backup security and flexibility of use. For example, there are tape libraries that can hold thousands of terabytes of data, but you can also easily acquire tapes that hold lower quantities of data.
In the end, whether you are storing megabytes or terabytes of data, tape libraries and tape drives are great simply for their durability, quality and efficiency. Using tape is foolproof, and still the best medium for data storage on the market by saving money, being extremely reliable and being able handle large amounts of media (up into the Exabyte(s)) that none other can.
