Ralf.Brown@B.GP.CS.CMU.EDU (07/19/88)
After asking for information on tape backups about six weeks ago, I ordered
a Sysgen SmartImage 60. After a month of use, here are my impressions:
The drive itself works well, though the "SMART" software is misnamed; there
are better ways to do some of the things it does (see below).
Backup speed is OK at about 1.6 megabytes per minute actual throughput, but
could be greatly improved if the software overlapped hard disk and tape I/O
(the tape drive uses a DMA channel). I don't mind that the drive is slower
than it could be, as my use is to pop a cassette in the drive and then go
fix myself something to eat while my disk is being backed up.
While it is possible to put multiple backups on one tape, it is very slow, as
the software reads the entire existing backups to determine the end of the
tape's data. Adding a backup to a tape with 50 megs on it already wouldn't
be worth the time. What the software should have done was reserve a data
area at the start of the tape in which it writes the track on which the data
ends after completing a backup. Then the software would only have to scan one
track, rather than possibly all nine. This isn't a problem for me as I do
daily full backups on three rotating tapes.
The software can be used either in command-line or prompted mode, and includes
a TSR for automatic backups at specified times on specified days (if you're
running a program, it waits until you exit to DOS, then stuffs the backup
command into the keyboard input). The TSR also gives you the option of
aborting a scheduled backup if you don't want the backup when you exit the
current program. There are two separate programs for image and file-by-file
backups. Image backups may be split across tapes, file-by-file can't be
split.
Summary: While the software could be better (especially considering that it's
version 4, with copyrights 1983-1987), the system is entirely adequate for my
needs and uses. I now spend 45 seconds per day of my time doing backups,
rather than 45 minutes once a month on floppies.
The tape drive was $499 from Softway, Inc. 1-800-338-2852. The sales rep
was courteous and well-informed, and the drive was shipped on the day I
ordered it. Tapes are $20 each qty 3, or $159.00 for 10 (the drive includes
one tape).
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