huff@mcclb0.med.nyu.edu (Edward J. Huff) (05/08/91)
Our lab recently purchased an 8mm video tape backup drive from 3rd Wave. It included Retrospect. The tapes are available from the local video store at $6 to $8 each, and they hold over 2 gigabytes. (Nominal 2.5 gig). We purchased the Retrospect remote 10 pack, and use it with Apple ethernet cards for network backup. We have encountered a few problems: The "compare" option fails when used over the network. Sometimes a backup hangs, and when you cancel, Retrospect remains in the "stopping" phase indefinitely. The problem might be related to the INIT for the Pinnacle Micro MO drive. But usually, backups go fine, and usually restores go fine. Sometimes a restore fails once, but if you start over, it works. My question is, why do I see DAT tapes advertised a lot, and almost no one advertises 8mm video? Even 3rd Wave didn't advertise the 8mm in the latest magazines. Are we going to have a reliability problem? Or is it just that the 8mm costs more than the DAT drive? The tapes are the reverse: DAT costs about $18 per tape, for a comparable amount of storage. We store a LOT of data, which must be retained permantly. If we have to buy another tape drive because of users lined up to backup data, is there a reason to buy a DAT unit rather than another 8mm unit?
scott@gamma.valid.com (Scott Gustafson) (05/10/91)
huff@mcclb0.med.nyu.edu (Edward J. Huff) writes: >Our lab recently purchased an 8mm video tape backup drive from 3rd Wave. >It included Retrospect. The tapes are available from the local video store >at $6 to $8 each, and they hold over 2 gigabytes. (Nominal 2.5 gig). When you say the local video store is where you are purchasing your tapes, I hope this store has a built in computer section!!! DO NOT use video tapes in an 8mm tape drive! I suggest that you use tapes that were designed for the higher quality of data being stored. For example: Sony QG-112M or Exabyte's Exatape 112m. Both of these tapes will store the traditional 2.3 gigs and will be much more reliable than the other video tapes. Or, you can use any tape that has the D8 symbol on it. >My question is, why do I see DAT tapes advertised a lot, and almost >no one advertises 8mm video? Even 3rd Wave didn't advertise the 8mm >in the latest magazines. Are we going to have a reliability problem? >Or is it just that the 8mm costs more than the DAT drive? The tapes >are the reverse: DAT costs about $18 per tape, for a comparable >amount of storage. We store a LOT of data, which must be retained >permantly. If you want to keep your data, you better change tapes. As for price, the 8mm D8 tapes range from about $13 and up for the 112m length. I don't know why Mac companies are not advertising the 8mm drives, but the UNIX companies are. >If we have to buy another tape drive because of users lined up >to backup data, is there a reason to buy a DAT unit rather than another >8mm unit? Not at all. If your users are backing up only their data, which should not be nore that 2.3 gigs, then just buy another drive but buy different tape lengths. You don't need to waste a 2.3 gig tape on a user who only uses 100 megs. There aren't any advantages to having a DAT as compared to an 8mm tape backup unit. scott -- Scott Gustafson (408) 944-4672 me (408) 553-8713 beeper Valid Logic Systems, 3 West Plumeria M.S.-C1, San Jose, CA 95134 Internet: scott@valid.com Scott Gustafson (408) 944-4672 me (408) 553-8713 beeper Valid Logic Systems, 3 West Plumeria M.S.-C1, San Jose, CA 95134 Internet: scott@valid.com
hoepfner@heawk1.gsfc.nasa.gov (Patrick Hoepfner) (05/11/91)
scott@gamma.valid.com (Scott Gustafson) writes: >huff@mcclb0.med.nyu.edu (Edward J. Huff) writes: [ ... deleted stuff ... ] >There aren't any advantages to having a DAT as >compared to an 8mm tape backup unit. I don't know about that. I just finished reading an article about how the DAT tapes follow a less radical tape path. 8mm devices were not designed with computers in mind. DAT tape units were. Doesn't DAT also have a method of quickly reaching a specific point on the tape which the Exobyte 8mm mechanisms don't? We collected data on 8mm tapes from a scientific experiment. The data was read and reread from the 8mm tapes many times (note: written one, read many) and the tapes began to fail. It just may have been something hosed with the 3 units we had, but after about 100 reads, the tapes got tossed! As always, just my thoughts... +--------------------------+---------------------------------------+ / Patrick Hoepfner | NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center \ / America Online: PatrickH9 | Internet: hoepfner@heasfs.gsfc.nasa.gov \ +-----------------------------+------------------------------------------+