rick@tmiuv0.uucp (09/12/90)
In article <2371@sud509.ed.ray.com>, heiser@tdw201.ed.ray.com writes: > I have installed Esix Rev. D on an 80386/25 machine. I feel pretty uneasy > about doing work on the machine and not backing it up. Since I have > (what I consider to be) quite a bit of disk space, floppies are out of the > question. It's time to start looking at tape drives ... > > One consultant recommended an Everex unit -- The unit sounded like it > would work well -- but carries a hefty price tag of $1295!! I surely > can't afford that, even though the consultant would provide exceelent > support after the sale. My other objection is that the unit is only > 60mb. Well, you can get some of the other tape drives (you know, the kind that plug into a floppy port), but check ESIX's compatibility list. You'll need a driver for it. ESIX comes with a bunch of them, but check before you plunk down your money. > What kinds of experiences have you all had with various tape drives in > this environment? BTW, the machine has a SCSI controller (Adaptec 1542b) > and a CDC Wren IV (307mb) drive. I'm thinking that one of the new 120 > or 150mb units (It seems that 1/4" is the way to go for compatibility > with the rest of the world) would be better than the 60mb one, as long > as it will read the 60mb tapes. (I don't think I'll need to write any 60 > mb tapes). Personally, I'm using a Wangtek 5150S 150MB SCSI tape unit off an Adaptec 1542A. It shows up as /dev/rmt/stape4 (I have it addressed as SCSI ID 4). So far, I've had nary a glitch. To back up, I do the following (there's probably a better way, but what the heck!): # cd / # find . -print -cpio /dev/rmt/stape4 Works fine, lasts a long time. The Wangtek reads 60MB just fine. In fact, it even seems to write them just fine. I've tried it, but I don't guarantee it (I don't have a manual for the drive). I always use 150MB tapes, they only cost a few bucks more than the 60MB ones. > How much should I expect to have to pay for such a unit? What unit > would be best for reliability, speed, cost, and noise level (the machine > is in my bedroom and will be doing backups overnight). I paid something like $1100 for the drive, but it came in a box with a power supply and such. I wanted it that way, because I also back up my Amiga with it (ain't SCSI wonderful? 8-)) As far as a raw drive (to put in your system case), I don't know for certain how much they are. To my way of thinking, that price was "reasonable", although not the best. You might want to try looking a (GAACK!) PC Week and several other magazines such as Digital Review for sources for the drives. $1100 to back up all of my work easily is quite a bargain, I think. I sure don't have the time to pump a bunch of floppies to back up. If you decide on the Wangtek, be certain to get the "generic SCSI" version of it. They have a version with different PROMs that seems to be optomized for use on Sun systems. What the differences are, I don't know, but I've been burned by Sun-optomized stuff before, although I've not tried the Sunified Wangtek. Better safe than sorry! > Thanks in advance for your comments on this. > Bill Yer welcome. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [- O] Rick Stevens, Technology Marketing Incorporated ? EMail: uunet!zardoz!tmiuv0!rick -or- uunet!zardoz!xyclone!sysop V CIS: 75006,1355 (75006.1355@compuserve.com from Internet) (Opinions are mine. No one listens to me here anyway.) "Lead, follow, or get the h*ll out of the way!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------