Tape-Based Data Protection

Magnetic tape has been used for data protection for over 50 years and is still the most cost-effective technology for high-capacity and long-term data protection. This is because it offers a number of advantages that have yet to be eclipsed by other technologies:

Data protection needs are growing—and changing—and tape is still a key component.

There is no one-size-fits-all for data storage. A number of different factors and technologies determine how and where data is managed, backed up, and archived.

Media life - Most fixed-disk compliance solutions use low-cost ATA disks with a maximum usable life of only five years. This means data has to be frequently migrated onto other media, rendering it vulnerable to loss or damage. These solutions use RAID technology to protect the data from failing disks, a cost that can be mitigated with longer term, removable media, that is, tape. Using long-term media avoids the need for frequent migration, thereby reducing the risk of data loss or corruption and the costs of managing the data over time.

Overhead - Fixed-disk solutions require built-in redundancy to protect against failure, with multiple copies being stored in different locations, which increases the cost of fixed-disk content addressable storage (CAS). With write-once magnetic disk solutions, data has to go through an application programming interface (API) to provide an un-erasable layer of data protection while data is being managed in the compliance system. The API can also carry out other functions, such as reducing redundant objects and data encryption, and, importantly, assigning a retention period and locking the data in a non-alterable state for that period. This takes up as much as 25 percent of usable storage—and the API can also degrade performance to a level comparable with removable media.

Data growth - Compliance data is growing by more than 100 percent a year. With fixed disk, the only way to increase data volume is to add more disks, which requires more rack space, more floor space, and, therefore, more money. The solution is to move the data down to the next tier and store it on tape.

Compliance - Storing compliance data on WORM tape media minimizes the amount of data that needs to be backed up on fixed-disk devices. This leads to more efficient use of online hardware.

Costs - A multi-level archive solution saves money by taking storage offline. The cost of expanding capacity is the cost of new tape cartridges, not more hardware. Moreover, data written to tape does not need to be protected because any drive failure will be independent of the media. By using removable write-once media, data protection takes place in the drive’s firmware and does not rely on an API to ensure the data is unalterable.