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backup device on tcpip ethernet
Most backup devices are built internal or external( scsi - paralell) connection to the pc. Are there any manufacteres where the tape device is connected with tcpip -ethernet 100 MB connection to an network? Website ?
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While the question seems logical, given all the developments of attaching things and fully utilizing ethernet, there is one basic aspect that can be overlooked and which has made producing such a device impractical and which in turn has necessitated the development of SAN and NAS. That factor is that tape drives are "bound" technology.
Given that a tape drive is a combination of mechanical, physical, and digital processes the hurdle has been creating a tape mechanism - not the interface - that can handle the sustained streaming required to effectively utilize the available bandwidth, and still produce reliable tapes.
The slowest component in a backup configuration is usually determined by the tape drive's sustained streaming rate. A tape unit may be able to stream only 10MBps to 15MBps and so cannot fully use the bandwidth that would be able to be generated by the 100 mbs connection and but would produce significant overhead in moderating the sustainable rate and accuracy of the data. This combination of "bound" aspects and necessity to offload or cache the data while the mechanical tape drive catches up is what has lead to the development of SAN and NAS storage and most recently the iSCSI technology.
I don't know of any particular TAPE DRIVE that utilizes ethernet directly in the manner you might be thinking however there are tape library or tape subsystems that can be included in such a review. In the subsystem arena they really jumped over the ethernet and went fiber while 100M and Gigabit were being refined.
For a quick overview of the problem you might want to read this article
http://www.crossroads.com/products/solutions/tapebackup.asp
Given that a tape drive is a combination of mechanical, physical, and digital processes the hurdle has been creating a tape mechanism - not the interface - that can handle the sustained streaming required to effectively utilize the available bandwidth, and still produce reliable tapes.
The slowest component in a backup configuration is usually determined by the tape drive's sustained streaming rate. A tape unit may be able to stream only 10MBps to 15MBps and so cannot fully use the bandwidth that would be able to be generated by the 100 mbs connection and but would produce significant overhead in moderating the sustainable rate and accuracy of the data. This combination of "bound" aspects and necessity to offload or cache the data while the mechanical tape drive catches up is what has lead to the development of SAN and NAS storage and most recently the iSCSI technology.
I don't know of any particular TAPE DRIVE that utilizes ethernet directly in the manner you might be thinking however there are tape library or tape subsystems that can be included in such a review. In the subsystem arena they really jumped over the ethernet and went fiber while 100M and Gigabit were being refined.
For a quick overview of the problem you might want to read this article
http://www.crossroads.com/products/solutions/tapebackup.asp
http://www.promise.com/product/subsys_detail_eng.asp?pid=13&fid=4
The only downside compared to a removeable tape is that it can't be stored off-site without taking the whole thing away. For price per capacity, it costs the same or less than tape and is faster.