joshuaemory
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DLT vs DDS
Hello all,
I was looking at getting a dell powerVault 112T. When going through the purchasing options I noticed that the DLTVS80 drive for it was significantly more expensive than the DDS4 drive. Would anyone happen to know what advantages DLT has over DDS?
Thanks in advance.
I was looking at getting a dell powerVault 112T. When going through the purchasing options I noticed that the DLTVS80 drive for it was significantly more expensive than the DDS4 drive. Would anyone happen to know what advantages DLT has over DDS?
Thanks in advance.
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Jeff,
I agree with the no one is perfect. My experience is with:
TWO PowerVault T130 (DLT)
ONE PowerVault T136 (SDLT)
TWO PowerVault T120 (DDS)
ONE PowerVault T120 (DLT1)
The only unit that never gave me problems was the T120 DLT1. The two 130's were consecutive systems; one replaced the other after NUMEROUS drive failures. Then the other had a few failures before it finally settled down.
The 136 worked great for 6 weeks, then we couldn't use it for a month
The 120 DDS worked for a while then got jamed and we had to send it back to Dell - they never returned the tapes - WITH backup data.
MAYBE they improved over the past year, but I've used ATL, HP, and OVERLAND systems, and never had such consistant problems.
I agree with the no one is perfect. My experience is with:
TWO PowerVault T130 (DLT)
ONE PowerVault T136 (SDLT)
TWO PowerVault T120 (DDS)
ONE PowerVault T120 (DLT1)
The only unit that never gave me problems was the T120 DLT1. The two 130's were consecutive systems; one replaced the other after NUMEROUS drive failures. Then the other had a few failures before it finally settled down.
The 136 worked great for 6 weeks, then we couldn't use it for a month
The 120 DDS worked for a while then got jamed and we had to send it back to Dell - they never returned the tapes - WITH backup data.
MAYBE they improved over the past year, but I've used ATL, HP, and OVERLAND systems, and never had such consistant problems.
DDS sounds cheaper than DLT and the media is less but when you look at the cost over time you find that DDS heads wear out quicker than DLT and the media wears out much qicker, probably 4 times as fast. With DDS there are guide pins and rollers that touch the recording surface wearing it out, the only thing that touches the recording surface of DLT is the head.
ASKER
Thanks a lot for the advice everyone. You've all been very helpful. Against my nature I've decided to not be stingy and go for the DLT drive...
Good choice!
If you do want to save a few bucks, you can often pick up new DLT tapes on eBay for a fraction of the cost! I have purchased several lots of 5 tapes on there for less than 1/3 the new price.
Just steer clear of used tapes. You never know what you're going to get, and backups are important!
Jeff
If you do want to save a few bucks, you can often pick up new DLT tapes on eBay for a fraction of the cost! I have purchased several lots of 5 tapes on there for less than 1/3 the new price.
Just steer clear of used tapes. You never know what you're going to get, and backups are important!
Jeff
With my past job and a client they purchased SEVERAL dell tape drives and I think the failure rate was 75% - we replaced drives and whole units several times in the first few months of ownership.
I'll admit - this info is a year or so old, but we switched to Overland systems and they worked flawlessly (though I understand recently they've had problems with a couple units, but by this point the units are at least 2 years old.