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Alan Dala

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Tape backup replacement

We have a D2D2T solution for backup currently. The tape backup runs only for offsite storage and it keeps data for up to 3 months. The backup runs on a Dell TL 2000 PowerVault with LTO3 tapes. Considering that it's pretty old, the performance degraded significantly, failing quite a bit lately. My first option would be to remove the tape backup all together but from my research, it still looks like the most feasible option out there. Is this accurate? Could the cloud be a solution yet? How about some kind of removable drives that can be stored somewhere? As of now, there are around 5TB that need to be stored. Internet connection is at 20Mb but it might go up to 50 in the near future.

Thank you for your help!
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Hello and thank you for your answers!

As mentioned above, the tape backup is used for archiving purposes. We keep 2-weeks worth of data on HD backups on site. Tape is currently used for offsite storage in case of a major disaster. As specified, we have around 5TB worth of data that needs to be backed up.

Thank you!
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Rob_Jeffrey:

Could you please give me some more details on the solution you're using? Do you have a specific server with hot-swappable drives used only for backup? Are the drives part of a RAID? If they are, how do you tell the backup software to backup to a specific HD?

Thank you!
We have a Dell poweredge running Centos which we use the hot swap SATA drives in.

There is a cron job that just mounts the drives each minute so inserted drives get picked up pretty quick and there are cron jobs that run the backup jobs to the drives.

We just sync files to the drive and use the drives on daily and weekly cycles.  We have a set of 5 dailies which we rotate through each day.  At the end of the month we grab the oldest drive and store it as the monthly and throw in a new drive to the cycle.

We don't expect long term storage out of these - as Gerald mentioned  - tape is better for that.   We are just looking for off site recovery in case the building burns.  As it gets older, the data is less valuable to us anyway.

Hope this helps.
Rob, you need to be aware of the insertion cycle limit on the connectors of your backup drives and mobo. It's all down to the thickness of the gold on the connector, which gets worn away with every insertion. SAS & SATA are not typically very highly rated, USB much more so
...insertion cycle limit on the connectors of your backup drives and mobo
Would adding an adapter at the server end and leaving it there help? Of course, he still needs to consider wear on the external end. I don't know if it's feasible to have and adapter there, too.
Gerald is right.  We are using hardware in a manner is was not designed for and this is something that should be considered.  My setup is definitely ad hoc but has been operating for almost two years now.

That being said, of course the connector is due to fail next Thursday ;)
The easiest way to protect the device connectors is to use a short fly lead on each device, permantly connected to the device. Then the only connectors at risk are the external end of the fly lead and the connecting cable. These can easily and cheaply be replaced e.g. Annually
Rob or failed subtly yesterday and you haven't noticed yet!   :-)
On the external end, prevent the adapter from accidental removal during transport or otherwise by securing it with a whole roll of duct tape. ;)