Tape Backup

[JLEpperson]

Any suggestions on a tape backup? Can you use compression with PT?
Thanks

[Jules]

Yes exact tips on which box to tick or not to tick in Retrospect would be most apreciated! There is an option there I dont fully 'get'.


I use a DDS3 data dat BTW

Option is: "data compression in software" (I dont have this ticked)

I have verifacation ticked

Jules

[This message has been edited by Jules (edited June 10, 2000).]

[E-an]

Hey Jules,
Im just researching some backup solutions for our studio at the moment.
How do you find the tape system your using i.e. cost, performance, reliability etc?

Would you recommend it?

[Kurtstudio]

Yes, DDS 4 the best and very fast, no on compression, it's just too risky. price watch .com $1000.00 est.Sony SDT-1000. or SDT 11000 which is external.Select tape storage, I use mezzo 3.6.6. and it rocks. I have used Exibyte for years, it's just too slow but stable.

[BDWillis]

I've used Mezzo w/DDS-3 for 18 mo. with no troubles (knock wood…). If I were buying today I'd go for DDS-4… better speed, capacity, etc. Highly recommended for frequent backup/restore/remix situations! I always have Mezzo set to full verification & NEVER use data compression… tapes are cheap enough that compression simply isn't worth the risk. Also, I've yet to have a client object to paying for the tapes… a data tape is media just as a roll of 2" analog tape is, which I'm certainly not going to supply! They're very happy to know that a recall is easily done if they should change their minds about mix details, lyric changes, etc.

Warmest Regards,
Brian

[Integrate]

AIT II. 20 Gig backup. It's not cheap, but very fast.

[Glenn J. Brown]

DLT IV 40 gig native (uncompressed) with retrospect software.
fast, reliable and prices are falling on tape media. 300 mb per min transfers are possible depending on your system (drives and buss speeds).
Glenn

[Howardk]

Just my 2 cents, get a big tape backup unit so you don't have to change tapes and wait around. Retrospec seems to work just fine for me, but you will need the Special Drivers Kit Ad-on ($170) for most of the larger tape drives.
You will often find the Sony AIT(or Seagate, actually Sony) SCSI drives on eBay new for well under $1000. With the newest firmware and the newer 230 meter tapes, these drivers will do 35gig uncompressed. However I do use compression, in my opinion a backup strategy that works for a data server will certainly work just fine for audio. I strongly recommend running verification as part of the backup script. It does add a lot of time but if your backups are unattended who cares. Also spend some money on tapes and circulate tapes so you have a number of separate backup sets for each project. Keep a backup log and cycle through the tapes as you go. . .while always knowing which has the latest audio etc. . .

[EES]

I have an Eliant 820 8mm backup. Its Rock solid. However it is slow and expensive. Most major studios seem to be using this format with success.

[Danny Caccavo]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif">quote:<HR>Originally posted by BDWillis:
I've used Mezzo w/DDS-3 for 18 mo. with no troubles (knock wood…). If I were buying today I'd go for DDS-4… better speed, capacity, etc. Highly recommended for frequent backup/restore/remix situations! I always have Mezzo set to full verification & NEVER use data compression… tapes are cheap enough that compression simply isn't worth the risk. Also, I've yet to have a client object to paying for the tapes… a data tape is media just as a roll of 2" analog tape is, which I'm certainly not going to supply! They're very happy to know that a recall is easily done if they should change their minds about mix details, lyric changes, etc.

Warmest Regards,
Brian<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

FWIW, on most DDS drives, the hardware compression defaults to "on" anyway....you might be using compression and not be aware of it. If the drive defaults to "on", it will compress, regardless of what you tell Mezzo to do.

Really nothing to worry about. It's especially good if you have lots of quiet or silent passages. With really loud stuff, it doesn't really compress that much.

I found that with Mezzo, verification is actually FASTER with "full verify" than "partial", at least with DDS-2.

dc