Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!usc!ginosko!uunet!zephyr.ens.tek.com!tekcrl!tekgvs!keithe
From: keithe@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Keith Ericson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Disaster with a tape drive...HELP!!!
Keywords: tape backup systems
Message-ID: <5913@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM>
Date: 11 Sep 89 16:36:06 GMT
References: <1989Aug31.104848.11605@cs.dal.ca> <3566@rtech.rtech.com> <517@uncmed.med.unc.edu>
Reply-To: keithe@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM (Keith Ericson)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Tektronix, Inc., Beaverton,  OR.
Lines: 34

In article <517@uncmed.med.unc.edu> Bron D. Skinner Ph.D. writes:
>It is interesting to hear that others have had difficulties as described
>by these individuals using Alloy tape backup systems...
>...
>I would be interested in how others are handling this issue.  
>Are there reliable units?  Does reliability get better on higher capacity
>tape backup systems (60MB plus)?  Are there alternatives which are about
>equal in cost, but which yield better reliability?

Standard equipment for all AT (Clones) around here is a(n Everex 811B) QIC-02
tape interface card to which one of our several itinerant ("constantly
moving around") tape drives can be attached.  These have proven to be very
reliable and easy to use.  Capacity is 60 Mbytes per cartridge, and the
Everex-provided software prompts for subsequent cartridges as you fill them
up.  Backups can be doen in file mode or image mode.  The manual claims that
the image mode can be used to backup (and restore) non-DOS drives.  It also
claims that (DOS) file restores can be extracted from image backups.  (I say
"the manual claims" becaus I haven't ever tried these: I do file backups and
restores.)  Verification of backup tapes is also available with a "compare"
function.

As I recall, a complete system is in the neighborhood of $850; a single
interface card is around $110.  We buy them from

K.I.S. Computer Center
519 Mantague Expwy.
Milpitas CA  95035
(408) 942-8088

If you call, ask for Angie Wong - tell her I sent you.

kEITHE

Keith Ericson @ TekLabs