Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!lll-winken!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!usc!samsung!umich!gumby!obryan From: obryan@gumby.cc.wmich.edu (Mark O'Bryan) Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st Subject: Re: Tape Mechanism Keywords: tape, SCSI, TEAC, ICD, backup Message-ID: <1991Jan30.181853.9332@gumby.cc.wmich.edu> Date: 30 Jan 91 18:18:53 GMT References: <59439@aurs01.UUCP> <1991Jan16.184447.14109@d.cs.okstate.edu> Organization: Western Michigan University Lines: 72 In article <1991Jan16.184447.14109@d.cs.okstate.edu> cummins@d.cs.okstate.edu (John Cummins) writes: > > I'm wanting to add a tape backup system to my ICD Host Adapter based > SCSI hard disk system. Does anyone know what kind (brand name/ model no.) > of SCSI tape drive ICD sells in their FaST Backup setup? The tape drive ICD uses is the TEAC MT-2ST/N50 streaming cassette unit, available in single-quantity prices around $400. But I wouldn't rush out to buy one just yet. As someone else here mentioned, ICD uses a custom ROM in the units it ships, which at the very least has a special device ID that its backup software queries for, and that off-the-shelf TEAC drives do not have. Also, ICD does not sell their backup software separately, so you'd have to write your own. It's my understanding that ICD plans to unbundle their FaST tape backup package sometime during the 1st quarter of '91, probably to coincide with the release of the new 2.0 version of their backup software. > I'm interested in one > but I want a reputable mechanism as it will see daily use. ICD doesn't > seem to know (or care to disclose) the mechanism they use so I'm worried that > it may be a cheapo unit.... The TEAC drive is definitely NOT a "cheapo unit" and should stand up to daily use for years. This is the same drive that's in widespread use on both Macs and PCs, and has received excellent reviews for drives in its class (150 megs, 6-7 megs/minute). I've been very happy with the one I've had here at work for about a year. I'm not diligent enough to back up every day, but at twice a week I've never had a glitch. The tapes are rated at 1,000-2,000 passes, which translates into 10-20 years at my frequency. Plus, I rotate three tapes, which gives me some backup redundency and extends things even further. They really are extraordinarily fast, averaging 6+ megs/minute in real- life use. Their only serious limitation is that the current backup software is totally sequential. This means that if you back up, for example, 60 megs onto a tape, when you come back later to restore one small file located at the end, it takes 10 minutes to scan for EOT. The same thing is true if you want to append save sets onto one tape. I have no idea if the v2.0 software will alleviate this situation. Dave Small and Charles Johnson seem to like their ICD tape backups a lot, and I have no serious complaints about mine (I just don't append save sets, which means I "waste" large chunks of 150 meg tapes). The packages go for ~$770-780 at places like Joppa, Micro-Tyme, and Toad. Which isn't a bad price for an assembled: drive, host adapter, power supply, enclosure, backup software, cable, and one tape. Especially if you then amortize that cost by dropping in a 3.5" hard drive in the same box, as I did. Tapes run $25-35, depending on where you get them. Plan on buying at least one or two extra tapes (I have about a dozen tapes, but this is for a business, and some are kept off-site). [One additional proviso just occurred to me. Most hard drives these days have transfer rates in the 500+ kB/sec range. But if you happen to have an older drive that runs < ~300 kB/sec (my old 20-meg Mini- Scribe clocked in around 200 kB/sec), the FaST tape backup isn't fast any more. I.e., things slow WAY down. The reason is that the hard drive can't keep up with the SCSI tape, so the tape has to stop, turn around, back up, then get back up to speed and resync before writing again. This happens over and over again. I wouldn't recommend the FaST unit for drives in this category.] -- Mark T. O'Bryan Internet: obryan@gumby.cc.wmich.edu Paradigm Software Products (makers of Omni-Banker ST) Kalamazoo, MI 49009 -- Mark T. O'Bryan Internet: obryan@gumby.cc.wmich.edu Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI 49008