Illya Cavlan ([log in to unmask]) wrote:
:   Good question! As we have been on DAT media since mid-'93, I think
:  only time will tell! Hopefully, someone out there has more long-term
:  experience with this media, and can relate some good horror stories
:  to keep us Data Center folks up at night with worry :)...
 
We have been using DAT on several platforms for about 6 years now.  And the
answer is:  it depends!  :-)
 
Actually the best results we have seen are from MPE store and Road Runner
tapes.  About 1 out of 100 seem to have trouble, but sometimes the bad
file can be skipped and the rest of the tape read.  We have many 6 year
old dumps that we are asked for restores from on occasion.
 
Our worst luck is with our Data General Unix boxes.  It seems about 1 out
of 20 are bad, and tar or cpio don't seem to be able to skip bad files.
I'm not sure about the longevity of the Unix tapes because we have only
been using Unix for 2 1/2 years.
 
Also, I think the brand of tape makes a difference.  We have better luck
with HP brand and Sony than with TDK or Maxell.  And, I'm not sure who
manufactures the drives.  The HPs drives have HP labels on them but the
Unix boxes' drives are made by Sony.
 
Hope that helps a little.
Joe