The IBM Ultrium tape drives already hold 100gb (200gb w/2:1 compression),
and I've seen a few setups that hold 14.4tb capacity in a 14 rack unit bay.
check out
http://www.adic.com/US/English/Products/Hardware/LTO/Scalar100LTO/index.html

with a boasted 648gb/hour, a 400gb harddrive wouldn't take very long to
backup at all.

just my $.02,
rw


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> -----Original Message-----
> From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
> Behalf Of Denys Beauchemin
> Sent: Friday, May 25, 2001 2:04 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: OT: IBM - 400 GB hard drives by 2003
>
>
> Greg brings up a number of good points and implores the
> backup vendors =
> to=20
> get into the discussion.
>
> I have been travelling this week, and whilst I always monitor email, =
> this=20
> is my first chance sit down and take the time to properly
> respond.  Mark =
> K.=20
> has already made some excellent comments, I would like to
> address the=20
> questions thusly.
>
> The thread started when someone posted a message about IBM aiming to =
> have a=20
> 400GB disk by 2003.  Interestingly, when I posted a month or
> so ago that =
>
> IBM had released a 48GB NOTEBOOK disk drive, no one got
> scared.  The=20
> notebook disk drive of 2003 should be at about 200GB, as the
> capacities=20
> have been doubling every year for a long time.
>
> However, Greg and several others have mixed up home computers backup =
> issues=20
> and corporate backup issues.  He further entangled the issue
> by bringing =
> in=20
> solid state memory as a possible backup solution.
>
> Currently the biggest problem with home computers is the
> almost complete =
>
> absence of backups.  As an example, on the plane last coming
> back from=20
> wherever I was this week, the gentleman seated next to me
> mentioned he =
> had=20
> just lost all his digital pictures because his disk drive
> imploded.  I=20
> asked him about his backup strategy, to which the answer was, as it=20
> invariably is, "What backup strategy?"  His camera is a 3MP model =
> meaning=20
> that each picture is between 250KB to 1.2MB in size,
> depending on the =
> level=20
> of compression.  Several months or years of such pictures
> will occupy a=20
> shipload of storage.  I explained the easiest, cheapest and most =
> reliable=20
> way of backing this up would be either a CD-R or a DVD-R device.  He =
> could=20
> get a CD-R device for a few hundred dollars and buying
> top-quality CD-R=20
> (not CD-RW) media.  Then it is just a matter of properly
> archiving the=20
> files on a regular basis.
>
> When it comes to home backup, unlike corporate backups, files are=20
> accumulated and rarely modified.  You download MP3, PDF, JPG,
> MOV, AVI =
> or=20
> other such files.  These are big and accumulate very quickly.  The=20
> operating system and virtually all the applications come on
> CD-ROM or=20
> DVD-ROM and do not really need to be backed up.  In the end,
> the files =
> on=20
> which you work are email related and some documents that you
> have.  Even =
>
> the digital pictures you take are usually modified quickly
> and can then=20
> archived.  If you keep up with archiving to CD-R or DVD-R and
> just worry =
>
> about the 1 gigabyte or much less of ongoing projects, your backup =
> problems=20
> are reduced immensely.
>
> Solid state memory currently comes in a few formats and this will =
> probably=20
> increase in numbers.  The most popular format, by far, is the =
> CompactFlash=20
> medium.  Currently you can have CF cards approaching 512MB.
> These are =
> very=20
> expensive, but as with everything else in this industry, except for =
> wages=20
> and taxes, the prices are always falling as performance (capacity, =
> speed,=20
> resolution, etc...) increases.  There is still a disparity
> between the=20
> solid state storage performance and the rotating media storage =
> performance. =0D
>
> The Lexar website (www.digitalfilm.com), home of the best CF memory =
> (IMHO)=20
> shows that a 12X USB 320MB media retails for $900.  That is
> about $3 per =
>
> megabyte.  There are cheaper sources of CF memory, and
> smaller capacity=20
> with reduced speeds cost a lot less, maybe even close to $1
> per megabyte =
>
> (www.sandisk.com  $1.50/MB.)  I selected Lexar for the size
> and also to =
> try=20
> to approach transfer rates of a disk drive.
>
> The Dirt Cheap Drives web site (www.dirtcheapdrives.com),
> shows an 80GB=20
> Maxtor drive for $238.  This is the same drive I have
> installed in my=20
> docking station.  This is about $3 per gigabyte.  One thousand times =
> less=20
> than CF.  BTW, CF is the cheapest and most capacious solid
> state medium.
>
> Now for corporate storage.  First off, the description of
> RAID arrays =
> does=20
> not match my understanding of the current state of hot-swappable or=20
> hot-pluggable disk drives.  In such an array, disk drives
> that go bad =
> are=20
> simply pulled out and replaced on the fly.  The RAID array
> controller =
> then=20
> syncs up the new drives automatically.  The system never need know a =
> drive=20
> was replaced and the mirrors or whatever are never broken.
> The exposure =
> is=20
> when you have more than one drive go bad in the same array,
> at the same=20
> time.
>
> In properly equipped data centers, lightning whilst still a
> problem does =
>
> not need be a critical issue for the computer room.  I lived
> in NC for a =
>
> while, home of the second most popular dumping ground for
> cloud-borne =
> stray=20
> electrons and we took a hit directly on the battery farm of
> the UPS.  =
> The=20
> computers were not affected, but we had to switch to raw power for a =
> while=20
> as they replaced the batteries.
>
> The issue of backup and especially restore is one of money.
> How much =
> money=20
> do you want to spend, or how much does it cost to be without
> your data =
> for=20
> a time?  Given an unlimited budget, one can duplicate or
> triplicate the=20
> environment providing automatic switchover in case of
> problems.  As the=20
> budget reduces, so do the options.  We have RAID arrays of various=20
> capabilities, followed by mirrored disks, JBODs, and finally
> single disk =
>
> drives.  Backups still need to be performed, but the raison
> d'=EAtre of =
> the=20
> backups change depending on the duplication in place.  At the
> low end, =
> the=20
> backup is the only recovery option both near and long term,
> same as with =
>
> the JBOD.  When you start mirroring and RAIDing, the backups
> are more =
> for=20
> archiving, meeting government-mandated requirements and protection =
> against=20
> operator or program errors.  This is when the need for
> on-line backups =
> is=20
> greatest.  There are tape devices that go much faster than
> DLT drives =
> and=20
> they are much more expensive.  Robotic libraries are used to
> prevent=20
> operator error and cut down on the number of tape swaps and
> mount time.=20
>  All these things cost money.
>
> As I said, backup and recovery is really affected by the budget.  It =
> just=20
> depends on your priorities.
>
> Kind regards,
>
> Denys. . .
>
> Denys Beauchemin
> HICOMP
> (800) 323-8863  (281) 288-7438         Fax: (281) 355-6879
> denys at hicomp.com                             www.hicomp.com
>
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