Whilst I was stretching a point on DDS-2, I cannot underline enough the urgency with which one should get rid of DDS-2 in any type
of critical data environment.
Now, you might want to investigate replacing the DDS-2 drives with DLT-4000 devices which can be found on the used market for a
great price. You can find DLT-4000 devices that are SE SCSI thus precluding the need for HVD SCSI adapters. Of course, you want to
make sure you use DLT-IV tapes in such a device. You an also look for used DLT-7000 drives, again with DLT-IV tapes, but you will
need to have HVD SCSI controllers on the system.
Also, remember that DDS-4 are LVD SCSI which might represent a connection challenge to pre-PCI systems.
Denys
-----Original Message-----
From: HP-3000 Systems Discussion [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of John Burke
Sent: Monday, June 23, 2003 1:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Service life of a DDS2
Denys wrote about DDS-2 drives:
>
> Two years old. Wow, you exceeded the service life by 20
> months. Congratulations. Now, it's time to look for a real
> backup device.
> Can you spell DLT, any DLT will be better than DDS-2.
>
Four months seems a tad short for mean time to failure. ;-)
Seriously though, it generally depends upon how often you use them. I had a
number of DDS-2 drives that lasted up to two years, but they were only used
once a day to store and verify.
That said, anything else, DDS-3, DDS-4, DLT, is better than the DDS-2. Denys
is right the DDS-2 are notorious for their failure rate. While DLT would be
your best choice, as Denys suggests, your system may not easily accommodate
DLT, in which case a DDS-3 or DDS-4 will give you better reliability than
the DDS-2 and will not cost as much as DLT. Remember you also need at least
one working DDS drive to read media from HP or your third party vendors.
John Burke
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