Guide to Magnetic Tape Drives

Choose a magnetic tape backup system that fits your space and storage needs

If you want to store backups on small tape cartridges, choose a magnetic tape drive system that uses helical scan technology--these are the DAT/DDS, AIT/SAIT, and VXA products. If you want to store as much data on a tape as possible, choose a storage tape drive that has a larger form factor, such as LTO or DLT.

I recommend: Cybernetics' CY-8105 AIT-5 tape drive packs a lot of data (400GB uncompressed) into a small, 3.5-inch form factor tape. If you want a larger form factor tape that backs up faster and can hold more data, consider the Tandberg LTO-4 from Tandberg Data, an LTO drive that can back up 800GB (1600GB compressed) per tape.

Look for "green" backup tape drives

Go green. Some magnetic tape storage vendors offer energy-saving features in their products, such as partial power shutdown when the tape drive is idle.

I recommend: Quantum's LTO-4 HH tape drive has a Green Mode feature, which shuts off power to components inside the drive when it's idle or on standby. HP's Ultrium 1840 tape drive, a DAT 160 format, consumes up to 50% fewer watts per gigabyte than earlier models, according to the vendor.

Use encryption to secure your magnetic tape storage

To protect sensitive data, consider buying a tape-drive product that has built-in encryption, or buying a backup software product that encrypts data as it's backed up to your magnetic tape drive storage. Encryption encodes data on tape so that it can't be easily read. LTO-4 tape drives include built-in support for AES 256-bit encryption.

I recommend: IBM'S TS2340 tape drive is an LTO-4 product that includes encryption technology. Symantec Backup Exec 12 for Windows Servers lets you encrypt backup data as it's being sent over a network or to a storage device and also supports LTO-4 hardware encryption in magnetic tape drive manufacturers' products.