Backups

[richb at pioneer.ci.net (Rich Braun)]

> Another issue with tapes is that they appear to be changing the
> cartridge format every 6 months. I wonder how easy it will be to find a
> drive to read a ten year old tape (even if the tape is still in perfect
> condition).

Less true nowadays.  See the AIT Forum's road map at
http://www.aittape.com/ait-tape-roadmap.html , the technology that is by far
the most cost-effective for small businesses today will also be around in
compatible formats 15 years from now.

AIT-1 and AIT-2 media are cheap today, and if you outgrow it AIT-3 is
available right now (100Gb native-capacity per tape).  The road map extends to
AIT-6.

Past tape media suffered the problem you cite above: a variety of vendors
offering rival technologies that shifted dramatically every couple of years.
If you stick with AIT (or perhaps the much more costly LTO) you will not have
that problem going forward.

But I think you're being inconsistent.  On the one hand you say people should
use a hard drive with rsync.  On the other you say people should insist on a
backup method that allows one to read a 10-year old backup.  In what way will
rsync deliver 10-year archival ability?  What exactly are you recommending for
long-term archival, given the stated requirement of 40 gigs company swap 10
discs in and out of a DVD drive every time they do a backup?

The initial posting requested information about online backup capability.  To
the readers of this group:  have you found a service that can handle 40 gigs
of data in a cost effective way, and provide reasonably quick turnaround in
the event of a 100% loss of data?

-rich