ricwash Posted October 3, 2002 Report Share Posted October 3, 2002 I find myself needing to move into the world of Autoloaders/Librarys. Does anyone have a recommended make/model for these? Any to definitely stay away from? What issues will I have to deal with? I will have Retrospect running on MacOS X for this..backing up two Win2K Servers and 3 Filemaker Servers, 26 Macs, 180 Win2k Prof machines. Thanks, Ric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmyJ Posted October 3, 2002 Report Share Posted October 3, 2002 For a complete list of supported drives, please see the Hardware Search Enginecolor=blue> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricwash Posted October 3, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 3, 2002 I will review the hardware search engine. But I am more interested in actuall experiences. What is supported doesn't necessary translate into reliable practical experience. Thanks, Ric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queball Posted October 6, 2002 Report Share Posted October 6, 2002 We bought a Tandberg DLTVS 640 autoloader that has been working well. It's a good low end autoloader with a DLT mechanism. Only takes 2U of rackspace and it's easy to use. This Tandberg model is manufactured by Benchmark. If you look on the compatibility listing you will find that this is a supported drive. Works well. Retrospect recognizes the loader and switches tapes automatically. If your price range is under $5000 (this unit is about $4000usd) then it's a good choice. For more capacity they have a model called a superloader that uses a superdlt mechanism for about double the price for 3 times the capacity. Don't think the superloader is on the supported list yet though. One other option for the adventurous. If you are not particular about having brand new equipment I noticed there are many good deals for loader equipment on ebay. I know most corporations would rather pay the big bucks for new equipment for support and reliability concerns but a smaller operation that needs the capacity might do alright through this route. For $20k you can get a library worth nearly a quarter million when it was new in some cases. Most of the sellars of this big stuff are liquidators for bankrupt companies or simply disposing of obsolete items for big companies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricwash Posted October 7, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2002 Currently the one that looks to do almost what I need and is within my price is: Sony SDX 500c, an AIT 2, 4 Slot autoloader. I can get this for under $3K. Anybody used one? Is there a better option for around the same price? thanks, Ric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricwash Posted October 7, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2002 Thanks for the info queball...as you can see from my other post even $4k is higher then I can go... -Ric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricwash Posted October 7, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2002 I just learned of this one: EXABYTE AUTOPAK VXA 1X10 660GB $2300.00 EXA-119.00046 Anybody used Exabyte? Better then sony? VXA vs AIT? Thanks, Ric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
queball Posted October 9, 2002 Report Share Posted October 9, 2002 Well is there is a price constraint but you still have time then maybe eBay is a good idea. $2000 doesn't buy much in the autoloader market new. here are some examples from ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2060272067 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2059833299 My personal opinion is that linear tape formats (DLT and LTO Ultrium) are the only way to go. I have just replaced way too many dead DDS and Travan tape units to ever recommend them to anyone. Oh VXA vs AIT. Both have very low market share, though VXA is barely greater than 0%, not many people use them. I would tend to think that AIT will be a more reliable format. AIT is actually used in higher end tape libraries which usually indicates that it's going to work pretty good. I cannot stress enough my fear of DAT (DDS) based mechanisms, it's just flawed technology that should have never left the video camera and audio world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricwash Posted October 10, 2002 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2002 Thanks for the info. I have decided on an Overland AIT LaoderXpress. 665GB Native/uncompressed (1.7TB compressed) Wide Ultra SCSI LVD/SE external 19-slot, 1-drive AIT-1 tape autoloader. I can upgrade it and get a second drive at a later date to increase fault tolerance. All that brand new with warranty and two day ship on replacements for $2800. Again, I appreciate the assistance I have recieved. -Ric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted November 5, 2002 Report Share Posted November 5, 2002 I second the last poster's recommendation of loaders by Overland Data. As a consultant I have implemented a variety of different autoloaders by different companies and have had the least number of issues with those by Overland. They are very solid, and are by and far my recommended brand of choice. I do favor the DLT (or LTO if budget permits) variants over AIT however. DLT is a more robust, time proven platform - which continues to be the medium of choice for the enterprise. -Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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