Disk Cartridge or Tape Drive for Backup Exec

[arielc]

I'm in the process of putting together a new backup and recovery solution for our company. I can't decide which way to go in terms of offsite storage hardware. Should I go with Dell RD1000 or the LTO-5 tape drive? I've used LTO-4 before and served me well plus it easy to transport and store. The only problem with tapes are the cost vs disk cartridge. On the other hand, I've read several posts about having problems with Disk Cartridges using Backup Exec. So, could someone point me in the right direction to take?

[CraigV · Accepted solution]

Hi,

If you're looking for capacity, then LTO5 tapes are the way to go. Disk has its merits, but I've seen a lot of issues with the RD1000s lodged on the forum.

If you're going for disk, then make it decent and get a storage array, but tape should be fine, depending on what you're backing up.

Thanks!

[Ken_Putnam]

I agree with Craig about the RD1000s

If you plan on using disks, go with good eSATA drives rather than RDX type

The newer versions (2010R2 and later) handle rotating external drives much nicer than earlier builds

[arielc]

Thanks you guys for your inputs. I'd probably go with LTO-5 drives.