Archiving & Storage

Direct attached storage (DAS) devices are designed to create easily expandable and secure data storage devices. They usually feature multiple drives, and unlike standard portable or desktop external drives, they feature RAID protection options and hot-swap capabilities for reducing down time should drive failure occur. They are designed to address the needs of professional home users or small business so they usually feature larger total capacities.

These DAS devices connect to a single computer via USB, eSATA, Thunderbolt, however if shared access is required you should consider a Network Attached Storage (NAS) solution.

Long term backing-up of data using HDDs and SSDs or cloud storage isn’t practical as the cost quickly spirals out of control. In addition, even the best server HDDs and SSDs only have six year warranty. In contrast, despite its slow performance, tape remains the best format for backup as it offers much lower cost per terabyte and most tapes are typically rated for up to 30 years.

LTO or Linear Tape Open, often called by the brand name Ultrium, is the only remaining back-up tape format in operation today. Each generation of LTO usually doubles the capacity of the tape and compression offers the ability to fit more data onto a tape at a ratio of either 2:1 or 2.5:1.

These LTO tape drives are only compatible with LTO tapes, however all are backwards compatible with older generation tapes. Tape drives can be internally mounted in 5.25in bays, standalone external devices or rackmounted, with either single or multiple slots for added convenience and capacity.