Types of tape solutions
Single tape devices are preferable when there is only a small amount of information that needs to be backed up. Automated tape devices are excellent for multiple cartridges and unattended backups.
Single tape devices
Single tape devices enable you to enjoy the benefits of tape media with your system. They are excellent for smaller companies that may not have much data to back up or to retrieve. If a full backup of your system fits on a single tape, you can perform unattended backups with a single tape device. However, after your backup exceeds one tape, someone needs to be present to switch the tapes in the drive as the backup runs.
Many tape devices support data compression, which increases the apparent capacity of your media by encoding the data to use less space. The data is compressed and decompressed by the hardware each time it is read or written on your tape device and is not apparent to applications.
Automated tape devices
These topics contain information about what tape automation is and how it can help you manage your data and more efficiently carry out your backup strategy. The two types of tape automation are:
- Automatic cartridge loaders
Automatic cartridge loaders can hold multiple cartridges and perform unattended backups. Though they have fewer automation capabilities than tape libraries, you can use tape management software to support automated, centrally scheduled, and policy-managed backup and storage operations. - Tape libraries
Tape libraries can help you perform unattended save and restore operations, archival and retrieval operations, spool archiving, and other tape-related tasks.
