Hi
I have TANDBERG TS400 tape drive installed on Windows 7. I don't want to use any expensive or weird backup software. I want view my tape as a disk drive. I mean I wish using my tandberg "as a pendrive" - just ctrl-c/crl-v my files on it. Do you have any ideas how to emulate this? oops
Tapes are sequential only devices. All can do with with a tape is append data. If you write a block in the middle of a tape, everything after that new block is in effect deleted. I am not sure if all tapes will allow you write in the middle, but only append.
In the 80s there were programs to make tape drives look like disks. These relied on having multiple partitions. In thoes days tapes were cheap, and hard drives expensive. The reverse is now true.
LTOs are very good at storing large volumes of sequential data that can then be removed from computer / site. They are not good at random access (though LTO is better than older ones).
Your eaisest, cheapest solution is buy a pen drive / external disk drive.
Backup on HDD or pendrive is not reliable. I know this from my (and my company) experience
So I can write on the tape only once and I can't add any file after that process ? Are you sure?
You can always append to a tape, but you will have no directory on a tape unless you use a software backup package. You can not update the middle of a tape.
No SINGLE media is reliable, I have seen lots of unreadable tapes over 25 years.
If you are worried about reliablility, store data on a pen drive AND a hard drive, and keep them in different locations. Depending on your requirements (volume of data), consider on line backup - which takes data offsite.
Ok I understand, but we are on wrong way in this topic.
Let's make an example
I have two LTO2 tapes (200GB) and 3 DD images (100 GB, 60 GB, 200 GB)
100GB and 60GB on TAPE1
200GBon TAPE2
And after that my boss will ask me "So, you have 40GB free on TAPE1. Just add new files"
My response "I can't, we must use 3rd tape on it. And another one to store next files"
Is it a stupid idea? So once again I'm looking for a software which
- Know how many data is stored on tape
- Can rewind tape on the end of data because I want to fulfill all capacity of tape
A 1TB disk would still be easier and cheaper but…
To write the extra file, position the tape to End of Tape (EOT) and then write, followed by a FM.
There may be status of the chip (in the LTO case) that gives the current tape capacity, but a disk drive is still easier, and less chance of overwriting a pevious part of the tape. OR buy a propoer software backup packahe.