Archiware & Tape: A dream team for data backup
Do you need an LTO-based backup/archive system? A solution based on Archiware P5 is always a good choice.
To install a backup/archive system via LTO tape, you need the following components - all of them are available from us:
- Archiware P5 licence
As the exclusive distributor in the DACH region, we can supply you with all licences for Archiware P5 - starting with the modules, through inexpensive bundles to expansion licences. - LTO drive or tape library
We sell LTO drives and tape libraries from Overland-Tandberg and Qualstar. Our employees are trained in this hardware and can of course provide you with the necessary support. - Servers with some storage space
If you need new server hardware that provides the necessary space for Archiware P5 as well as the data to be backed up, we can provide you with it at any time - customised to your requirements. - Network connection
As a full-range supplier, we can provide you with all the infrastructure components you need for a network connection between the LTO drive or tape library and the server.
Advance decisions in favour of expansion
Do you need a tape library or is a single drive sufficient?
The decision as to whether a single drive or a tape library should be used depends on the size of the data volume to be backed up, the frequency of access to the archive and the number of clients accessing it.
Rule of thumb: For smaller data volumes and more frequent access, a single drive is usually sufficient. It is usually cheaper than a tape library and access to the data is also faster.
Larger data volumes and many clients, on the other hand, benefit from a tape library with an integrated tape changer. After all, a tape library offers significantly larger capacities than a single drive.
Which tape capacities and types make sense?
The tape capacity should correspond to the size of the data volume to be backed up. Various tape capacities from 6 TB to 18 TB are available. For backup purposes, LTO tapes of generation 8 (LTO-8) or higher are recommended.
If you need protected tape backups, WORM tapes (Write Once Read Many) are the right choice. These tapes can only be written to once and are also protected against overwriting. This protects the data from human error, programme errors and malware.
Which tape backup software do you need?
Because of its excellent LTFS integration, module-oriented licensing and clear GUI, we always recommend Archiware P5 in this context. With this powerful software suite, you can easily navigate large tapes and restore lost data at the click of a mouse, for example. Archiware P5 also supports the creation of full backups as well as incremental or differential backups.
How high are the demands on the server hardware and software?
By today's standards, a dedicated backup/archive server in the network should have at least four cores, 16 GB RAM and an SSD hard drive. If several jobs have to be processed by P5, each job requires one core. In addition, the appropriate adapters for connecting the LTO drives or the LTO tape library are of course required.
As a general rule, the greater the required data throughput, i.e. the amount of data that needs to be backed up or restored in a given time, the more powerful the hardware needs to be.
If around 5 TB of data needs to be backed up overnight, you need a system that writes at around 200 MB/s and also reads at 200 MB/s. A local RAID on the same server can easily achieve this. However, if the data has to be collected from several servers first, you need at least a 2.5 Gbit network. A fast SSD drive is also an advantage, as indexing is faster than with an HDD.
P5 software runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, QNAP, Synology and NETGEAR. P5 is also platform-neutral in terms of the storage used. This makes it possible, for example, to clone from one operating system to another or to restore files on a different platform (example: the P5 archive server on Linux archives data from Mac workstations). Important file properties such as access rights and extended attributes are retained.
What infrastructure do you need for this combination?
Three interfaces are available for individual LTO drives and libraries: SAS (Serial Attached SCSI), Fibre Channel and Thunderbolt.
- SAS is the cheapest solution, but limits the distance between the drive and the computer to 1-2 metres.
- Fibre Channel, on the other hand, offers bridging up to the kilometre range at a higher basic price.
- Single drives can also be connected with Thunderbolt and USB via bridges from SAS to Thunderbolt/USB. Several manufacturers offer LTO drives with these interfaces. We offer products with two drives in one housing, for example, to write to two identical/cloned tapes.
We know which components work together because we test the connectivity extensively in advance.
Experienced and trained technicians do performance and functional checks and offer quick help in case of failure.
Starline has been active in the sector since 1982 and is a specialist in all aspects of data storage.
Our product managers and technicians are constantly searching for sophisticated server and storage products.
