CDR Sam Where Optical Storage Looks to the Future of Recordable Blu-ray Discs and Beyond

I have to say after several years of using a DLT drive from a very well known American computer manufacturer and having to replace it every year that I wonder about our technology. I see the same Tech every year and we discuss the state of equipment and look at the IBM eServers that are over ten years old and an old IBM DLT tape autoloader that has been running for 10 years. It runs on SCSI and I’ve not been in a terrible hurry to put in an old SCSI (I’m not sure it would even fit with the PCIexpress slot).

This has got me thinking about flash drive backup. Essentially running a PC connected USB Flash duplicator as a port for data sets of drives.

So here is how it works.

You connect the flash drive back up unit via USB to the server.

• Each drive is labeled or has a key label attached on the lanyard. Drives can be stored in a key rack.
• Each drive is the back-up media. Each day is written to one flash drive and then the next day is written to a new drive. Past days can be removed and stored off site.
• Flash drives have no mechanical parts that fail. No tape that jams, no drive heads that wear out.
• The system could have a lockable cover to protect the drives from ‘accidental’ removal
• Each drive would need to be recognized by the back up software as a back up media
• Cycle the drives out like we cycle out tapes. Retire them after 2 years.

You can tell I’ve had it with DLT. The drives are not cheap by any standard nor are the tapes. Stay tuned.