Digital Tape Media - Still Going Strong
- by James Walsh
- Published on 10/16/07
- Article views: 531
The old video tapes were pushed out by the CD and then the DVD. But the tape media used for data storage did not go out of the market, it just metamorphosed itself. The first transition was from analogue to digital. Then came the better, faster versions; ones with more options, more flexibility, better conversion facilities etc. Each new technological advance in the hardware and software sectors were matched by new features included in the same good old tapes.
As a result, the increase in price has been only marginal. The basic format has not changed over the years, it has merely evolved. The DVD costs more than the CD, and the USB drive is costlier than the DVD. The portable hard disk is the costliest. They are all separate storage formats. But if there is a huge price difference between Windows XP and Vista, it would be rejected by the market. Similarly, there cannot be much of a price difference between an old, cranky tape and the newest product on the market. And when we buy the recycled or second hand tape by truckloads for corporate storage purposes, the cost savings is unbeatable.
Problems of Recycled Tapes
A new tape is quite safe, but a recycled tape is not. An old tape has been first used by someone, formatted, and then wrapped up to be sold again. How do we not sell our old CDs and DVDs too then? The reasons are simple. The depreciation would be so high that they would be unacceptable even at ridiculous rates. And it is very hard to ensure data deletion. Recycled tape has some problems too, as noted below.
If you are the seller, you can not be quite sure that all your data has been irretrievably deleted. In the wrong hands, your company data can wreak havoc for you, especially if you do not have a record of it anymore!
If you are the buyer, you may be stuck with dirty old tape in a shiny package. The tape media thins physically with use, and your data will be damaged if stored on it. Imagine being greeted by a terrible mash of your data and old data out of nowhere that had been sitting on the tape!
Dirty tapes would dirty the head, clog it with dirt pieces and finally jam it.
Old tape flakes sometimes, i.e. it literally falls to pieces. These pieces, along with dust particles would create the perfect ingredients to destroy your tape head.
Tapes are even more delicate than disks. You need to have elaborate storage infrastructure to house the tapes. In the case of recycled tape media, you need to have a good storage infrastructure that will control heat, dust, cold, moisture from damaging the old tapes farther.
You would also need more manpower to manage, maintain and label these tapes. A proper physical log needs to be maintained of tape usage, wiping, and reuse.
Scratches are not always visible to the naked eye. Therefore, you may be fooled into buying damaged tape that looks good.
The downtime and recovery costs, as well as the back up costs cannot be discounted. If you are using tapes as back up, and they are themselves damaged, you would be stuck with no options.
How to Buy Good Recycled Tape
These are some of the pointers to be kept in mind while buying recycled tape:
- Always buy tape from people you know. Go through solid and well known industrial references to locate the correct seller.
- Make sure you are given valid papers on part of the seller. You should have full contact details of the seller.
- Do they provide any kind of customer support in case of troubles? It is a very competitive market, and even pirated software can have after sales service, so you could demand it rightfully for second hand tapes as well.
- Run the tape once before buying it. Ask about chances of refund, replacement and resale.
Should You Use It?
If your data is highly sensitive and very precious, maybe you should not. You could try offsite or online storage spaces instead. They are the safest bargain if compared to the other formats.
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. For more information on Data Recovery see http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk
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