Here are my 2 cents.

Both Magstar and DLT are good media, but, in my opinion, they serve different
purposes.  The DLT is track for track the cheapest source of data storage 
around.
However you get what you pay for.  This is where performance comes in.  If you
have to load up and scan the whole tape looking for a single file, then magstar 
has
DLT beat hands down.  Think how long it would take to find a file on a DLT if 
it was
located at the end of the tape?  I know I have never waited more that a minute 
for
my 3590 to find and restore a small file.  Also you have to look at queue up 
time.  A
magstar tape can be loaded and scanning in few seconds (especially a 3570).  The
magstar media is suppose to last longer too, b/c the tape actually floats on a 
layer of
air and never really touched the heads.  You can spin the tape more often w/ 
less
wear.

So what it comes down to in my meager opinion is if you are looking for basic 
cold
storage for disaster situations, then DLT will work fine  But if you are in a 
active
restore environment (we restore archive data and use HSM all the time) then you
have to go with the slicker magstar media.

cheers, Ben

PS-  watch for the DLT-10000  it is comming out soon.

"GSHEPPAR@CUUKMAIL" wrote:

> To:         I1017261@IBMMAIL   IBMMAIL -I1017261 *ibmmail.I1017261
> Hi Y'all,
>
> Can someone please explain why MagStar(3570) is a premium tape technology. Why
> should I use it over DLT ? I'm not after technical reasons but real business
> benefits of this technology.
>
> Thanks.