Hello All,
        I have been given the task of evaluating whether or not TSM is the
appropriate vehicle for long term archiving.  As part of this process I
plan on installing the latest version of TSM on Solaris 8.  I am
interested in which type of optical drive you may be using.  I will not be
testing optical libraries, just a drive.  I have reviewed the list of
supported devices and I am surprised by the lack of support beyond a few
(4) manufacturers. I was thinking of using the Plextor 12/10/32S External
SCSI CD-RW drive but it is not supported.
        As part of the testing I was planning on determining whether or
not  the data I write using TSM requires a TSM server or client to
recover. Obviously if the data has to be retained for any great length of
time I would prefer to avoid any proprietary formats.
        If you have a TSM/Solaris environment with Optical devices, I am
interested in hearing your experiences.

Thanks,
Vint