Graham,

        I sympathize with your plight of trying to cut expenses.  We too
started off using only IBM media.  Great media, least problems of any I have
used.  Some of the original tapes we purchased (over 3 years ago) are still
in production with no problems.

        I tried some of many brands.  IMHO, they all have problems.  The
problems seem to be on a manufacturing lot by lot basis, and not by
manufacturer.

        IBM does not make their own media.  I forget who it is made by
(Imation comes to mind, but that may not be correct).  Anyway, we purchased
100 tapes from them.  I had a failure rate of over 50% out of the box! (To
me a failure is one or more write errors, two or more read errors.)

        Currently we have found Sony to be the least expensive.  And they
seem OK.  We have tried IBM, Imation, Sony, Fuji, Maxell, and TDK.

        I understand that there are only about 3 media manufacturers for all
magnetic media world wide anymore.  And the brands we see all come from
those 3 under license from the various brands.  The brands have to do with
marketing.  The difference between the brands seems to come from testing
each tape.  Since LTO are pre-formatted tapes [someone has to mount and
write the timing tracks :) on the physical media] I would guess that is when
they are culled for different levels of reliability.

        Using other than IBM tapes (and possibly with them), it seems that
cleaning each drive AT LEAST once per week is imperative, rather than
waiting till the drive says it needs cleaning.  The IBMs do seem to leave
lest 'dust' or residue on the heads.

        I hope this helps.  If you find a 'magic bullet' media source,
please let us know! (Super reliable media, Super cheap, Super service)

... Jack

-----Original Message-----
From: Graham Stewart [mailto:graham.stewart AT UTORONTO DOT CA]
Sent: Thursday, November 25, 2004 2:52 PM
To: ADSM-L AT VM.MARIST DOT EDU
Subject: LTO Media

Hi,

Up to now we've been using IBM branded LTO1 tapes in out 3584 library
(AIX server, TSM 5.2.2.5).  I've found a reseller who's willing to sell
FUJI branded tapes at about 1/2 the cost.  Does anyone have any comment
on tape manufacturers to avoid (or flock to) for LTO media.  Any issues
with mixing media from different makers?

I'm assuming that there should be no problem here, but you never know ...

Thanks,

--
Graham Stewart
Network and Storage Services Manager, Information Technology Services
University of Toronto Library
130 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario                graham.stewart AT utoronto DOT ca
Canada   M5S 1A5                Phone: 416-978-6337 | Fax: 416-978-1668