People say Qualstar is one of the best choices:
http://www.qualstar.com/146083.htm (not scalable, but rack mountable)
http://www.qualstar.com/146073.htm - TLS4440 scalable to 4480 (80
slots).
Also check
http://www.spectralogic.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=products.showContentAndChildren&CatID=76
I believe Spectra 20K can be ordered in minimal configuration of 30
slots and 2 drives and can scaled up to 200 slots and 8 drives. It is
rack mountable and takes only 14U (best density in the industry at the
moment).
We have been using an entry level Spectralogic library ( Spectra 2k - 30
slots, 2 drives) for 3 years and we are happy with the hardware
reliability.
fred.korz AT SMARTS DOT COM wrote:
>
> We're looking for recommendations for/against models of tape libraries
> that would support dual AIT-3 drives and at least 12 slots now, but
> leave us well positioned for incremental growth over the next few
> years, both in slots and perhaps drive technologies.
>
> [Let's try to avoid AIT v. LTO v. SDLT v. ... wars.]
>
> We're currently using a Sony AIT-2 stand-alone drive (current use -
> about 4MB/s writing) and a Quantum DLT-4 drive (legacy use - about
> 1MB/s writing). This has served us well for 3 years now, but we've
> just outstripped its capacity, beyond any clever scheduling.
>
> We've gotten lots of glossies and pitches, and some rough numbers from
> various dealers on Quantum, Overland, and Spectrum units among others.
> The trouble is cutting through the hype and getting to decision-making
> information.
>
> Goals:
>
> Reliability - 5 nines not needed, but virtually no unscheduled downtime
> (so far, 2 days *partial* downtime over nearly 7 years).
> Expandability - ability to preserve this investment
> Reasonable Cost control - overspecing and overpricing will kill the
> project,
> but underspecing affects reliability, expandability & investment.
> Backwards compatibility - read existing media pool (AIT-2 and some
> AIT-1) and perhaps recycle it in time for incrementals (O(4-9GB/day)).
> SCSI3 - No SAN available yet
> Straightforward use in Legato Networker Environment - i.e. nearly drop-in
> Fit in 40u or less of 19" rack or shelving (though could have more space).
>
> I currently envision something in the 20-50 slot range, dual drives,
> with ability to initially "cut down" on licensing costs (by using only
> 10-12 slots at first then dynamically increasing licensing and slots in
> use on demand up to full use of all slots), then expand the library in
> 2-3 years now while preserving a reasonable part of the current
> investment. Of course my vision could be terribly off, hence my queries.
>
> The target environment:
>
> A mix 60-75% of backups from software development arm (by weight of
> backups), plus balance from MIS needs of the company.
>
> Existing AIT-2 and old DLT-III installations (drives, not changers)
> stick around (need to read old tapes and large media pool investments)
>
> Legato Networker
>
> Mix of *ix and windows clients - 18 now but growing rapidly, with
> system retirements few and far between.
>
> Plus:
>
> Constant growth of existing infrastructure now approaching 2TB and
> growth of something like 50%/yr.
>
> Full backups running around 400-500GB (much of the 2TB is "recreateable")
> and taking 16 hours (attributable to a mix of occasional network
> saturation, constant drive saturation and some basic old-client slowness).
>
> Recent addition of MS Exchange 2000 cluster (run by MIS).
>
> Building out new server [Sun 280R w/ gigabit ethernet and dual scsi3 lvd]
>
> Fred Korz Manager, Development Support, System Management Arts
> korz AT smarts DOT com 914 798 8546
>
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