Hi Joel

"I'm doing an eval of several different ATA based arrays in the next couple
of months so I'll be able to give a better idea of performance issues after
that is complete.  I'll be checking out the . . . EMC Clariion CX600 . . .
."

Given that, please consider reading the following engineering white paper
which was written by my group:

"This EMC Engineering white paper explains how to implement backup-to-disk
technology with Legato NetWorker DiskBackup Option (DBO), and identifies
what to expect when using CLARiiON CX series storage systems as destinations
of backups. It also compares the performance of CLARiiON storage systems to
today's high-performance tape drives such as SDLT and LTO technologies. "

http://www.emc.com/pdf/techlib/backup_disk_legato_networker.pdf

This paper talks about 'traditional' backups, where a bulk movement of the
data is done to disk, instead of to tape.  We are VERY close to a new era,
in which snapshots will provide a second method of performing a backup.  If
you purchase a disk storage product that can provide snapshot capability,
then you could use this product for either a bulk movement backup, or an
instantaneous snapshot backup, or both.  Tape drives will never be able to
do snapshot backups.  So, an investment in disk-based backup will provide
backup functionality not possible with tape drives.  As you compare the
costs and speeds of backup-to-tape vs. backup-to-disk, don't forget
snapshots.

Please let me know of any questions you might have.

Thanks!
tl

p.s. I considered not posting this reply to the list, as I didn't want to
come off as making a sales pitch for my company's product.  I decided to
post, because this paper offers hard numbers seen in our tests.
Backup-to-disk is still new enough that there isn't a lot of information
'out there', and I hope that this paper will got a little way to help fill
that void.  Plus, I point out the advantage of snapshots, which are present
in many company's products.

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