Matt,

In general, HW compression is faster than software.
That being said, consider the following:

1) Some software programs like ADSM can and do compress with about a 5:1 ratio
   However, the compression algorithm often dramatically affects system
   performance. Also, if are backing something other than text files, you may
   not really be gaining anything by using software compression

   If resources are an issue, HW compression is your best bet.

2) If you are in an environment where you do not have any network bandwidth
to
   spare for sending large amounts of backup data over it, software
compression    may be your best bet (excluding considerations listed above)
since it    compresses the data before being sent.


So in essence, evaluate you environment, play around with it, and see what
works best for you.

Regards,

Jennifer

At 03:40 PM 7/1/98 -0500, you wrote:
>For those of you who are using IBM 3590 or 3570 tape drives, has
>anybody done comparisons between client compression and
>hardware compression in the drive?  IBM says that the Magstar
>drives can do up to 3:1 compression, which is pretty good.
>
>Thanks!
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------
>Matt Cleland                            mcleland AT msiinet DOT com
>Midland Systems, Inc.                   (618) 345-0864
>St. Louis, MO                           (618) 346-1779 FAX
>
>