The speed of the 3575 and the relative low cost of the drive/robot is very
appealing.  However, your comments about media costs are very valid.
Another technology to consider is AIT, especially for off-site.  High
capacity at 50 GB per tape native (plus your compression) and high speed,
similar to 3575, make this attractive as an off-site media.  Here in the US,
there are very good robots available for AIT from Qualstar.

AIT media is not inexpensive either, but I believe there will likely be more
competition in the long run to help drive these costs down.

Kelly J. Lipp
Storage Solutions Specialists, Inc.
PO Box 51313
Colorado Springs CO 80949
719-531-5926
www.storsol.com
lipp AT storsol DOT com