Date: Wed, 11 Aug 1999 17:14:44 -0700 From: Darryl Okahata <darrylo@sr.hp.com> To: Eric Lee Green <elgreen@iname.com> Cc: mjacob@feral.com, freebsd-hardware@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: IDE tape backup suggestions Message-ID: <199908120014.RAA03317@mina.sr.hp.com> In-Reply-To: Your message of "Wed, 11 Aug 1999 15:37:14 PDT." <99081115455601.05193@ehome.local.net>
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Eric Lee Green <elgreen@iname.com> wrote:
> Avoid the OnStream for the moment. I have a half dozen here and they will not
> work, believe me. They are so cheap because they omit a lot of the hardware
> that generates tape blocks and block checksums and etc., so the computer
> (software) side has to generate that stuff as part of the actual data stream.
> Sort of like the old floppy-controller based tape drives.
Well, if the media and drive electronics/mechanics are reliable,
the OnStream drives may not be all that bad. I've seen the developer's
documentation, and it doesn't look really ugly. Different -- yes.
Tedious -- yes. Ugly/awful/nasty -- not really.
[ The task becomes even easier if you do what the Echo software appears
to do -- ignore OnStream's ADR developer guidelines and use your own
proprietary tape format. ]
My concerns about the current OnStream drives would be:
1. Is it reliable (software/driver issues aside)? Will the drive be
able to read a tape that's been sitting on a shelf for a couple of
years? Are there any tape head issues -- do you need to clean the
tape heads (which is a possible concern, as the documentation has no
mention of head/drive cleaning)? What about dust in the drive?
2. Are the current drives the end of the line? OnStream has announced a
"Unix-compatible" drive, although it is a bit expensive. Now, if
OnStream produces only "Unix-compatible" drives, then the current
product offerings become something like orphans. There's less
incentive to develop and maintain drivers for such drives, not to
mention possible problems if your current drive dies and you somehow
need to find a replacement one. However, FreeBSD used to support the
old floppy tape drives, and so there is a precedent.
--
Darryl Okahata
darrylo@sr.hp.com
DISCLAIMER: this message is the author's personal opinion and does not
constitute the support, opinion, or policy of Hewlett-Packard, or of the
little green men that have been following him all day.
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