Xref: utzoo comp.sys.apollo:1283 comp.periphs:1148 Path: utzoo!utgpu!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!njin!princeton!njsmu!klg From: klg@njsmu.UUCP (Kenneth Goodwin) Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo,comp.periphs Subject: Re: Large scale backups Summary: Megatape Keywords: backup video tape optical Message-ID: <463@njsmu.UUCP> Date: 18 Aug 88 15:23:06 GMT References: <15278@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> Organization: NJ State Medical Underwriters, Lawrenceville Lines: 79 In article <15278@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>, dj@COGNET.UCLA.EDU writes: > > We have a fairly new network of 40 Apollos running 9.7 (SR10 "Real Soon > Now" :-). The topic of system backups has become an issue for us. > According some rough figuring, we have a worst case of 5 Gb of user space > to back up, and are presently using about 2 Gb. Obviously mag tapes > aren't a nice way to go (20 tapes!?), so what is available? > > > thanks, > dj > Try Megatape Corporation P.O. Box 317 Duarte Ca. 91010-0317 (818) 357-9921 We have had four of their MT750 tape drives here for a while and they are very reliable. Repairs are via CDC field service operations or return to factory. MT750 sell for around $12,000 each. Stores around 630 MB Formatted on a cartridge rated at 750MB unformatted. Good error recovery in drive, I/O caches, all the nice bells and whistles. Only problem with the MT500, MT750 are transfer rates are 250 KB sustained. Megatape also now has two new drives, a 1 GB per tape drive and a 8MM Exabyte type as well, so they have a good selection. Supports most available Popular tape interfaces as well. Ours are running on Pyramids. with the exception of the 8MM drive. all use a book size cartridge. The cartridge costs about $100.00 each, after you use it 100 times return it to factory for refurbishment, refurb costs under $50.00... They also have a one year warranty on the cartridge. Latest Models: MT 750 630 MB on a 750 MB cartridge Drive transfer rate 250 KB/sec. depending on system controller, interface rate to 4 MB/s (system to Megatape cache memory) 120 IPS GT-88 8 mm cartridge 2 GB capacity, 1 MB Cache Pertec Interface 150 IPS, 245 KB per second transfer rate MT 1500 Book cartridge as per MT750, 764 KB/sec transfer rate 1.2 GB formatted capacity 512 KB cache Pertec or SCSI interfaces Get the marketing hype for further details. Oh, of all the companies I have dealt with over the phone, they HAVE the BEST customer support. Whatever you need, you get it. They really stand behind their stuff. reliability: Most problems we have had were with bad or out of alignment switches in the load mechanism, quick fixes, one drive had a bad controller board that took a while to track down. (we use CDC service here, and they are still on a learning curve with the drive.... However Megatape was very helpful with tracking down the problem. Our CDC guys spend HOURS on the phone talking to them and they don't gripe once....) One of our drives came in from the factory via air freight and van delivery without the top foam padding in place (oops a factory goof) So this drive was bounced around quite a bit. Megatape offered to swap it, but as it looked okay, we installed it with the understanding that if it was broken, we would get a new one with no trouble. The drive has worked flawlessly from day one and that was over a year ago. (we got the some of the first MT750's off the line. I understand that AT & T and various Bell companies in the NJ area also have these drives. The cartridges can not be read by any other NON-MEGATAPE drives so that's a downside. But until 8 MM came along, no one that I know of made anything with the kind of density that these drives have had right along. Ken Goodwin NJ State Medical Underwriters, Inc.