A decision to rid a data center of tape technology requires three sets of actions. First, tape hardware must be exited. Second, tape-based backup/restore software must be exited. Third, data on old tapes must be migrated. Organizations convinced that the costs of tape hardware (performance of any sequential access technology, administrative and security complexities associated with removable media, etc.) so outweigh the benefits (cheaper than dirt media, low transportation costs, longest media life, etc.) can replace their tape hardware with virtual tape libraries (VTL). SATA drive-based VTL products typically are highly, if not completely, compatible with leading backup/restore system software, utilizing simple volume mapping technologies to present applications with common tape formats, controls, and administrative tools; they mitigate the performance and administrative complexities of tape, but typically must operate within the same metropolitan region as the data center, which undermines disaster management edicts at most large shops. Moreover, VTL products do not rid an organization of tape-orientated backup/restore software, which can still be very expensive and cumbersome to operate relative to more "modern" software packages. Finally, data on tape media do not magically "jump" from old tape transports to new VTL targets. The data must be moved, which will be a laborious process fraught with opportunities for human error.
Action Item: Be wary of efforts to get rid of tape for the sake of getting rid of a class of old technology. Focus decisions on the complexities and success scenarios of migrating data and backup/restore software tools (very hard), and not the relatively easy actions required to replace tape transports with VTL disk.
Footnotes:
