VXA drive (was DDS-3 vs DDS-4?)
Steve said: My previous experience with DDS-2 was very unhappy -- too much maintenance, too much downtime, too many ever-changing recommendations about what brand of media to use, etc. ...(The only single-tape solution in my price range is VXA, which sounds very nice, but there is NO WAY I will go with a new, single-vendor solution...) Too bad you are dead set against the VXA, since it is an excellent solution for the problems you mention above. With the discounted eval offer Ecrix is offering, you really can't get a better value for the money right now. Yes, you are limited to the manufacturer (currently) for media, but most of us buy tapes infrequently and well in advance anyway, plus this certainly address the problem of choosing media brands... We have been putting a VXA drive through the ringer for several weeks now, and I have been very impressed with the performance and robust construction of the drive. The packet technology pioneered by VXA not only is much more reliable than "regular" tape storage protocols, but represents a much-needed advancement in what has been stagnant technology for many years. Trying something new involves a certain amount of risk, but did that stop you from buying an iMac? Just my opinion - no commercial interest in Ecrix, etc. -gf -- -- To subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives:http://list.working-dogs.com/lists/retro-talk/ Problems?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: VXA drive (was DDS-3 vs DDS-4?)
Andrew said: Hey Gowan...wanna buy a few hundred Syquest 200s? How about 5.25" MO's? :) Yuck yuck. Yep, we've scrapped plenty of SyQuests too. A perfect example to prove my point! The most widely accepted industry standard at one time, yet driven out of business by Iomega's product. Could it be that DDS is to Syquest as VXA is to Zip Of course, if you want to look at single vendor proprietary platforms, you don't have to look farther than Apple Hey, you can always shoot for the lowest common denominator and invest in Travan! -gf -- -- To subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives:http://list.working-dogs.com/lists/retro-talk/ Problems?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: VXA drive (was DDS-3 vs DDS-4?)
Mark said: Gowan, what type of throughputs are you getting and what spec machine do you use as a server? Server is a Dell Poweredge 1300 with a single Pentium 3/450 and 256Mb RAM. Throughput ranges from 171Mb/sec on local volumes down to 2Mb/sec on a fully throttled (20% cpu time) remote mail server via a slow (192Kbs) WAN link. Typical throughput on a 100BT switched LAN is 55-110Mb/min for workstations in the 200-500Mhz range. Hardware compression turned on, version is Retrospect 5.11. -gf -- -- To subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives:http://list.working-dogs.com/lists/retro-talk/ Problems?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: VXA drive (was DDS-3 vs DDS-4?)
Oh yes - also compare after store is enabled. -gf -- -- To subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives:http://list.working-dogs.com/lists/retro-talk/ Problems?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: VXA drive (was DDS-3 vs DDS-4?)
Steve said: ...In my particular case, I need to specify everything I need for a two year time span (which in my case means two drives plus all tapes and cleaning tapes, etc.) on a single purchase order. ... I cannot tolerate the risk that my VXA drives may go bad a year from now and that no one besides Ecrix could fix/replace them. ...will have an angry boss if my backup strategy fails because I picked a brand-new, single-source mechanism/media vendor that my boss never heard of... Yes, I see your point here. Of course any drive vendor can go out of business, but with a non-proprietary standard you could replace (expensively) the entire unit. This is a good question to ask Ecrix - what are their plans for licensing or otherwise expanding the VXA format to widen the market? Perhaps Mr. Rainville would care to comment? -gf -- -- To subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives:http://list.working-dogs.com/lists/retro-talk/ Problems?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
VXA tapes
Steve said: ...Your promotional drive prices are very nice. The "External Retrospect Bundle" for $750... If you are interested in the Server product, this might not be the best buy. Forgoing the desktop Retrospect version in the bundle and buying the Server version outright from Buy.com at $430 is a better deal than the bundle and upgrading to the Server version for $398. In the real world, my backup set is going to be some arbitrary size... Actually, there are three different VXA tape capacities. Look here: http://www.vxa.com/products/VXAtape-desc.html Absolutely the media price could be a lot better! Here is where I hope to see major improvement as media makers see a large enough market to make it worthwhile to manufacture. Of course I am assuming here that Ecrix has not patented the physical tape cart or taken other steps to enforce a media monopoly (Geoff?) I for one would sure love to see ZIP cartridge pricing on VXA tapes!!! Of course I was paying more than thirty bucks a tape for the (awful) Travan drive we once used... -gf -- -- To subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives:http://list.working-dogs.com/lists/retro-talk/ Problems?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Stubbornly Invisible Client REVEALED!!!
BINGO! Matt had the answer - change the binding order of the NICs and *poof* the misbehaving client is now visible to the backup server! I overlooked checking that setting simply because Microsoft moved the binding tab to such a screwy place in Win2K (you really have to root for it, unlike in NT). Good job Matt! Looks like the Retrospect/VXA combination may replace our old BackExec/DAT solution after all... Thanks to everyone on the list who put their mind to solving my little problem. -Gowan -- -- To subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives:http://list.working-dogs.com/lists/retro-talk/ Problems?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
RE: Is Dantz Wintel competent?
In response to my rhetorical query, Eric said: ...The architecture of Retrospect for Windows is NOT a port of the Mac product; it has been completely redesigned from the ground up...What would a "defined Wintel heritage" have given us?... Point taken. I definitely agree that Incremental-Plus is an improvement over legacy-think approaches to network backup. My concern had to do with tech support, given the majority of posts to this list seem to relate to the Apple platform. Obviously Dantz's ability to suggest a solution to my problem (thanks Matt!), demonstrates positive proof in your potential to support NT/2K customers. However, I do believe we would be better served to make either a newsgroup or support Web board to make this sort of information more accessible. My problem is solved, but it took several days, and what about the next new customer who has the same situation? A digest version of the listserve is available, but it is not easily searchable and plagued with HTML codes. Just my $.02 Kudos on Eric's responsiveness and candor in addressing (not flaming) my posting. -Gowan -- -- To subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archives:http://list.working-dogs.com/lists/retro-talk/ Problems?: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
