on 8/2/2000 1:10 PM, Steve Rothman at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
> But let's talk about tape prices. It looks to me like the VXA 33/66
> cartridge costs about $75 from Ecrix. It's not hard to find a DDS-3
> 12/24 cartridge for $18. So it looks like on a pure $/GB basis, VXA
> media costs about 50% more than DDS-3 ($2.27/GB for VXA vs $1.50/GB
> for DDS-3).
But pure media cost is not a valid comparison...you also need to include
reliability, reusability, etc. and the "hassle factor" involved in swapping
tapes.
I don't know about you, but the DDS tapes just look kinda wimpy up against
the VXA tapes. I have to think that the VXA tapes are stouter, not to
mention that I'd love to be on the "VXA Extreme Testing" team (reminds me of
the Glock handgun demos, where they'd dunk a brand new pistol into a bucket
of mud/slime/liquid Nitrogen, pull it out, and fire a few rounds...). Not
sure about the reusability, to be honest...anyone from VXA care to comment
on how many times we can overwrite a tape?
The tape swap hassle factor is a biggie for me. What if nobody's around to
put in the second or third tape? Incomplete backup. What if you don't want
to have to swap tapes all week? Our typical weekly backups, including a full
backup followed by incrementals for the rest of the week, would require two
full DDS-3 tapes, and probably part of a third. Here's a little peek into my
psyche: I hate swapping tapes, I hate carrying tapes from building to
building for offsite backups, I hate it. I find a different way. I am an
engineer; I am lazy. My favorite animal is the sloth.
Plus, the VXA drive looks cooler than the DDS. Hey, I'm an artist too.
That's...let's see, math in the head, ouch...$54 per backup set for wimpy
DDS-3 tapes with two swaps and a boring drive case, or $75 for "extreme
tested" VXA tapes with no swaps and a really cool drive case. I'll gladly
pay the extra $21 per week. Nobody has to remember to swap tapes, I don't
lose backup data, I don't have to worry about it, and everybody likes the
way it looks. We run a 13-week rotation, so I'm paying a grand total
of...big ouch, more math in the head...$273 more for VXA tapes than I would
for DDS-3 tapes.
Obviously, this is a personal call that depends on your particular needs,
but it's absolutely worth it to me.
<><
Jon L. Gardner '89, Computer Systems Manager <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Texas A&M University Dept. of Food Services <http://food.tamu.edu/>
Tel 979.458.1839 * Fax 979.845.2157 * Hip 979.229.4323
PGP public key available at <http://food.tamu.edu/pgp/jon.html>
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