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Newsgroups: comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc Path: euryale.cc.adfa.oz.au!newshost.carno.net.au!harbinger.cc.monash.edu.au!munnari.OZ.AU!news.ecn.uoknor.edu!qns3.qns.net!imci4!newsfeed.internetmci.com!newsfeed1.aimnet.com!alpha.sky.net!news.sprintlink.net!news-chi-13.sprintlink.net!rockyd!dnn.rockefeller.edu!dan From: dan@dnn.rockefeller.edu (Dan Ts'o) Subject: Re: good vs cheap 8mm tape drives X-Nntp-Posting-Host: dnn.rockefeller.edu Message-ID: <Dvvr9w.856@rockyd.rockefeller.edu> Sender: notes@rockyd.rockefeller.edu (News Administrator) Organization: Rockefeller University X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.2 PL2] References: <4tb9jj$4f5@byatt.alaska.net> <4tm03q$c0o@uriah.heep.sax.de> Date: Fri, 9 Aug 1996 17:01:08 GMT Lines: 38 J Wunsch (j@uriah.heep.sax.de) wrote: : marshalk@alaska.net (Marshal Kendziorek) wrote: : > So, what is the thinking out there on a good SCSI 8mm tape drive. I : > have been reading mixed things about the exabyte 8200. Whats good, : > whats cheap and what good and cheap? : To the best of my knowledge, all 8 mm drives are made by Exabyte That is my understanding as well. : Those drives i have seen are very dissatisfying. I would nobody : recommend them at all (one 8200 and one 8505). The success rates of : our backups improved drastically after moving to HP-DAT. Actually my experience with them has been very good. I think the early 8200 had several problems, but later models have been very solid. A particular 8500 I have has been going for 4 years strong, doing 4-5Gb backups every other day. I have several others that have worked well also. They aren't flawless and occasionally need repairs, probably MTB of 2-3 years (of moderate use) in my experience. OTOH, I also have an HP DAT that has been less than stellar. I have read about a lot of problems with DAT drives. My understanding is that inherently DAT tapes cannot last as long as 8mm (thinner tape for one) and I suspect the DAT drives are made more cheaply as well. I would also venture to guess that the consumer-driven 8mm video market may also be driving 8mm engineering whereas it seems that DAT has been relegated to computer backups and a small audio/entertainment recording sector. The 8mm media is somewhat cheaper, transfer rates are higher and capacity for 8mm is greater. Nevertheless since DAT drives are cheaper, DAT remains a good choice for backups. I didn't mean for this to sound totally pro-8mm as that is not the way I see it. : Too many vastly different opinions on this. Like you said...