Quick LTO Question

[movax]

Just a quick question...

Whilst reading up on ZFS on various forums, I skimmed a post where an user suggested using a LTO2 drive as a quick-and-dirty way to backup really critical data that might be stored on your RZ2 array. (so, non-replaceable pics and documents, you can always redownload TV).

These are ~$200 on eBay, and I was thinking of a decent solution for my parents' PC to backup the pics and documents. Then I realized, even a 1TB external HDD is only $100, and you could treat it like a tape drive: plug it in, backup, unplug, and put away.

Is there really any point in picking up a LTO drive at this point for my usage then? I assume that barring any external stimuli, a powered down HDD is quite safe and comparable to a LTO cartridge. (They'd end up in a fireproof safe either way.)

 

[SockMan!]

Sure, hard drives are surprisingly durable when they're powered off (you'd think that any small bump would kill the drive) but I wouldn't compare them to tapes. After all, hard drives contain read/write heads and circuitry while tapes don't.

For home use, a better solution would probably be to run the backup on two hard drives and store them in different locations - at least one offsite. Or backup to hard drive and optical media. The chances of them both failing simultaneously is pretty slim. Tape drives aren't cheap and it'll be a pain to recover if you lose the drive.

 

[bexamous]

Yeah if you get one of those usb hdd docks its kinda like a tape backup lol. I just have a pile of hdds and put them in the dock one at at time, backs up data, put in next. $/gb winnar. Backup ~6TB of data like this.

 

[Dew]

Tapes are great for archival. Hard drives are great for what you want, which is a rotating backup for home use.

 

[movax]

I see now, HDDs make more sense for my purpose here.

I suppose if I needed to be Sarbannes-Oxley compliant or whatnot, and archive every damned thing that ever crossed my PC, LTO may be a better solution