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Look after your back-up tapes and …
Posted by Mark on Sep 23, 2008
… there is a chance they will look after you.
Care of backup media is an often overlooked issue, but why spend thousands each year on media and even more on the time and equipment to get your data on to it, then effectively risk throwing it all away by not paying attention to storage and environment?
Any major media manufacturer will supply information regarding the temperature, humidity and cleanliness requirements for their tapes, and how to avoid problems during transportation and it is essential to read these.
A low cost tape cartridge can contain high value data, in some cases the only copy of something vital, so taking care is essential.
Proper storage, handling and transportation are essential if your data is to be safeguarded and to last for its retention period.
Also, If you have never carried out test restores from a tape then you could be wasting your time and nurturing a false degree of confidence about the security of your data.
Handling of Tape Cartridges
As tape cartridge capacities increase so the materials used become thinner, the recording density increases and so both the susceptibility to damage and the amount of data you have he potential lose increase dramatically.
Follow these basic rules with tape data cartridges:
- Don’t stack them too high, this increases the risk of tapes being knocked over and landing from height.
- Never insert a dirty, or damaged data cartridge into a drive.
- Check the labels on the cartridge, make sure they are secure and not lifting or peeling, and that they will not interfere with the operation of the cartridge in the drive.
- Avoid opening the door on the cartridge, or lifting the flap in the case of DAT etc., and exposing the tape.
- Do not touch the tape, or the recording or non-recording surface. When wound onto the spool, the non-recording surface is in direct contact with the recording surface, so any contaminants will be transferred. Grease from your skin, or other contaminants, could cause problems and may eventually lead to media decay.
If a tape cartridge is dropped then there is a risk of internal damage, even if not visible externally. Get the cartridge examined by someone who understands the operation of the particular tape data cartridge. Internal damage might not have an immediate effect, but could suddenly cause a serious problem, so we recommend that no further use be made of a cartridge that has been dropped.
If the data cartridge contains important data that is not stored elsewhere or backed up on other media, and the cartridge appears to be functional, get the data from the tape duplicated then stop using it. You do not want to find out when reading the tape becomes critical, that the tape is damaged and unreadable.
Transportation of tape cartridges
Even if only moving tape cartridges about your office you should follow transportation guidelines. Tape cartridges should be packed in properly designed transportation cases.
If the tape cartridge is to be moved off-site then additional precautions should be taken, especially if you are using a third-party carrier.
If the data is vital then ship it by a direct carrier, do not have your important data sitting overnight in a warehouse where you have no control over temperature, humidity and the potential for contamination.
For more detailed advice on the handling, packaging and the transportation of tape data cartridges you can contact major manufacturers such as Imation.
General guidance on tape shipping containers:
containers must be strong enough to withstand the rigours of shipping.
data cartridges must be held firmly and separated from each another.
the container must have adequate padding or cushioning so that any external force applied to it does no translate to internal force applied to any cartridge.
containers must be kept clean to avoid contamination of the tape cartridges.
Remember: Inspect, inspect and inspect again. Never assume all is well.
Environmental considerations and tapes
Imation, from their website, recommend at least an 80mm gap between the surface of any cartridge and the outer surface of a transport container to protect against magnetic fields.
Tape cartridges must not be stored in areas where there is a high level of dust, or any risk of exposure to corrosive chemicals or gas.
Where you have received tape cartridges they should be allowed to acclimatise in the recommended environmental conditions. We have seen recommendations ranging from 12 to 24 hours.
Some of this might appear over-fussy, but consider what you stand to lose. Failing to acclimatise tapes, storing them incorrectly or using inadequate packaging might not have an immediate effect but the long term impact could well be that the life of the tape cartridge is drastically reduced and with it that of your data.
Avoid over-use of tapes
Record the number of times each tape is used and don’t make the mistake of trying to save a small amount of money by over-using tapes, and then needing a tape data recovery.
Every manufacturer supplies details of the maximum use cycles for each tape they supply. Also, remember that a DLT or an LTO, and any other serpentine recorded tape, will pass along the length of the tape many times when writing or reading a full tape. Also, if your systems are not supplying data to or reading data from a drive at a fast enough rate then the stop-reposition-start (“shoe-shining” on fast drives) is adding to the usage cycles at positions along the tape.
Stay well within the guidelines published by the media manufacturer and hopefully avoid the need for a data recovery service.
