Percept Technology Labs, an independent product testing and consulting company specializing in data storage technologies, announced results from a rigorous testing project which demonstrate clear and compelling advantages for incorporating tape systems in enterprise data backup and archiving strategies.

With the dramatic reduction in the price of hard disk drives (HDD) over the past decade, a number of firms are implementing disk-to-disk backup strategies to safeguard their data, and some have begun to question whether tape backup has a place in the enterprise at all. 

Percept Technology Labs recently completed independent shock and vibration testing which confirms that disk and tape each offer specific – and complimentary – benefits for enterprise data storage:

• Disk arrays are designed for high-speed access to data and, as such, are ideal for near-line storage operations, particularly at sites with high availability requirements.
• Tape cartridges, however, are built to withstand heavy use and long term warehousing off-site, making them ideal for the transportation and long-term data storage at a remote location.

According to John Mozeliak, president at Percept, “Today’s IT professionals must balance a number of key considerations as they manage complex data storage strategies for their companies. High availability of mission critical data,  safe storage for disaster recovery systems and budgetary concerns are all important matters that must be addressed appropriately for each firm’s specific requirements. Implementing a disk-only backup strategy leaves an organization significantly more vulnerable to the loss of data. Employing both disk and tape, and capitalizing on the strengths of each, adds levels of protection to ensure that data is quickly accessible and easily recoverable when it is needed.”

Environmentally Controlled Drop Test
To better understand the ability of disk drives and tapes to withstand shock, Percept’s engineers performed drop testing in a controlled environment.  HDDs and tape cartridges were validated, dropped from a variety of increasing heights, and tested again for their ability to read the media. If the data stored on the disk or tape was no longer recoverable after a drop test, the data was considered lost and the media was considered to have failed.

The HDDs and tape cartridges were dropped from heights of 24 inches, 39 inches, 48 inches and 60 inches. None of the 10 disk drives tested passed the test. In fact, every drive failed at one meter (a typical height for an accidental drop) or less, and after only one or two drops.

The tape cartridges fared much better, with 25 of the 27 still able to read the data after being dropped – up to 60 inches – 107 times.  In fact, in 105 of the 107 drops, the tape was still able to read the data.

The overall percentage of failures per drop was as follows:

• 62.50% for the HDDs
• 1.90% for the tape cartridges. 

The results also indicated that the HDD is 32.8 times more likely to fail upon shock impact, and 155 times more likely to fail as the velocity increases.

Bottom line conclusion: The ideal data protection strategy should take advantage of both disk and tape technologies. Although disk-to-disk backup provides clear performance benefits for the very short term, tape backup provides much better durability for disaster recovery and archiving.  Since high-speed data access as well as safe transportation and long-term archiving are key aspects of an effective data storage enterprise, both tape and disk have an important place in the data center.

Percept Technology Labs