Percept Tests Lab Tape Cartridge and Disk Drive Handling

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