Overland Neo LXN2000

Alexander Arias — 2002-08-21T09:27:19.000Z

Alexander Arias, PC Magazine, Wednesday 21 August 2002 at 09:27:19

A frontrunner in the enterprise library market.

The latest addition to Overland's Neo range of modular tape libraries supports both Quantum SDLT and LTO Ultrium technologies.

Capacity depends on the drives specified, but can be as high as 24TB (uncompressed) which, with hot-swappable drives, controllers and robotics, puts the LXN2000 firmly into enterprise network territory.

Moreover, its modular format and flexible configuration enable it to be used for a range of back-up applications.

Each building block Neo module comes with an integrated barcode reader and can be fitted with one or two drives, with a choice of Quantum DLT 8000, SDLT 220 or Seagate Viper if specifying LTO Ultrium. Magazine capacity varies depending on the drives used.

Performance also depends on the tape technology and, although SCSI is the default host interface, the Neo can also be fitted with an optional Fibre Channel card (£3,100 ex. VAT) for connection to a storage area network. This supports the latest 2Gbit/s Fibre Channel technology, plus serverless back ups when used with software supporting this option.

Using its own well established robotics technology, now in its third generation, up to eight Neo modules can be linked to form a single rack-mounted library.

Bolting the necessary hardware together can be complicated, but installation is usually included in the cost. There should be no issues with operating system or back-up application compatibility either, and as well as a local touchscreen LCD panel there's support for remote management via SNMP and a browser using built-in Web TLC software.

Scaleability is the key selling point with the Neo. On the downside, though, the single power supply in each module could be an issue, plus there's no support for Sony AIT technology here.

Service includes a three-year replacement warranty and a guarantee from Overland of 99 per cent up-time with no loss of data. Of course, we can't test these claims, but there appears to be no shortage of corporate customers more than willing to believe what it says.

Price: From £11,642 (ex. VAT).

Specifications:

Supported drives: DLT, SDLT, LTO

Drives/library: Two/eight cartridge slots/module 30 (LTO), 26 (DLT/SDLT)

Maximum capacity/module: 3TB (LTO), 2.89TB, (SDLT) uncompressed

Maximum transfer rate: 922GB/hr (16 x LTO drives), 633.6GB/hr (16 x SDLT drives) all uncompressed

Host interfaces: LVD/SE SCSI, HVD Ultra Wide SCSI, optional Fibre Channel adapter

Form factor: Tabletop or rack mount.

Contact: Overland 0118 989 8000

www.overlanddata.com

Sony AIT260i

Alan Stevens — 2002-06-13T14:09:16.000Z

Alan Stevens, PC Magazine, Thursday 13 June 2002 at 14:09:16

A tape drive based on Sony's Advanced Intelligent Tape format.

Tape drives based on Sony's latest AIT-3 (Advanced Intelligent Tape) format are now shipping.

These drives support the same 100Gb native capacity as rival Ultrium's LTO products, which is a little less than the 110Gb offered by Super DLT, although their performance is similar to both SDLT and LTO.

The AIT-3 drive is a smaller, half-height device. Also available as an external drive (£2,900 ex. VAT), we tested the internal AIT260i model, which included the same fast Ultra160 SCSI interface to enhance performance.

Sony claims a doubling of capacity and throughput compared to its existing AIT-2 drives. As with all tape drives, however, the backup software and disk hardware used will have an impact on what's possible.

It's also rare for the maximum quoted compression ratio to be achieved; Sony quotes 2.6:1, compared with 2:1 from the competition.

We tested the AIT260i on a server with a single 15,000rpm Ultra160 SCSI disk fitted, copying a mix of compressed and incompressible data files.

The software used was Veritas Backup Exec 8.5, a trial copy of which is included with the AIT260i. Average throughput was just over 11Mbps, which is roughly on a par with the results we got when we tested LTO and SDLT drives last year.

This would enable around 40Gb of data to be backed up per hour on a typical small-business server.

The cartridges used by the AIT260i are competitively priced at around £72 (ex VAT) and feature a Memory-In-Cassette chip, although few applications, as yet, use this option.

Price: £2,700 (ex. VAT)

Specifications:

Capacity: 100Gb per tape (native), 260Gb (compressed)

Maximum transfer rate: 12Mbps (native), 31Mbps (compressed)

Interface: Ultra 160 SCSI (single-ended and LVD)

Reliability: MTBF (mean time between failures) 400,000 hours.

Contact: Sony 01932 816 660

www.sony-cp.com

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