Hewlett Packard StorageWorks DAT 72i Review

Bottom-Line: While the maximum amount of backup space is limited to 72GB, for the limited scope we use the drive for, it makes sense. 

As I stated in my review of the Dell PowerVault 112T, in the increasingly demanding world of Information Technology (IT) network/server management, the advantages of automating (fast) backup processes (internal or external) to the server, or across the network, are a paramount. More and more information (data) is the engine upon which corporate profits are driven, and that information needs to be protected by fast, reliable, backup tools (hardware as well as software), and reliable high capacity media.

Most businesses utilize a number of tape backup solutions including a number of small internal and external medium to high capacity drives for backing up legacy systems. In this mixture are two Hewlett Packard StorageWorks DAT 72i DDS (internal) Tape Backup Units (TBU).

Product Description (From Hewlett Packard Product Literature): The HP StorageWorks DAT 72 tape drive is the fifth generation of HP's popular DDS tape format, delivering a capacity of 72 GB on a single HP DDS data cartridge (C8010A)...The StorageWorks DAT 72 tape drive is the ideal choice for small and medium businesses, remote offices or workgroups...DAT 72 builds on the strengths and successes of previous generations of DDS drives. The HP StorageWorks DAT 72 tape drive has a mean time between failure (MTBF) rating of 400,000 hours at a 12% percent duty cycle, making it an ideal choice for small and medium businesses.

Our company actually uses two Hewlett Packard StorageWorks DAT 72 TBU's; one internal and one external.  The StorageWorks DAT 72i is a one drive TBU designed to utilize DDS-5 technology and DAT-72 36GB /72GB tapes.  DAT-72 (DDS-5) tape drives are fully read and write backwards compatible with all DDS-3 and DDS-4 products from all licensed manufacturers.

The business uses the StorageWorks DAT 72i to perform nightly (excluding weekends) unattended full /differential backup's utilizing a one DDS-5 DAT-72 (36GB/72GB) tape changed out on a daily basis, generating a total of 10 tapes per server per week.  The unit performs at or around the stated back rate of at some 3MB/s (uncompressed), 6MB/s (compressed) averaging 20.2 GB/hr. Not the fastest TBU on the block, but the StorageWorks DAT 72i backs up the data well within the time frame needed. 

After loading the tape into the unit, all other manipulation of the drive; tape mounting, formatting, tensioning, erasing, ejecting, and tape preparation is easier handled by the tape backup software.  The grayish StorageWorks DAT 72i has only one front panel control, the eject button with which you can manually eject the tape.  Also on the front of the unit is the hinged door for inserting a tape.  On the back of the unit, you will find a SCSI connections and a recital for power.             

Conclusion

The small footprint and internal design of the StorageWorks DAT 72i, coupled with the admirable performance, and LVD SCSI design make this HP DAT design a highly desirable drive. While the maximum amount of backup space is limited to 72GB, for the limited scope we use the drive for, it makes sense.  And the small 4mm design of DAT's makes them easy to store and retrieve data from.  Though the business utilizes a very large capacity free-standing tape library for primary backups, our complement of (2) StorageWorks DAT 72i Tape Backup Units are an indispensable piece of our overall backup strategy.