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LTO-6 hook-up on Mac w/ RocketStor & Quantum devices question.
Hello all,
I’m trying to set-up an archiving station with a MacbookPro via Thunderbolt connection to a RocketStor6328 and out to a Quantum Ultrium HH6 Model C via SAS.
Since the RocketStor won’t recognize the LTO drive as a manageable volume (only as a device) and RocketStor support recommended Archiware P5 software for interfacing with the Quantum drive I was about to give that a trial. Before I do, does anyone know if Quantum’s LTFS software is really all I’ll need vs the Archiware?
Thanks in advance.
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7 Replies
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I regularly use the older RocketStor 6328 with Thunderbolt 1 and it works perfectly controlling multiple LTO drives. You do need to make sure you have the latest firmware in the unit, otherwise it may not see the drive correctly.
https://highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/support_lto.htm
You will then be able to use Quantum LTFS to mount the LTFS tape on your desktop, although we recommend using software like our YoYottaID LTFS to manage your archiving and restores.
Let me know how you get on…
Martin Greenwood
martin@yoyotta.com
CTO
yoyotta.com -
Charles,
The Quantum (and the IBM and the HP) LFTS software will work OK for archiving. You will quickly find that when it comes time for restoring, these solutions are not up to the job for more than 1 or 2 files at a time. This is because they are not smart enough to pre-sort restore requests for tape order and thus will zig zag all over the tape to recover each file and can take literally days for any large number of file restores.
LTFS is a good choice as it is both open and has become a true industry standard. Solutions like YoYotta and Pre-Roll Post support it much better in many ways than the free stuff you get from the drive makers. Archiware and Bru are also excellent solutions but write in proprietary formats on tape and can only be restored with the brand of software that wrote it.
Tom Goldberg
TGCS
30201 Rainbow Hill Rd.
Evergreen, CO 80439
mailto:tomgoldberg@gmail.com
https://tomgoldberg.net -
[Tom Goldberg] “LTFS is a good choice as it is both open and has become a true industry standard. Solutions like YoYotta and Pre-Roll Post support it much better in many ways than the free stuff you get from the drive makers. Archiware and Bru are also excellent solutions but write in proprietary formats on tape and can only be restored with the brand of software that wrote it.
“
Tom – that’s not fair as you can’t restore an LTFS tape without installing the LTFS software, either. You don’t get the LTFS software without installing it. It doesn’t just magically appear on your system because you received an LTFS tape. You have to install something, and at least BRU is a single package that installs on all versions of OS X, with a 100% level of compatibility across 27 other platforms.Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
Tim, I don’t know what you think I said that is not fair.
Yes, you do have to install software to use a tape drive, I never said you didn’t… although, in fact you don’t if you purchase a complete solution like Cache-A, StorageDNA or XenData.
I did say that you need BRU or Archiware to restore tapes made with BRU or Archiware. We did quite a bit of cross testing and I can assure you that LTFS tapes can be interchanged across different vendor’s LTFS implementations.
Tom Goldberg
TGCS
30201 Rainbow Hill Rd.
Evergreen, CO 80439
mailto:tomgoldberg@gmail.com
https://tomgoldberg.net -
Not to keep beating this dead horse, Tom … but, you can’t do any of that without installing the correct LTFS software. Your previous post implied that LTFS just magically worked and you poo-poo’d BRU and Archiware by saying that you need the specific software to restore those tapes. It may not have been your intent, but that is the way that it read.
To access a tape drive on OS X, you MUST install some sort of software. With LTFS, you must make sure that you’re installing the proper sets of software as some of the packages work prior to 10.9, while others work with 10.10, but not 10.7 or 10.8. I can’t speak for Archiware, but BRU products work with all versions of OS X (including the 10.11 El Capitan Public Beta) with one package download and install. It also supports every vendor’s tape technology with one exception – the Quantum Super Loader 3, and that’s because of mechanical issues, not interface and transport layer issues.
Additionally, restoring data from a BRU tape is always free – you just download and install the demo, so cost is not even an issue in that case.
As for your tests of LTFS, I doubt that knowledge makes Mateaus feel batter with his restore failures. It’s not about what you might have seen in a lab environment, but rather what the users see when they need their data.
That’s our service mark – BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters!
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
A little touchy Tim? No poo-pooing here, I thought I was being complementary.
[Tom Goldberg] “Archiware and Bru are also excellent solutions”
Tom Goldberg
TGCS
30201 Rainbow Hill Rd.
Evergreen, CO 80439
mailto:tomgoldberg@gmail.com
https://tomgoldberg.net -
You didn’t say that in this thread. In this thread, your implication was that our products made life harder for the user. You might want to re-read the whole thing.
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters!
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