Tim Gerhard
1
COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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Definitely just get the Macbook Pro w/ 2x TB3 ports. TB3 ports are the same as USB-C so just get some external drives that are USB-C or TB3. If you’re using external hard drives USB-C is sufficient without the need for Thunderbolt speeds.
I recommend G-Tech for external drives. I’m a G-Tech dealer, so I can price them out if you tell me what capacity you need.
Tim Gerhard
MagStor Inc.
614-505-6333
tgerhard@magnext.com
NAB 2018 Booth #SL15816 -
I suppose I forgot about Tandberg. They were bought out by Overland a couple years ago and then Overland was bought out by Sphere3D. Tandberg drives were all HP OEM’d before, but now all LTO7+ are IBM OEM’d. Quantum is the dominating force when it comes to standalone drives these days, they do the large volumes, and have the lowest prices for new product from my experience.
I remember trying to buy the Tandberg LTO5 FC Internals, but the lead times were astronomical. I checked all the distributors for the newer drives and 0 stock. I think Tandberg is only around for the loyal German market these days with their merged Overland NEOS Tandberg T series libraries.
Tandberg also probably the only company that still toots about using RDX. Must be popular in Europe, because it’s almost nearly abandoned in the US.
Tim Gerhard
Magnext
614-433-0011 x114
tgerhard@magnext.com -
Standalone internal drives aren’t really made in FC, except for IBM enterprise users, which it’s hard just to buy anything from IBM unless you’re throwing down a 10 million dollar order.
The mainstream LTO standalone drives are all SAS now. FC can be found on tape loader/library drives, but they have to be powered through a loader/library tray unless you do a funky custom build.
Tim Gerhard
Magnext
614-433-0011 x114
tgerhard@magnext.com -
LTO6 FH vs HH there is no difference. The FHs were just made for certain tape libraries because they only fit FH drives in them etc.
All external /internal drives have gone HH for the SAS variant.
We sell new and refurbished LTO drives at Magnext, so give us a call when you’re looking to buy.
Tim Gerhard
Magnext
614-433-0011 x114
tgerhard@magnext.com -
LTFS is becoming the gold standard because it’s non-proprietary. The only real incompatibility issue I’ve seen is illegal characters between MAC and Windows, which the free software won’t handle for you, but the premium software packages do.
YoYotta and PreRollPost are both great options for LTFS, and if you end up switching to one or the other for some reason, you can still use your tapes.
If all else fails down the road switching your mind about software packages, you can always fall back on the free software to read your LTFS tapes. I’ve seen cases where people load content onto LTFS tapes and ship them somewhere else, and this frees up the need for the person n the other end to buy into the software you’re using.
If you’re concerned with the $500 price point on any of the software, the guys that make PreRollPost have a lite version called “myLTO” for $299.
Tim Gerhard
Magnext
614-433-0011 x114
tgerhard@magnext.com -
Malcolm,
PreRollPost uses LTFS, which makes it 100% non-proprietary. You can use the manufacturers free LTFS utility to read LTFS tapes at any time in the future, so even if for some reason PRP disappeared you’d still be OK.
I sell PreRollPost for Windows with LTO tape drives, and everyone loves it. It’s definitely worth the $499 price tag. If you’re looking to save you can pickup myLTO for $299 instead, which just loses some of the higher level functionality.
Tim Gerhard
Magnext
614-433-0011 x114
tgerhard@magnext.com -
Hello Jano,
We’re the authorized distributor for North/South America for Unitex. We have several customers on the LT60 doing archives of videos.
Do you already have backup software? If not, the included LTFS software doesn’t currently work on Windows 10 and possibly not with High Sierra. So if you want to use Windows 10 and LTFS you’d need third party software like PreRollPost etc.
Tim Gerhard
Magnext
614-433-0011 x114
tgerhard@magnext.com -
James,
If you’re looking to use LTFS with a library on a MAC, then YoYotta is the way to go. I’m pretty sure Martin, who just answered your questions, sells Quantum hardware, and he’s obviously going to sell and support the YoYotta software. Plus he’s located in the UK. So I think you found your match there.
Tim Gerhard
Magnext
614-433-0011 x114
tgerhard@magnext.com -
I’ve seen plenty of issues with LSI HBAs working abnormally when trying to use LTFS or tape drives in general.
I’d recommend using an ATTO H644 or H680, they work with tape drives no issues.
Tim Gerhard
Magnext
614-433-0011 x114
tgerhard@magnext.com -
Dan,
At Magnext we specialize in tape library repair and refurbishment. I saw you mentioning that your tapes were being marked full early on, this is usually a software related issue rather than hardware.
What software and library are you using when you’re experiencing these issues? Also, when you start getting slow downs and such, are you writing the files from a network source or a local disk/raid etc. ?
Tim Gerhard
Magnext
614-433-0011 x114
tgerhard@magnext.com