Tim Jones
Forum Replies Created
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[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.
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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! -
… and this is a perfect example of why TOLIS Group solutions – as Tom says – “DOESN’T do LTFS.” It’s unpredictable at best, fails when you need it most at worst, and no one provides a responsible level of support.
As far as what you’re running into, I’m pretty certain that the other guys won’t be able to get around that one as it’s an LTFS format level error.
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
I just use the cheap toilet paper from a public bathroom (you know, the stuff that leaves you feeling like you just sanded your bottom side). It’s just coarse enough to get the job done and has very little lint production. If I wet it at all, I just use plain water.
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
Yes – Dirty contacts caused by high humidity in my case. A 5D and an EOS T5i both exhibited the issue in Hawaii on one trip. Cleaned the contacts on the lens and the cameras and all was fine.
Suspect the contacts before you suspect a lens.
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
Glad to help, Niel!
The great part is the combination of cost and flexibility. We use these on most of our systems – including Windows and Linux as well as OS X – and we have had great success both from a stability point and a performance point.
We also tend to combine them with this HighPoint Thunderbolt add-on for the Mac Pros (4 ports is just too few for real environments):
https://www.highpoint-tech.com/USA_new/series_rs6324u_overview.htm
Because the USB-3 ports on the 6324 are dedicated and not shared as with other USB hubs, you get the full rated 5GbS bandwidth on all 4 ports.
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
Hi Niel,
On that type of a budget, we use a combination of the “Cable-Matters” USB-3 desktop dock and the SamSung 512GB EVO Pro 850 drives. You’ll get around 340MB/sec from a single drive:
Plus, using the desktop dock, it’s easy to change disks for different shoots or go to bigger disks as budgets permit.https://www.amazon.com/Cable-Matters®-SuperSpeed-Docking-Station/dp/B0099TX7O4/
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-256GB-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-7KE256BW/dp/B00LMXBOP4/
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
For the transfer, simple tools that connect your standard line outs from the analog source systems to a capture system are pretty widely available. For example, using an Aja IO Express will give you a very good, all in one box for various analog sources and allow you to send the signal to your PC or Mac system.
https://www.aja.com/en/products/io-express
There are other options as well, but I’ve actually use Aja’s equipment with great success.
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
Of course, my response is going to be BRU and LTO tape :).
Seriously though, LTO technology is fast, big, stable, and very cost effective.
With a capacity of 2.5TB per tape, your cost is around 2.4 cents per GB (< $40 per tape for certified media). But the big savings comes in the maintenance of the stored data over time. Vaulting LTO tapes requires simple, basic environmental support (if a human can be comfortable in the environment, so can an LTO tape). They also require no power, so the result is the “greenest” storage medium around, even topping paper since humidity is not really an issue with LTO tape as it is with paper documents.
Your next decision is the format that you intend to use for the actual data. There are many different formats – including MP2, MP4, JPEG, MXF, ProRes, AVCHD, combinations of these, and on and on… You should pick one that best suits your long term plans. In whatever format you choose, always archive the highest resolution for the media involved. You can always transcode down, but the other direction is not so successful.
Marketing follows 🙂 –
Finally, the way that you record the data onto the tape is also very important. There are a few choices out there, but our BRU format has been proven for over 30 years in business, financial, medical, research, education, and media and entertainment. Every BRU archive is completely verified down to 2K blocks with no special efforts by the user and no external sidecar hash files that can disappear leaving you with no method for verification. Because the checksum for your data is written directly into the data stream, you can also re-verify and audit your archives at any time – in 2 weeks, 6 months, or 20 years. You don’t need to know about the original filesystem or even have access to the original computer type or operating system.
Which ever solution you choose, always ask that question – “How do I verify and audit the data on the tapes in 20 years?” With BRU, it’s easy.
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
You could do that. The problem is locating an external chassis and the proper internal SAS (8087 to 8482 + Molex 4 pin power). If you dig on Amazon and eBay you can probably find what you need. That drive is fine with a 65W power supply in the chassis.
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters! -
The Cache-A tapes are either TAR format or LTFS format depending on what you selected. If they are LTFS format, you can use the mTape with the generic IBM LTFS tools. If they are TAR, we offer the TOLIS Tape Tools suite for dealing with TAR tapes on a Mac (OS X’s tar doesn’t know about accessing tape).
Tim
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Tim Jones
CTO – TOLIS Group, Inc.
https://www.tolisgroup.com
BRU … because it’s the RESTORE that matters!
