Tom Goldberg
Forum Replies Created
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Sorry Tim, but I need to correct some of the information in your reply.
[Tim Jones] “These “features” also add a layer above LTFS that then obviate the LTFS open source status since you’re now adding proprietary wrappers around the LTFS core “
There are no “layers” or “wrappers” used – all tapes are still LTFS conforming and interchangeable – not proprietary. For example, for spanning what we do (as I believe other manufacturers do) is simply automatically re-create your file tree as needed across tapes. This would be exactly the same as if you manually copied a too-large data set across several disk drives.
[Tim Jones] “Cache-A – PowerCache (required starting point) $10,995, 48 Slot, LTO-6 Library for tape support – $10,795”
You can certainly go big with Cache-A’s premier solution of a Power-Cache and Library, but this is not a required starting point. All LTFS capabilities are in all Cache-A models (except Simul-Copy which requires at least 2 drives). Our entry unit which is a self-contained appliance with an LTO-5 drive starts at $7995 including all hardware, software and warrantied for 1 year with support, ready to go out of the box and fully tar and LTFS capable. No cards to install or software to load, just connect it to your network and start archiving.
[Tim Jones] “according to our conversation with the folks at Discovery, their number one support issue is the inability to read LTFS tapes sent in from Clients”
Discovery may have had early LTFS delivery issues, but they are still very much committed to the format and are working past startup issues with their content producers. They do have some special requirements that, while not making their tapes proprietary, do require specific files and LTFS formatting parameters to write them correctly. Cache-A’s latest releases write tapes that pass 2 out of 3 of Discovery’s delivery specifications (Footage Masters and Graphics Masters) and the 3rd spec’d tape (Program Masters) is at Discovery for validation as I write this.
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com -
Sam,
While I’ll agree that LTFS is not without its pitfalls, we see growing traction for it becoming the standard for writing to LTO in the media and entertainment realm. It is unlikely if you were to get started with a good solution that you would find you have to change.
I would note that several manufacturers, including Cache-A, have addressed the issues you are encountering. We support tape spanning as do, for example Crossroads and SDNA. We also solve the restore speed issue you’ve identified – this occurs when restore file lists are not in the order the files reside on tape, causing the tape to have to shuttle back and forth to the start of each file. Our LTFS restores are always presorted for tape order and can be just as fast as archiving.
You should be aware that we are seeing more and more interchange and delivery being specified for LTFS and traditional tar being used only for in house archiving (we support both formats). For example, Discovery Communications now accepts from its content producers only LTFS for delivery of footage, graphics and program masters for all its various channels.
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com -
I feel compelled to weigh in here as well and note that CatDV has a plugin for Cache-A that was the first archiving interface they did. Simply select your content, select “Archive Media Files” or “Restore Media Files from the Tools menu within CatDV. Works with any combination of stand-alone drives and Libraries. CatDV keeps track of what tape you archived files to so you can easily find your media later.
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com -
Aaron,
There are a number of reasons you can end up with permissions problems on Cache-As. The simplest of which is that the user logged in at restore time was different than the user who archived the files, but there are other possible causes as well.
The easiest way to address this is to have the Cache-A erase the VTAPE on eject (if that is where you put the files), or simply use the System Tools page > Utilities tab > Clear Cache-A Share button, which will force remove everything on the share.
The most precision way to deal with the problem is from the command line – a complete set of instructions are available from the Tech Briefs located on our Support web page and linked to from here: Command line access to Cache-A Appliances
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com -
I’m sorry but there is no way to tell from this amount of information – please email me your case number and I’ll look into it.
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com -
Large amounts of space lost are typically due to a tape drive that needs to have a cleaning tape run on it. Give that a try and see if your next archives aren’t better… if not, you have have a hardware issue and will need a support connect session so we can evaluate the health of your drive.
Note that if you are seeing a negative space lost, it simply means that you have compressible material and the tape drive’s internal lossless hardware compression engine is saving you room on the tape.
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com(FYI – this really should be posted as a new topic and in the “Archiving and Backup” Forum)
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Hi Aaron,
Your system is definitely reporting something in the transfer summary I haven’t seen. This is going to require you reach out to our support group (email us at support@cache-a.com with your serial number) and we’ll do a support connection and take a look at your system. This is not something that can be diagnosed or repaired in a public forum.
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com -
Joe,
Cache-A added the Discovery Format Rule option as of our version 3.2.4 in May of this year.
Our releases and release notes are always posted on our Support web page at https://www.cache-a.com/support.php and software updates are available for download by request also from our web site.If you’d like to discuss operations or drive connectivity further, I’d be happy to help you out, please drop me an email at the address below.
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com -
Jon,
I was also confused as I was getting the same result in my tests – this thread actually contains the answer:
[Jonathan Applebaum] “Important note: The index partition is typically not updated immediately, so don’t run this command until you’re sure that has occurred (though a more frequent interval can be specified, the index is always written when a tape is unmounted).”
So try ejecting, reinserting and then check your xattr’s (thanks Jonathan!)
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com -
Lee,
You are experiencing an issue that we’ve heard about, that has been reported in this forum – see the posts at https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/278/2569 – a workaround is in that thread.
We have not in fact been able to reproduce this particular situation in our labs (I’ve tried myself) and thus it would be nearly impossible to fix. If you have steps that can reliably make this happen please email me or Cache-A support off forum.
CatDV does in fact know if the files went to tape – so checking your archive status for the last file you sent to Cache-A would be a good thing to do before clearing the VTAPE. As we note in our user manuals, I suggest users never blindly delete content unless they’ve checked that the archive did in fact happen and verified that the Transfer Summary completed with no errors.
Tom Goldberg
Cache-A Corporation
433 Park Point Drive #285
Golden, CO 80401
mailto:tom.goldberg@cache-a.com
https://cache-a.com
