You are probably a smaller environment, what LTO was designed for. However, there are many differences in LTO and Magstar. Magstar recovery from a damaged tape is much greater because of the way the data is recorded. LTO drives are about $10K each and Magstar are still about $45K list. Even with significant discounts Magstar is still going to be more expensive. The upgrades from B1A to E1A are going to probably cost as much as LTO drives already cost.
The ultimate question is will LTO's reliability and drive mean time to failure ever equal that of a Magstar. That remains to be seen. If your tapes are not more than 5 years old, they need to figure into the cost equation especially if you have a lot of them. LTO is a good product for what it is designed to do. Provide an open replacement to DLT. You will have to assess whether it is the right time to make a change. I would do a Total Cost of Ownership over the next 3 years for both scenarios. Consider fabric in the picture if you think you are going to do that. That upgrade is another $7K for Magstar per drive. I would get quotes from your vendors for all the pieces. Yes, this is a lot of work, but money talks when the costs are significantly different. -----Original Message----- From: Zosimo Noriega [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2001 5:36 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: 3590E1A vs IBM LTO We are planning to upgrade ADSM to TSM 4.1 and then currently we are using 3494 library with 4 3590B1A drives. Then, we are looking to upgrade or replace the drives into 3590E1A or IBM LTO. Anybody can share from the experience using these drives. and which is the best in terms of performance, availability, cost, data transfer rate, capacity, etc..... thanks a lot in advance. reagrds, Zosi Noriega A D N O C IST-ITD DMSS Tel - 6024987
