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In a time of cloud computing tape storage might seem like a Prehistoric Dinosaur. But, for organizations that prioritize data security it’s a critical tool. One of the reasons is its ability to provide the only true airgap for data. With weekly Ransomware attack in news, it really got me thinking that if some of these organization had done a tape backup, they may have been back online much quicker, many of these attacks affect the backup files as well. And with Veeam you can easily backup a copy of your data to tape. There are several reasons why tape is best in class to protect your data let’s review few.

1. Isolation

An airgap is a measure where a device or network is physically disconnected from other networks, particularly those connected to the internet. Tape excels at this because it is offline when not in use. Unlike disk that remains connected to the network, tape can physically be moved and stored in a secure, location.

2. Durability

Modern tape media can reliably store data for up to 30 years.

3. Cost

When it comes to large-scale data archiving, tape is cost-effective. The cost per gigabyte of tape storage is significantly lower than that of disk.

4. High Capacity

Tape technology has evolved to meet the demands of current data storage needs. Tape formats, such as LTO, offer high capacity, up to 18TB of native storage per cartridge.

5. Compliance

Its ability to create immutable, read-only copies of data ensures that archived information remains unchanged, which is essential for legal holds and audits.

For many industries, regulatory compliance is a critical concern. Tape storage helps organizations meet various legal and regulatory requirements for data retention and protection.

Conclusion

We all love cutting-edge technologies; the benefits of tape storage cannot be overlooked. Its ability to provide a true airgap, durability, cost, capacity, compliance, ensures that tape remains a vital part of Veeam and should be part of your protection strategy. As Ransomware threats continue to evolve, the physical security offered by tape storage will continue to be King of data backup.

 

 

We still use tape and are using it more for certain services including Veeam.  I don’t think it will go away and will make a comeback in the next few years for sure.  😎

I approve, but there are also downsides.
Tapes must be stored in a third fireproof site. And the return of the tapes takes a few hours.

If you have archived a large amount of TB the restore will be slow, depending on your RTO|RPOs

You have to schedule the return of the tapes for restore verification.

They are useful for long retention


Thanks for the interesting article on tapes.

Very nice post about the benefits of Tapes, thanks.
We german people love the ability to backup data on Tape 😀

I remember, it was on version 7.0 as Veeam brings Tape Support - for a lot of our customers this was the missing feature, to move from Backup Exec to VBR - very good move 😍

Till today we have also may of customers, who are using Tapes as another Target, mostly for GFS. On our environments it’s mostly not the 2nd or sometimes even not the 3rd backup-Destination, but they often choose it for long-term / offline and outside the building/campus.

 

Tape user checking in, we even run some CC tenants off to tape. It’s not the first line of defense but it might be the last :)

Nice post Sean. Tape is still alive and kicking and you make great points. :)

I’ve mentioned this before, though on a larger scale of retaining data for 50 or 75 or even 100 years.  Make sure to look at the larger overall picture.  In 30 years if you need, though unlikely, to perform a restore, make sure you have the proper infrastructure - tape drive/network/server/software that is going to be able to read that tape.  There’s also a skillset argument to some degree.  In 20 or 30 years we can probably figure it out….the knowledge can be transferred.  But in 75 or 100 years, those folks performing the backup functions are no longer around, tech has evolved, and will we know HOW to do the restore?  Hard to say in my opinion….

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