Tale of the tape: deciphering data storage for SMB backup.

Disk and tape storage technologies have been battling it out for total supremacy for years. If you read the headlines, the two probably appear to be mortal enemies, throwing blows for the heavy-weight title as if they were Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier. IT professionals, however, realized long ago that the disk vs. tape argument is moot and that the two technologies can coexist in harmonious storage environments without coming to fisticuffs.

The true fight for today's IT departments is deploying storage technologies that can deliver a return on investment by minimizing the risk of system outages and downtime costs. These costs, depending on which industry pundit is cited, can range from $25,000 to $250,000 per hour. Figures like this are pushing the sales of enterprise-class storage solutions that can cost upwards of $500,000. It's easy for Fortune 500 companies to justify that cost if it prevents a $2 million loss caused by an 8-hour data outage. But what if you're a small business whose annual revenues don't even reach $250,000, let alone the $2 million mark?

Small to mid-size businesses (SMBs) need to take a closer look at the special data storage needs of their market. They need to understand what factors are behind expanding data volumes and what tools are available to handle data storage needs now and into the future. Only then can they successfully plan a cost-effective data storage strategy.

Special Data Storage Needs of Small Businesses

The U.S. Commerce Department estimates that there are over 7 million small businesses in the United States. IT spending for these small businesses, according to AMI Partners, is outpacing enterprise-level spending by a factor of 3:1. Many vendors, however, haven't noticed the paradigm shift and are sticking to their one-size-fits-all disaster recovery solutions. This is alarming because the data storage needs of small businesses are just as important, on a functional basis, as those of large corporations. In fact, a University of Texas study showed that more than 50% of all small to mid-size businesses that lose their data in a disaster go out of business within two years of the disaster.

There is clearly a business-critical need for backing up data within the small business market. Before any backup operations occur, however, small businesses need to ask some pertinent questions to truly understand their storage needs.

* How much capacity do we need to back up?

* Which data needs to be saved?

* How long do we need to retain the saved data?

* How fast do we need to recover our backed up data?

* What will it cost if our data is lost or my system is down for an extended period of time?

When analyzing these factors, it is critical to note how the data is being used and how frequently it is accessed. These factors will help determine how quickly certain data needs to be restored and which files and data types are vital to business operations. Answering these questions will be instrumental in planning the appropriate backup strategy. With its proven track record, low cost and large storage capacities, it isn't surprising that the answers are pointing many small businesses to tape storage for data backup.

Factors Driving Demand for Tape in Small Business Environments

Capacity: The fact that data growth in the small business market is exploding has been well documented by industry sources. Yet many vendors still approach small businesses with solutions capable of storing up to 50TB of data or more. One small business owner detailed this exact situation and his befuddled reaction. At the end of the sales call, he flatly asked if the salesperson was on crack! Do you know how much 50TB is for a small business?

Exploding data growth to a small business translates to between 100GB to a couple of terabytes on the high side. This necessitates a smaller and much more compact solution where the priority lies in meeting budget restrictions and finding a form factor that fits neatly onto a desktop-not into an expensive data center.

The traditional backup hardware for small businesses is CDs, Zip drives or early generations of small capacity tape drives. Unfortunately, most modern computers come equipped with 20-40GB hard drives that can no longer be practically backed up by the traditional hardware. It just isn't practical to sit around and swap dozens of CDs for a single backup. Even a moderate 20GB capacity tape drive means swapping out a few cartridges per backup.

Modern tape drives with capacities of 50-100GB per cartridge can finish backup jobs with just one tape. Budget friendly formats like Sony's Advanced Intelligent Tape (AIT) allow a business to start small and then scale to fit growing data storage needs.

Ease-of-Use: The reality of today's business environment-small or large-is that IT resources are either tight or completely non-existent. Companies are searching for solutions that minimize the need for IT specialists or that can be executed with their existing staff. Tape storage technologies are meeting these needs by simplifying the connectivity requirements for improved ease-of-use.

Enterprise tape solutions require either SCSI or Fibre Channel connectivity, which isn't even an option for most laptops. Although adding SCSI to a desktop PC is an option, it can add up to $300 to the cost of the backup solution. One way to simplify the process is by using tape storage solutions designed specifically for USB or Firewire (IEEE 1394) connectivity. Both technologies are now standard on newer laptop and desktop computers as well as small servers. Sony's USB/FireWire AIT tape drives combine the convenience of USB and Firewire with the capacity advantages that make backing up entire computers convenient and effortless.

Automation: Small businesses continually strive to grow their company to the next level. When that happens, most small businesses face a time when their data backup jobs surpass the capacity of single tape media cartridges. At that point, it may be time to consider transitioning to an automated library solution.

Automated tape storage solutions house up to a dozen or more media cartridges in a single library unit. Media changes are handled automatically by the autoloader or library, providing hands-free storage management with capacities ranging from 500GB up to several terabytes. Depending on the amount of data that is being backed up, small businesses can automate media changes to cover a period of backups from a few days to a few months.

Small businesses may not have the same budgets as large corporations, but that doesn't mean they have to compromise functionality. Automated backup solutions specifically designed for small business users (complete with enterprise capabilities like Web-based monitoring and leading management software) range in price starting from $2,500-a far cry from $100,000 data center solutions.

Reliability: Time is money in today's market and small businesses usually don't have either to spare. Small businesses need reliable storage solutions that they can trust and that won't waste their time with frequent mechanical problems and repairs. That is why many companies are evaluating factors like low maintenance requirements, long warranties and vendor stability, in addition to cost.

Tape storage solutions have a proven track record for reliability. Most of today's major tape formats have a mean time between failures (MTBF) rated at over 300,000 hours at a full duty cycle, while most media cartridges have an estimated lifespan of over 30 years.

Recovery from Data Loss: Many small businesses are now realizing the value in backing up data, or rather the detrimental risks if they don't. Traditionally, storage backup and recovery has been an afterthought with small businesses. IDC estimates that roughly 80% of small business PC users still have crucial data on desktop PCs and notebooks that are not backed up regularly. They only realize the pain of losing years' worth of work when their data is gone.

Despite the overwhelming fear and consequences of data loss, Gartner estimates that less than 50% of medium-size businesses and only 25% of small businesses have disaster recovery plans in place. There is obviously a need for effective data storage planning and small business specific solutions. Tape media has been the perennial favorite for offsite data storage, making it a compelling solution for disaster recovery.

New Twists and Variations to Small Business Backup

Disk-to-Disk-to-Tape: Companies with large amounts of data and a preference to back up the data online or "near-line" may choose to use disk first and then stage the backup to tape at a later time. For some, this may have the advantage of faster restore times in the event that data needs to be back online immediately after an outage. The disk and tape complement each other because the disk drive is still more likely to encounter failure relative to tape.

Implementing this type of solution at the enterprise level doesn't come cheap. Small businesses with similar data recovery requirements, however, can achieve similar results for much less with a smaller scale solution. For example, small businesses can implement a tiered storage environment by bundling an entry level NAS file server or a Windows application server with a tape storage library and compatible management software. The result is a tiered disk-to-tape solution that can easily fit the needs of data-intensive small businesses.

Government Compliant Storage: The recent barrage of government storage regulations, such as SEC rule 17a-4, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and HIPAA, have taken the industry by storm and battered small businesses. Deciphering these mandates enough to execute a compliant storage strategy can be a difficult and expensive task, especially when most solutions seem to be based on proprietary systems aimed at the enterprise. WORM (Write Once Read Many) tape storage solutions have gained popularity for their ability to meet government requirements, while delivering the time-tested benefits of tape. WORM allows users to save data in a medium that can be quickly accessed whenever necessary, but not easily re-written or erased. This minimizes the chance of accidental data loss and the possibility of altering archived records.

Advanced developments in tape technologies, such as Sony's AIT format, make it possible for small businesses to implement solutions that can deliver traditional tape backup functions along with WORM functionality. With no added hardware costs, adding the benefits of WORM storage is as easy as inserting WORM-specific media into the drive.

Backup Consolidation: Small businesses with a number of individual storage devices already installed may want to consolidate their current backup hardware into one networked environment. The acquisition cost for a consolidated network backup solution may initially cost more than an individual tape drive, autoloader or library, but the return on investment over time will pay off in the long run.

This is because consolidating small business data backup efforts minimizes the costs associated with managing storage hardware while maximizing current storage assets. Storage capacity is no longer limited to direct-attached PCs or note-books and can be allocated across the network to multiple users. Networked backups can also be extended to remote or branch offices, while being managed from a centralized location.

Conclusion

Countless studies have shown that small businesses without a sound backup and disaster recovery procedure never fully recover. This is alarming considering that thousands of companies lose computer data every year. Now, with cost-effective and versatile solutions, implementing a solid backup plan has never been easier and could save countless man hours--not to mention headaches and lost nights of sleep.

www.sony.com

Michael Nixon is a senior manager for the Tape Storage Solutions Division of Sony Electronics.