Quantum Eases Tape Administration

That new capability is based on an update to the company’s iLayer software that now includes a Media Data Integrity Analysis feature that allows IT administrators to scan tape cartridges for flaws before loading a tape.

Like many tape libraries, Quantum is adding support for LTO-5 tape drives to the Scaler i6000, which can now hold up to 16 petabytes of data using over 5,300 cartridges. That creates an opportunity to consolidate many tape backup systems, but it also means that more data than ever is housed on a single cartridge, said Ryan Duffy, Quantum automation product marketing manager.

Rather than discovering media flaws in the process of a recovery, Quantum is giving customers a way to proactively check the integrity of a tape offline prior to the need for recovering that data, he added.

Version 4.0 of Quantum’s iLayer software also includes enhanced reporting and centralized management tools as part of the company’s overall effort to ease backup administration. In addition, the company has added an alert feature that sends a notification when a tape drive is removed from the system and new key management software for managing encryption.