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[previous article] [next article]During the past year, the ECN has been implementing a new mass storage backup system with expanded capacity and functionality. The system that is replacing the old server backup system also makes office computer backup services widely available.
From the early years, updated and new data written to disk drives or mass storage units of ECN servers has been copied or backed up to magnetic tapes each day. The backups provide recovery when disk drives fail and when files removed from disks are later needed. Until 1988, half inch reel-to-reel magnetic tape units were used. Each machine room included one or more tape units, each valued at about $45,000 and used reels with capacities of ~200 megabytes(MB). The network included approximately 40,000 MB of disk storage and 27 servers.
As server disk capacities increased, new technology for tape units was required. In 1988, the ECN beta tested early versions of 8mm helical scan shoe-box-size tape units which used tapes with a capacity of 2,000 MB and similar in size to audio cassette tapes. Known as Exabyte tape units and valued at about $2,400 each, the ECN had over 70 units in operation by 1996. With capacities of the newest Exabyte units reaching 4,000 MB or 4 gigabytes(GB), the ECN was backing up nearly 1,000,000 MB or 1,000 GB of mass storage.
By 1996, the Exabyte backup system was rendered obsolete by needs to greatly expand the backup system's capacity, reduce operating costs, backup large numbers of office system local disks, handle a diversity of operating systems and eventually allow users direct access to their backup files.
After reviewing numerous systems, Tom Statnick and George Goble began pilot testing of the HP Omniback software system in Fall 1996, and the StorageTek 9710 robotic tape library in Fall 1997. The current tape library configuration uses tape cartridges with 35 GB capacity, provides robotic access to over 14,000 GB or 14 terabytes and can be economically expanded. The capital cost of the central hardware and software was approximately $150,000 and will pay for itself through operating cost savings. The ECN is now moving the current backup operation to the new system and expects to complete the move by July 1998.
To request disk backup services, faculty and staff may contact their ECN site specialist or send email to Dave Carmichael, ECN Manager of ECN User Services, (login: carmicha or using the mail alias backup). Additional information is available at
http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/ECN/Services/
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