Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Spectra Logic Takes Aim At Tape Diagnostics

Boulder-based Spectra Logic, a developer of backup and tape storage, is taking aim at one of the issues IT administrators have with tape backup: how to figure out if your backup tapes are okay, before a backup fails. The firm said today that it has rolled out a new product called the MLM Reader, which it says will allow customers to check tape health on any computer with a USB interface. The firm said the device will check data backup tapes before they are installed in a tape library. The firm said the new device tracks over 30 statistics about data tapes, including number of reads and writes on the tape, reamining capacity, and more; the firm says the hardware works in conjunction with its BlueScale library management software, and starts at $2,500.