BIG DATA TAPE LIBRARY BUYER’S GUIDE by Ben Maas and Jerome Wendt
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The Insider’s Guide to Evaluating Big Data Tape Libraries 2014-15 BIG DATA TAPE LIBRARY BUYER’S GUIDE By Ben Maas and Jerome Wendt 2013-14 EMPOWERING THE IT INDUSTRY WITH ACTIONABLE ANALYSIS · WWW.DCIG.COM 2014-15 BIG DATA TAPE LIBRARY BUYER’S GUIDE The Insider’s Guide to Evaluating Big Data Tape Libraries Table of Contents 1 Introduction 15 Big Data Tape Library Models 16 Dell PowerVault ML6010 39 Overland Storage NEO 2000e 3 Executive Summary 17 Dell PowerVault ML6020 40 Overland Storage NEO 4000e 18 Dell PowerVault ML6030 41 Overland Storage NEO 8000e 5 How to Use this Buyer’s Guide 19 Dell PowerVault TL2000 42 Quantum Scaler i40 20 Dell PowerVault TL4000 43 Quantum Scaler i80 6 Disclosures 21 HP StoreEver ESL G3 100-Slot 44 Quantum Scalar i500 22 HP StoreEver ESL G3 300-Slot 45 Quantum Scalar i6000 6 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria 23 HP StoreEver ESL G3 700-Slot 46 Spectra Logic T50e 24 HP StoreEver ESL G3 1500-Slot 47 Spectra Logic T120 7 The 8-Step Process Used to Score 25 HP StoreEver ESL G3 3000-Slot 48 Spectra Logic T200 and Rank Tape Libraries 26 HP StoreEver ESL G3 5000-Slot 49 Spectra Logic T380 27 HP StoreEver MSL2024 50 Spectra Logic T680 8 DCIG Comments & Thoughts 28 HP StoreEver MSL4048 51 Spectra Logic T950 8 The Big Data Tape Library Category 29 HP StoreEver MSL6480 52 Spectra Logic T-Finity as a Whole 30 IBM TS3100 53 Tandberg Data 8 The Rise of LTO-6 31 IBM TS3200 Storage Library T24 8 The Evolving Role of Tape 32 IBM TS3310 54 Tandberg Data Storage Library T40+ 9 REST APIs and Secondary Cloud Storage 33 IBM TS3500 34 Oracle StorageTek SL150 55 Tandberg Data Storage Library T80+ 9 DCIG Observations & Recommendations 35 Oracle StorageTek SL3000 56 Tandberg Data 36 Oracle StorageTek SL8500 9 Best-in-Class and Storage Library T120+ Recommended Rankings 37 Overland Storage NEO 200s 57 Tandberg Data 10 Excellent Ranking 38 Overland Storage NEO 400s Storage Library T160+ 10 Good Ranking 11 Basic Ranking 12 Big Data Tape Library 58 Product Rankings Dashboard Scores and Rankings Appendices A-1 Appendix A—Definitions, Explanations and Terminology B-1 Appendix B—Storage Provider Contact Information C-1 Appendix C—Author Contact Information © 2014 DCIG, LLC. All rights reserved. Licensed to Oracle Corporation with unlimited and unrestricted distribution rights. i 2014-15 BIG DATA TAPE LIBRARY BUYER’S GUIDE The Insider’s Guide to Evaluating Big Data Tape Libraries Introduction No one would make the statement that tape as a storage medium will ever leapfrog disk again as the preferred method of data storage. However it can be said with confidence that one of the oldest computer storage medium is holding steady in its current niche and is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. Expansive tape libraries remain a necessity as the Big Data market grows ever larger each year. An illustration of this growth is that while tape sales dropped by 14% in 2012 overall, sales actually rose by 1% in the third quarter of 2012, and some analysts expect them to increase again by at least 3% in calendar year 2013.1 The amount of data growth is becom- ing exponentially greater with small, medium and large enterprise organizations alike gener- ate much more data. As they do, they are coming to the realization (again) that storing data to tape remains a cost-effective and viable option. The benefits of tape over disk for long-term storage are well-documented. However it is worth repeating to reinforce why tape is still necessary, and why its allure will hold steady or possibly even grow slightly as the need for data storage capacity expands. Tape is good at leaving data at rest. This makes the cost structure of tape particularly attractive to users with large data sets that, once created, stay relatively static. Most Big Data datasets are constantly growing, but once data is created, that data rarely changes. On the other side, disk can present disadvantages to the storage of static data because the operational costs of keeping disk drives spinning are much greater than tape’s inherent state of “set it and forget it.” Tape also offers distinctive security and reliability advantages over disk. Data backed up to tape is typically more secure than data stored on disk or in the cloud because, in part, tape can make data more difficult to access and then retrieve. As a result, the average hacker is more likely to spend time trying to hack a storage cloud than to go to the trouble of break- ing into a storage facility where tape backups are stored, retrieve those tapes, load them into a tape library, and then go through each tape cartridge to find and access the data stored on them. Lastly, tape libraries are still more physically reliable than disk. For instance, tapes can be repaired after snapping to make the data readable again. In contrast, a failed hard disk drive (HDD) is often rendered useless with the data on it becoming inaccessible. To put this contrast into perspective, data loss could range from a lost terabyte on a failed HDD while on a repaired tape the loss could be limited to as little as a few hundred mega- bytes (or less) lost. CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research that operates the world's largest particle physics laboratory, is a perfect example of the effective difference between data loss from tape backup versus disk storage. While it loses a few hundred MBs each year out of its 100 PB tape library, it loses about a few hundred TBs during the same time period from its HDD storage repository of 50 PB.2 Aside from the various legacy advantages that tape still holds over disk, there are some advances being made in tape storage medium, most notably with REST APIs, which are one of the new features identified and scored by the DCIG 2014-15 Big Data Tape Library 1. "Tape Rescues Big Data." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 26 Sept. 2013. Web. <http://www.economist.com/blogs/babbage/2013/09/information-storage>. 2. Ibid. © 2014 DCIG, LLC. All rights reserved. Licensed to Oracle Corporation with unlimited and unrestricted distribution rights. 1 2014-15 BIG DATA TAPE LIBRARY BUYER’S GUIDE The Insider’s Guide to Evaluating Big Data Tape Libraries Introduction (continued) Introduction (continued) Buyer's Guide. REST uses a subset of HTTP, a protocol with which many programmers are already familiar, meaning they can write code for it with few complications. Furthermore, REST APIs are web-based services and protocols that make up much of the underpinnings of new public and private cloud datasets. Roughly one out of every four of the models surveyed for this Buyer's Guide support the ability to store data directly to tape using REST. As a way to ease the initial ingest of data and migration between different tiers of data storage, at least one vendor, Spectra Logic, is simulating the Amazon S3 REST protocol. Additionally, nine models further support the ability to store data to secondary cloud storage. The combination of REST APIs with cloud storage being offered more closely alongside tape storage is a significant step forward for the tape storage industry. The DCIG 2012 Big Data Tape Library Buyer’s Guide focused on the then recently intro- duced LTFS (Linear Tape File System) as the major advancement in tape storage. Although an important advancement, that technology has not contributed to the expansion of the medium as much as one might have been expected. It does appear, however, that REST APIs are set to be the next “big thing” in the near future and will help to further cement tape as the optimum choice for organizations tasked with storing and keeping safe massive quantities of data for extended periods of time in a cost-effective manner. © 2014 DCIG, LLC. All rights reserved. Licensed to Oracle Corporation with unlimited and unrestricted distribution rights. 2 2014-15 BIG DATA TAPE LIBRARY BUYER’S GUIDE The Insider’s Guide to Evaluating Big Data Tape Libraries Executive Summary Executive There has been a campaign against tape since at least the turn of the century as disk Summary storage vendors, historically the competitors of tape storage, have sought to sunset tape technology. As storage advancements have increased, hard drives have become cheaper and able to handle larger amounts of data with fewer complications. Despite the techno- logical advancements for disk, however, it still cannot challenge tape for its supremacy in its ability to store large amounts of data for lengthy periods of time, and do so with relatively few associated risks. Tape has long held some notable advantages over disk-based storage, and those benefits still remain relevant. Some of those include: • Reliability—Tape tends to store long-term data better than disk, and data recovery is easier to accomplish on a broken tape than a failed hard disk • Security—Tape can be packed away and stored where it must be physically accessed, giving it a tangible advantage over data stored on disks that can be accessed on computer. • Cost Savings—Tape can prove to be more economical than disk because of the price of tape cartridges, its longevity and the fact that it can be scaled incrementally (only need to purchase one tape cartridge at a time.) Compared to the previous edition, this Buyer’s Guide puts a larger focus on hardware encryption and the benefits it brings to tape libraries.