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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

How do you store your LTO tapes?

S

Scott Pultz

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I'm starting to get a pile here in my locked cabinet. I'm thinking for a fire safe or something designed specifically for LTO tapes themselves. How are people safely storing theirs?
 
Tandberg with ATTO host adapter on Windows.
 
time capsules coated in asbestos (just kidding lol)... def off site is a good idea, an easier thing might be switch over to LTO 6 so you gain capacity, also just to have the new standard available when you need it one day... you need back up decks and apps as well. but conforming it all over to LTO 6 and storing those off site wouldn't be a bad idea...you should kind of follow the technology unless your planning to save a few decks just in case for when you can't score one potentially a decade or more from now...its a long term game
 
Professional storage companies have fire-proof vault and Halon gas to ward against damage from flood, fire, earthquakes, and so on. I know Iron Mountain has some major warehouses for data files and stuff like that.

Here's a list of a whole bunch of them in the LA area:

http://variety411.com/us/los-angeles/film-tape-storage/

Some insurance companies will require that you store your media at certified, bonded places like this.
 
Make sure all the spools are vertical, so the tapes are sitting up. This will help stop gravity warping the tape, as long term horizontal storage can cause big issues.
 
Simon Dunne said:
Make sure all the spools are vertical, so the tapes are sitting up. This will help stop gravity warping the tape, as long term horizontal storage can cause big issues.
Click to expand...
Very wise advice from Simon. All of this is very true. I would also add you should backup to hard drives and LTO tapes, and then migrate the drives to new drives every 3-4 years or so.
 
I use pelican cases (duplicate sets) with silica packs. Keeps moisture and dust away from them. Everything stays on spinning drives as well for immediate access. Duplicate LTO6 has treated me quite well though. Good tip for the orientation if the spindles - I remember that from 2inch! As far as migration goes, LTO is backwards read by 3x generations. Since I'm on LTO6 now, I'll migrate onto new tapes with version 8. Much longer than that and it's unlikely you'll have host machines that's accept the HBA cards.
 
We have until recently used hard drives for project backup - I know they fail, but we use 3 drives per client + store 1 offsite and thus far this has served us well. We have now started also backing up key projects to LTO tape (currently LTO 5) and I'm wondering how secure LTO really is? Would we be safe now backing up to 1 hard drive to allow for easy project access in the office and the to 1 LTO tape kept offsite. How secure would this 2 copy backup workflow be?

Scott
 
Its safe enough that they allow it for Union bonded projects, but the tapes are so cheap you should just make 2 LTO copies... and 1 drive copy to be really safe...
 
I was falling asleep last night when I wrote it, I wanted to add Union gigs do 2 HDD copies 1 LTO or 3 HDD copies, as per their requirements...The tapes fairly safe, usually portions are damaged not entire tapes but you still have systematic risk, you need offsite copies, etc. Store the tapes correctly or it will diminish life span dramatically... you want spare decks, applications, everything that goes along with it

PS I am hopeful those new very large sony Cassettes (125GB or something crazy) becomes a good longterm archival medium...Plus the whole irony of going back to cassettes makes it hilarious like everyone hates tape these days besides archivists who realize LTO is the best thing we got other then stone carvings and cave paintings lol
 
Brian Merlen said:
I was falling asleep last night when I wrote it, I wanted to add Union gigs do 2 HDD copies 1 LTO or 3 HDD copies, as per their requirements...The tapes fairly safe, usually portions are damaged not entire tapes but you still have systematic risk, you need offsite copies, etc. Store the tapes correctly or it will diminish life span dramatically... you want spare decks, applications, everything that goes along with it
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean by "union gigs," but on studio level features all material is stored on two LTO tapes (usually still LTO5 but sometimes LTO6), in either LTFS or tar format, that are verified at the source when they're written. The tapes are stored in two different places for safety. There is usually (but not always) a production backup on spinning drives, and another copy on spinning drives on the system used to make the dailies (either direct attached or SAN). That copy is usually deleted as needed once the LTO's are re-verified by the finishing facility or the studio, and editorial verifies that they have received everything they expected to receive. But the two LTO's are the primary, trusted storage. For television work, more often than not (HBO being the exception) only one LTO is made and the primary method of storage and transport is spinning drives. This is partly due to the quicker turnarounds expected in television productions and partly due to legacy methods used by a number of television post facilities.
 
I just bought a TeraTurtle for offsite storage. I'm considering one of their fire proof media safes for onsite storage.
 
Scott Pultz said:
I just bought a TeraTurtle for offsite storage. I'm considering one of their fire proof media safes for onsite storage.
Click to expand...

Although a safe deposit box might be a more economical solution as I don't need to store hundreds of tapes or anything.
 
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