Quantum DLT 2000 Handbook page 92

By starting with DLTtape system-based automation systems, you
know you're getting rock-solid drives at the heart of the system,
drives that are renowned for reliable, error-free operation. Once
you've made the decision to select a DLTtape-based system, you
can focus on the automation vendor, robotics reliability, the
number of drives available, and the total capacity. With a DLTtape
system-based library, you'll know that you're getting industry-
leading data transfer speed, tape media capable of up to a million
passes, and head life of up to 50,000 hours.
It's important in comparing the advertised reliability of tape
automation systems to compare apples to apples. For instance, in
comparing MTBF rates, be sure to ask the maker what duty cycle
was used to calculate the rate. If you plan to use your library for
hierarchical storage management, near on-line storage or other
high usage applications, duty cycle should be an important factor
in your search for the ideal system.
Don't forget to consider what your future may hold. Is the library sys-
tem you're considering expandable? Most high-end tape automation
systems can be expanded either by adding additional drives and car-
tridges within the existing housing, or by adding additional library
modules. These modules are usually a duplicate of what you have and
are linked by a common controller. Libraries that link in this way
often have a pass-through feature that allows cartridges to be moved
to the next available drive, no matter where it may be located.
Software And Centralized Backup Management
As computing resources continue to become more decentralized, IS
managers are attempting to cope with this situation by centralizing
as many network resources as possible. Centralized data storage
8.12 AUTOMATION