Sony SDX-450V

This is an entry-level internal tape drive that uses AIT-1 Turbo cartridges. The maximum native capacity of this drive is 40 GB and the compressed capacity 104 GB, making it suitable for single server backups. On the performance front, the drive matched and outperformed its rated specs. It took 45 minutes and 33 seconds to backup 16 GB of data in compressed mode, which translates to 21.8 GB per hour. It took slightly lesser time (38 seconds less) to backup the same data with compression disabled. We got similar results for restoring the data as well. 

On the features front the model is fairly ordinary. There's no backup software or cleaning cartridge bundled with the drive. It just has three LEDs on the front panel for diagnostics. These indicate Tape motion, Cleaning Requests and when you have to replace the tape. 

This was the costliest of all the Sony drives we reviewed, including the cost of cartridge. It's performance was comparable to the Sony 250V drive, and much better than the SDT-11000. The reason for the higher pricing is that it supports a higher backup capacity than the other two. As a plus, this drive has a lower running cost compared to the SDX 250V. It also gives a cost of Rs. 30/GB for native and Rs. 11/GB for compressed data.

BOTTOM LINE: Overall it's a decent drive for single server, low volume backups. Like all Sony drives, its cartridge cost is also lower than all non-Sony drives that we reviewed. A good buy given its performance and cost/GB. RQS# E20 or SMS 131120 to 9811800601

Price: Rs: 42,500, Cartridge-Rs. 1,200



Warranty: 3 years



Cartridge type: AIT-1 Turbo 



Capacity: 40 GB Native, 104 GB Compressed 



Avg. througput: 21.95GB/Hr 



Contact: Apex Computers, Chennai



Tel: 24455185/188