HP Storage Works DAT 72

Storage Works DAT 72 from HP uses the latest DAT 72 tape cartridges, which can back up 36 GB (72 GB compressed) data. The drive has a 68-pin SCSI interface and can be used in a daisy chain, although it is recommended to use it as the only device on the SCSI bus. The drive works with all Windows servers, NetWare, various flavors of Unix and Linux. But the driver CD has drivers for Windows and NetWare only. This is no problem as RedHat Linux 9 automatically loaded drivers for the drive and everything worked fine. The drive comes with TapeWare backup software, which was good for doing network backups. The drive also works well with the OS’s default backup utility.

We tested the drive on Win 2000 Advanced Server with the TapeWare software and got a throughput of 2.6 MB/s, which is close to its claimed speed of 3 MB/s. With this throughput, you can back up 9 GB data in an hour. 

Overall, the drive is a good buy for small businesses considering the compact size of both the drive and cartridge and good backup speeds, which let you back up 36 GB in four hours. The drive comes with a DAT 72 and cleaning cartridge and can also read and write older 12/24 and 20/40 DAT tapes. The price tag is well justified in comparison to DLT 80 drives.

S N   A   P   S   H O   T
Price	:	Rs 65,295
Meant for	:	Small businesses
Key Specs	:	Compact design, small size cartridge stores 36 GB (72 compressed) of data
Contact	:	Hewlett Packard India, Delhi
Tel	:	26826000.
E-mail	:	avijit.basu@hp.com

Anoop Mangla