Software must be able to handle problems during backup and recovery. It should allow recoveries to be made from any individual tape or disk, and should be tolerant of user mistakes, such as files that are left open, by alerting the user rather than crashing or aborting the backup. Some businesses have backups that seem to go as planned for months, only to discover when an emergency arises that no data was in fact recorded. Parallel Problems Avoid systems with a parallel printer port connection. These transfer data much more slowly than devices using a SCSI or IDE connection.
Tape drives require frequent cleaning to remain in working condition.
Buy a tape head cleaner to prolong the life of the head, and set a schedule for cleaning the drive. Silver Watch Rule Tapes that are frequently used should be retired after about one year. If a backup does not go as planned, this means there are still two recent copies of the data available. All Rights Reserved.