Crossroads Looks at the Source of Slow Tape Backups

July 20, 2010 Alex Woodie

Crossroads Systems last week unveiled a new service aimed at identifying the causes of slow tape backups. Called the Library Overview Analysis Service, the new offering will help customers get a better handle on the operational nature of their tape-based backup systems, and make their backups faster as a result.

Crossroads designs and sells a range of storage products, including the SPHiNX line of virtual tape libraries (VTLs), which the Austin, Texas, company is quite bullish on selling into the IBM i Power Systems marketplace.

With its Library Overview Analysis, or LOA, offering, the company will provide a means for analyzing the real-world condition of customers’ tape-based backup processes. The LOA service looks at the customers’ entire tape library environment and quantifies the efficiency and utilization of the environment, as well as risk areas.

Based on the information, LOA will identify low performing devices, under- or over-utilized assets, and degrading components, such as tape cartridges worn down by “shoe shining,” or repeatedly running the tape back and forth through the drive at a fast rate.

“Rather than tossing out perfectly good media, storage administrators can avoid unnecessary costs and headaches by viewing the precise status and health of their environment,” Elaine Pleshek, senior product manager at Crossroads, says in a press release. “By gaining a reliable tool that continually diagnoses operational backup errors, organizations can experience impressive performance improvements.”

The LOA software gathers data through the ReadVerify Appliance (RVA), a device that installs on the customer’s network. The LOA disperses its findings and recommendations through a Web portal.

The new LOA service complements existing Crossroads services, including its Site Analysis Survey and Tape Verification Service. For more information, see www.crossroads.com.