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Contrary to many earlier forecasts, tape storage remains enterprise computing's choice for archival storage. Today, we have an explosion of tape formats, some offering astounding increases in capacity and versatility. The question becomes which of those formats will ultimately survive and, of the survivors, which can become an enterprise's primary tape platform? This article suggests that a few key factors indicate well-established mainframe tape technologies, rather than some of the new server tape platforms that will continue to dominate enterprise storage well into the future.
Enterprise computing is increasingly becoming storagecentric. In fact, storage requirements can dictate total system designs. Servers are being relocated into the old mainframe environment and managed centrally. Server tape libraries and mainframe tape libraries will be integrated into unified and centrally managed enterprise libraries. While tape-media platforms remain the choice for archival storage in both server and mainframe application, centralization will have to address the growing conflict between incompatible server and mainframe tape storage platforms.
How will this server/mainframe storage conflict play out? On one hand, server-based storage offers numerous new tape technologies with attractive combinations of drive costs, data-transfer rates, and dataaccess speeds. Current forecasts paint a rosy picture for the future demand of server-based tape-storage products.
On the other hand, the need for complete integration of all enterprise data, the efficiency of central management, and the track record. of well-established storage procedures favor central mainframe-style management over decentralized server management for the ultimate responsibility of enterprise data.
Mainframe archival storage is typically a well-established infrastructure designed around older half-inch magnetic-tapecartridge platforms. Virtual tape systems (VTS) and newer hierarchical storage management procedures are improving mainframe storage efficiencies and reducing tape demand. New mainframe tape generations also continue the historic trend of offering higher storage capacities and faster transfer rates.
The question for enterprise storage managers becomes, in addition to their mainframe tape libraries, how many server storage platforms should they be managing? For effective enterprise computing, the answer is as few as possible. It becomes counterproductive to manage a facility with three or four different platforms in the same environment. Eventually, operational pressures for efficiency will force change. In those environments, which include existing large mainframe libraries, the mainframe libraries will dominate and ultimately replace the current server tape...