DAT DRIVES

Every day, businesses deal with millions of megabytes of electronic information. They communicate in emails rather than letters and faxes, they have databases instead of rolodexes, and they maintain web sites that require a whole slew of computer files that weren't necessary five years ago.

It's not enough to just keep this information on your computers' hard drives. There typically isn't enough space, for one thing, but more importantly, one computer crash can eliminate your data.

That's where data storage comes in. All the information that's crucial to your business' operation has to live somewhere, whether you access it regularly, keep it as an archive, or do a little of both. And there's a different flavor for each type of storage needed.

There is one main reason that a business requires storage devices: to put your data somewhere other than your computer's hard drive. But why shouldn't it stay on the hard drive?

Security
Your hard drive is not the safest place to store your files. Any computer left out in the open is at risk for tampering from burglars or corporate spies, or just nosy employees.

Natural disasters
In most businesses, the information stored on computer hard drives is irreplaceable. Customer databases, tax records, marketing materials, and intellectual property may all be stored on computers throughout the office.

But every year, thousands of companies lose computer data because of fires, floods, or even leaky ceilings. For some, such a data loss can be the end of the business.

Hard drive crashes
If your hard drive crashes, and it's the only place you store your files, you can kiss your data goodbye. Your hard drive is also susceptible to corruption from computer viruses passed on through floppy disks, emails, or files downloaded from the Internet.

Sure, there are recovery utilities that can try to retrieve files from a hard drive after it has crashed or has been corrupted. But that's still a big risk for you to take with your business. It's also a pretty nerve-wracking experience whether or not you get the data back.

Space
Even if hard drives were 100 percent secure and crash-proof, there's still an issue of space. These days most businesses generate data that requires far more storage space than your average 6 - 10 GB hard drive found on the typical corporate PC.

Portablility
You can't exactly carry your desktop computer around with you. And it's not always practical or feasible to email files. To transport your files, you'll often need storage media.

Small files and everyday use
Floppy disks are fine for small file transfer. As files get bigger, though, a floppy frequently isn't enough. Plus, not all computers include floppy drives these days.

An external superfloppy drive, like Iomega's Jaz, uses disks that can handle up 2 gigabytes (GB) of data. It's an ideal solution for copying and distributing everyday office files like PowerPoint presentations and digital photos, provided there's a drive on the other end to read the disk.

Fatter files and occasional accessing
If you want to permanently copy files that will be regularly accessed, take a look at a writable CD drive. These devices can record up to 650 MB of data on each disc. They are often used to copy multimedia files, large numbers of very high-resolution photos, or customer databases. And at less than $2 a disc, the cost of storage is a fairly economical solution.

Writable DVD drives have recently entered the market. They can record up to 5.2 GB of data on double-sided disks and have been receiving a lot of attention lately; the current standard available is called DVD-RAM.

Regularly scheduled backups
Computer backup systems help businesses protect against both system failures and business catastrophes by providing a safe way to back up and store copies of data outside the office.

The oldest and least expensive option is the tape drive. Storage capacity for some of today's tape drives has reached 50 GB on a single cartridge.

But there are alternatives to tape, if your storage needs aren't astronomical. Many storage devices can archive your data starting in the gigabyte (GB) range. For example, a removable hard disk like Iomega's Jaz drive can hold up to 2 GB of data per disk.

Generally speaking, if you don't plan to access the backed-up data frequently, you're better off basing your decision on the cost of backup. That typically means a tape drive will be your most economical solution. While the difference may only be pennies per MB, that can definitely add up over time.

For years, tape drives have been the de facto choice for completely backing up a computer system. Ranging from less than a cent to five cents per megabyte, tape drives still provide the cheapest high-capacity backup storage solution available.

There are several different types of tape drives that allow storage capacities ranging from 4 GB to as much as 50 GB of uncompressed data (or 100 GB of compressed data) on a single cassette.

The biggest drawback? Data recovery is slow. Tape is not a random-access media, meaning that instead of pinpointing the data you want to access instantly, you have to wind through the tape to locate it.

However, tapes' low cost and high storage capacities have made them a top choice for many firms' backup strategies.

The most commonly used tape drives are DAT (Digital Audio Tape) and DLT (Digital Linear Tape).

DAT drives are especially well suited for small businesses that need to back up numerous small files. Using a 4 mm tape originally designed for digital audio players, DAT drives can handle 1 to 4 GB per cartridge.

Backup software
Most tape drives come equipped with software that allows unattended backups of a single computer or a small network. For larger networks, you generally have to buy third-party software that works with the backup drive and the network operating system.

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.

Buying Considerations

When deciding which type of storage device would best fit your needs, realize first that there is no perfect solution.

In fact, chances are you're going to need more than one type of storage device to satisfy your business. For example, you may prefer a tape drive for archiving, but in addition, you'll probably need a device using media that other systems can easily read, like CD-ROMs or Zip disks.

And while you shop, keep a few points in mind:

Capacity
You're always going to be limited by the size of your media. So before you buy, make sure it can handle the amount of data you'll be storing efficiently and economically. A good rule of thumb: Buy a drive that can back up your entire hard disk on one piece of media, with room to spare.

Or, consider how much data you have to back up in one sitting at the end of each week. For example, if you only have 1 GB of data to copy over the course of a week, you might consider a writable CD drive (650 MB per disc) or a Jaz drive (2 GB per disk).

For more than that, you'll want something like a tape drive (at least 4 GB per cartridge) or DVD-RAM drive (5.2 GB per double side disc). Having to constantly change the media when you are copying data would be incredibly time consuming - or impossible, even, if you do backups overnight and run out of space in the wee hours.

For example, while tape drives may be the most economical solution for backing up huge amounts of data on a regular basis, they are not the fastest, or the most convenient solution. Often, retrieving lost data can take more time than you have to spend, rewinding to isolate the data you want to recover.

On the other hand, recordable CD or DVD drives, or other disk-based systems, allow you to zero in on any part of the data in just moments.

To make the right decision, you'll have to weigh how important the speed of copying or finding files is versus the cost of storing them. (In some cases, a software solution coupled with a storage device can make data recovery that much easier.)

Device and media costs
How many times will you need to stock up on new media? While it might be tempting to base your decision on the cost of the drive, pay attention to the cost of the media as well. It may be that you'll end up opting for a far more expensive drive to take advantage of the lower media cost.

Tape Drives

For years, tape drives have been the de facto choice for completely backing up a computer system. Ranging from less than a cent to five cents per megabyte, tape drives still provide the cheapest high-capacity backup storage solution available.

DAT drives are especially well suited for small businesses that need to back up numerous small files. Using a 4 mm tape originally designed for digital audio players, DAT drives can handle 1 to 4 GB per cartridge.