What should I do with this BA piece of hardware?

June 26, 2007 7:45 AM

I have a Dell Powervault 120T DLT Auto loader that is decommissioned at my workplace. I would like to do something cool with it. Any suggestions?

Its coming with all of the cables, and a stack of 40/80gig tapes.
Is there any way I could hook this up to my XP media server at home for extra storage?
Any suggestions are welcome!

posted by JonnyRotten to Computers & Internet (10 answers total)

You can use it to backup your XP media server. All you need is the SCSI card to attach it to. It will be a little slow, but for archival purposes, that's not a big deal.
posted by stovenator at 7:59 AM on June 26, 2007

Extra storage? No, not really. DLT is for backup/archive, too slow for anything approaching real-time external storage, if that's what you're thinking.

Yeah, you could use it for backup, but honestly, you're better off with an external HD for single-machine home use. For something more "archival", burn a DVD.
posted by mkultra at 8:09 AM on June 26, 2007

Response by poster: So once I hook it up, will my xp machine see it as another HD? or do I need some funky software thats for archival only?
posted by JonnyRotten at 8:30 AM on June 26, 2007

If it takes 7 x 40GB tapes then that's 280GB storage, which isn't that much nowadays.

I'd say it's not worth the hassle for a media server. The real advantage of tapes is that you can easily store them off site - you could use it for backing up important data, but even then you may as well just get an external hard disk.

Also, as stovenator says, even if it comes with all the cables you'll probably need to get a SCSI card for your server.
posted by OldMansHands at 8:34 AM on June 26, 2007

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure no. You generally need some kind of backup software to, at the very least, keep track of tape catalogs. I don't think DLT has a filesystem that Windows can read on its own. This is a VERY BROAD generalization, but they're essentially like the old cassette-tape drives from the 80's, only denser- it's a big reel, and the software knows that File X is between segment Y and Z of the tape.
posted by mkultra at 8:35 AM on June 26, 2007

It won't look like a hard drive, you'll need some software that understands tape drives. And then you'll have to use that to get data on/off the tapes.

It's possible that there's something clever for Windows that will mount tapes automatically, but I don't have any real experience with backup tapes on windows.
posted by OldMansHands at 8:41 AM on June 26, 2007

Easiest way to do something cool with it is to sell it on ebay or craigslist and do something cool with the proceeds.
posted by mrbugsentry at 8:42 AM on June 26, 2007

Response by poster: Ebay it is.. I think I will donate the proceeds to a local charity. Not that it will be much..
I would like to include the tapes so that I can maximize the bids. Is there a easy way to wipe alllll the data off of them?
Like a big magnet? Or will that erase them AND make them unuseable.

Thanks again for the advice!
posted by JonnyRotten at 8:57 AM on June 26, 2007

Ebay it is.. I think I will donate the proceeds to a local charity.

Why not just donate the hardware outright? I bet if you put up a "Free for 501(c)3"-style listing on CL, there's some underfunded nonprofit who can take it off your hands and put it to good use.
posted by mkultra at 9:20 AM on June 26, 2007

Sell it on eBay. You WILL be able to get lots of money for it. DLT autoloaders and 40/80 GB media are still used daily/constantly in my line of business.
posted by infinitewindow at 9:26 AM on June 26, 2007