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June Edition
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Re-use your 3590s
Tape Recovery Solutions
Re-use your 3590s
eMag Solutions is pleased to announce its capability for the complete erasure, cleaning, re-servo track writing and testing of 3590 media. The production process for 3590 tape cartridges includes the application of three servo tracks, written horizontally along the tape. The servo tracks are typically written onto a pancake of 1600 Oe metal particle media, before the tape is loaded into the cartridge shell. At this point the cartridge is then tested for errors, and assuming it complies with the appropriate error criteria it is ready for use in the field.
As the cartridge is used, the performance may deteriorate due to debris being picked up on the tape surface, or servo track signal strength may not be as strong as when new due to tape deformations as a result of normal wear and tear. The cartridge can be cleaned in a cartridge cleaner, and it may also be tested, but up until now the tape surface could not be refreshed on a degausser. This is because degaussing the tape cartridge would erase the servo tracks (rendering the cartridge unusable) in addition to erasing the data.
Some customers would like the ability to re-use their 3590 cartridges, but do not want any remenance of old data on the cartridge. The easiest way to do this would be the degauss the media. But now clients can have it all.
eMag Solutions has developed an in-cartridge servo track re-writer. eMag Solutions first developed its own 3590 servo track writer four years ago for application at the tape pancake stage. This same technology has now been transferred to enable application at the cartridge level. The result is the ability to degauss the cartridge removing all old data, clean the media, and re-servo track write the media. The result is the delivery of a refreshed 3590 cartridge with test specifications matching those of a new 3590 cartridge, saving the clients thousands of dollars. If you would like to learn more, please contact us today.
Tape Recovery Solutions
The requirement for recovering data from magnetic media is often thought of as something associated with a natural disaster of one type or another. When a region experiences a tornado, hurricane, earthquake or some other weather related disaster the needs are abundant. Data stored on magnetic media is usually the "last gasp" effort to restore the normal operation of a business that has been adversely affected by one of these incidences. The needs are great, and the urgency is paramount. For this reason the importance of having a proven disaster recovery plan for the entire operation is critical. This is why most companies regularly rotate "back up" tapes to off-site facilities on a daily basis.
However, the often overlooked safety net is the tape that was written yesterday and cannot be read today for some unknown reason. If this occurs and the tapes is sent off-site as a back up, the problem is not realized until time to restore the data. In essence by the time you know the backup is bad, it's too late. And the cost to recreate that un-readable information can be extremely high, if it can be recreated at all.
But what about that data that was recorded since the last off site rotation and just prior to the disaster? Many times these tapes are exposed to elements which make the data unreadable with routine operation. So what then? Is this data lost?.
The answer, of course, is no. There are many companies that offer data recovery services. Most specialize in different aspects of recovery such as hot sites, which provide systems with which to use to continue data center operations. Others offer hard disk recovery for mainframes, servers and PC's. Others specialize in recovery of data from magnetic tapes. These tapes often contain data from the most recent processing period.
Recovering Data From Magnetic Tapes
As in all data recovery operations, recovering data is very specialized. There are primarily two recovery types - Physical and Logical.
Physical Data Recovery is necessary when there is a physical problem with the media or plastics which prevents the data from being read normally. This type of recovery may include dealing with issues such as deteriorating magnetic coatings, cracked or broken reels/cartridge shells, creased tape edges, twisted or folded tape, stretched or broken tape, etc. This recovery type also includes capturing the data from media that has mistakenly subjected to adverse conditions such as water, mud, or other debris. While these physical issues are often difficult to handle, recovery of these types can usually be achieved in the high 98+% range.
Logical Data Recovery is typically the most difficult, and consequently, the most expensive. Recovering files logically includes recovering the data portion of a tape that was successfully recorded, but for some unknown reason cannot be read. The recovery of files from this type of problem often requires multiple passes using proprietary software that restores the file to the HDD. If hard errors occur, "dummy blocks" are written in their place, the file fragments are pieced back together and the logically re-created file written to the appropriate output tape.
Other forms of Logical Data Recovery include tapes that were written with misaligned heads, and tapes that contain critical data and were re-initialized by mistake. All of these problems can be recovered, or at least partially recovered using internally developed proprietary software and processes.
At eMag, our experience in recovering data from magnetic media ranges from tapes that were submerged in flood waters from hurricane Floyd, a container of recorded tapes that had dropped into the bay when being unloaded from a vessel, tapes from the 9-11 WTC disaster, tapes damaged by drives and the information needed for litigation, 4mm tapes written with misaligned drive heads, re-initialized 3490e tapes containing critical data, etc. Of all of the data we have recovered over the past 5 years, our recovery success is phenomenal at just over 97%. Visit our Tape Data Recovery Solutions page or contact us today to learn more.
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