Quantum shoots down SpectraLogic product claims

SpectraLogic recently claimed it is the first tape library vendor to have integrated data integrity validation. But competitor Quantum says it introduced this last year. Quantum's spokesperson said: First to market with data integrity software was Quantum, which launched iLayer Media Data Integrity Analysis (MeDIA) with its …

[Chris Mellor 1]

SpectraLogic corrects a few points

Sent to me by SpectraLogic's Molly Rector, VP of product management:-

Our new Data Integrity Verification feature is a first-to-market offering of its kind for several reasons:

The recent announcement that was issued by Spectra Logic on Monday, March 21 included two “new”/”market first” items:

1. Spectra Logic is the first tape library vendor to offer this level of data integrity validation to its customers across its entire product line (SME-large enterprise).

2. Spectra Logic has the only tape library data integrity verification offering that is free of charge (no additional license fee) to all customers—both existing installation base and our future customers.

A few other points for clarification follow. Spectra Logic has been developing media integrity and data integrity features for many years in our libraries. The recent announcement continues to build on this important feature set by now offering it to all customers at no charge regardless of the size of tape library that they have. This feature is no longer just available to Enterprise users but to all of our tape storage users. We think this is critical as all customer data, regardless of how large or small their data set, is critical to their organization.

As a short summary of our announcement dates and history on this topic, in April 2008, Spectra Logic announced Media Lifecycle Management, which was our first piece of the data integrity verification story. MLM checks more than 30 health points on individual cartridges and proactively notifies the administrator when it is time to retire tape media and replace them with new tapes, mitigating data corruption and loss.

Also, as a clarification to some of the points made in the recent write up that were not accurate regarding our offering:

· Data Integrity Verification (PreScan, QuickScan and PostScan) is fully functional with any media from any LTO supplier. It is not limited to just Spectra Logic’s Certified Media. Additionally, Spectra allows its customers to use any resource they deem appropriate for data verification. They can be dedicated to just this purpose or shared with production resource. We do not require loading tapes into a production library and work the scanning around normal operations. As you know, Spectra’s entire product line is based on a modular, customizable design that can be easily adjusted based on individual customer needs and requirements.

· With Spectra’s Data Integrity Verification, dedicated resources can absolutely be used. In fact, Spectra recommends that production resources are used to achieve optimum speed of QuickScan. (With QuickScan, a very fast scan is completed immediately after a job completes while the tape is still mounted in the drive. It would be poor resource utilization to unmount it, move it, and put it in a different drive. We let the customer use any resource they deem appropriate.)

· Also, two tapes/copies of data are not required to conduct the Data Integrity Verification process. This in many cases is considered a best practice in data protection and archive but is not a requirement of the Spectra Logic BlueScale Data Integrity Verification feature specifically.

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Thanks,

Chris.

[WEA]

rather a conundrum-

I am unclear regarding the value of printing 'backup expert' W. Curtis Preston's statement of awareness (or not in this case) of Quantum's MeDIA tape validation product; are we to take it that since he is not aware of it that it does not exist? Indeed that MeDIA has not existed since it was introduced a year ago? Or alternatively is this simply a means of illustrating that it is not possible for one expert to know everything? It's puzzling.