System Administration Guide: Devices and File Systems
Previous Next

Choosing Which Media to Use

You typically back up Solaris systems by using the following tape media:

  • 1/2-inch reel tape

  • 1/4-inch streaming cartridge tape

  • 8-mm cartridge tape

  • 4-mm cartridge tape (DAT)

You can perform backups with diskettes, but doing so is time-consuming and cumbersome.

The media that you choose depends on the availability of the equipment that supports it and of the media (usually tape) that you use to store the files. Although you must do the backup from a local system, you can write the files to a remote device.

The following table shows typical tape devices that are used for backing up file systems. The storage capacity for each device depends on the type of drive and the data being written to the tape.

Table 30-1 Media Storage Capacities

Backup Media

Storage Capacity

1/2-inch reel tape

140 Mbytes (6250 bpi)

2.5-Gbyte 1/4-inch cartridge (QIC) tape

2.5 Gbytes

DDS3 4-mm cartridge tape (DAT)

12–24 Gbytes

14-Gbyte 8-mm cartridge tape

14 Gbytes

DLT 7000 1/2-inch cartridge tape

35–70 Gbytes

Previous Next