HP unveils new tape backup solutions

HP today announced several new tape backup offerings for its HP Business Protection portfolio to provide small and mid-size businesses (SMBs) with affordable data protection.
Chief among these are the industry's first DAT USB tape drives, which combine the reliability and cost-effectiveness of digital audio tape (DAT) with the plug-and-play capabilities of the USB 2.0 interface. Half-height LTO Ultrium 1 tape drives and additional tape drive support for the popular HP StorageWorks 1/8 tape autoloader were also introduced.

According to AMI Partners, data protection is among the highest priorities for SMBs, and tape is still the most commonly used backup medium.

By supporting the exclusive HP One-Button Disaster Recovery feature, the new tape drives allow users to recover not only their data but, in the event of a catastrophic disaster, their complete system configuration with the push of a single button.

Additionally, all of the new tape drives and autoloaders come with HP StorageWorks Library and Tape Tools, a comprehensive set of utilities that make installation, management and troubleshooting simple, even for smaller businesses with little or no IT support.

The solutions are part of HP's Smart Office initiative, which provides smart technology, services and advice to help SMB customers keep their companies up and running by better safeguarding their business systems and IT operations.

"HP's latest innovation in affordable, reliable storage solutions for SMBs clearly demonstrates the depth and breadth of our StorageWorks portfolio for both entry-level and enterprise-class customers," said Bob Wilson, vice president and general manager, Nearline Storage, StorageWorks Division, HP. "Through the HP Smart Office initiative, we're working to simplify technology so that our SMB customers can focus on what they do best - manage their own business."

HP introduces first-of-their-kind DAT USB tape drives

With no need for a SCSI adapter and more complicated SCSI setup, users can have the HP StorageWorks DAT 72 and DAT 40 USB tape drives out of the box and ready to use with their HP ProLiant servers in less than 60 seconds.

The affordable tape drives are compatible with a wide range of servers, operating systems and backup software. In addition, the low cost of DAT media is further reduced by eliminating the need for the additional purchase of costly SCSI host bus adapters. Furthermore, these DAT USB drives provide the added investment protection of a simple upgrade path through future generations of the HP DAT technology roadmap.

"HP's new DAT USB drive product provides an easy, cost-effective way to implement backup and restore, and because of its standard USB interface and ease of use, DAT backup technology is more available not only to the data center IT staff but to less sophisticated users of desktops and workstations," said Mark Clark, director, Information Technology, Des Moines Area Community College. "We see wide application of this drive in the desktop and server environment. The standard interface, ease of use, and price point allows users and staff to manage backups and move and restore data reliably and independently."

Specifications, pricing and availability

The HP StorageWorks DAT 72 USB delivers a capacity of 72 gigabytes (GB) on a single data cartridge and a transfer rate of 23 GB/hour (assuming a 2:1 compression ratio). The DAT 72 USB is expected to be available July 4 starting at $749.

The HP StorageWorks DAT 40 USB is a DDS-4 tape drive that stores 40 GB of compressed data on a single cartridge at a rate of 23 GB/hour (assuming 2:1 data compression). The DAT 40 USB is expected to be available July 4 starting at $599.

New entry-point for LTO Ultrium tape drive family

A pioneer of half-height LTO tape drives, HP also is bringing to market the new HP StorageWorks Ultrium 232 tape drive. With its 200 GB capacity per cartridge and a backup speed of 115 GB/hour (assuming 2:1 data compression), this compact, first-generation LTO Ultrium drive offers superdrive features at a price affordable for SMB customers.

As the lowest priced LTO drive from HP, the reliable HP StorageWorks Ultrium 232 is a good first step into LTO Ultrium technology for customers moving up from lower capacity tape formats. The HP StorageWorks Ultrium 232 starts at $1,799 and is expected to be available July 11.

Enhanced performance and capacity with new 1/8 Tape Autoloader

HP also now offers two new versions of its popular HP StorageWorks 1/8 Tape Autoloader: an Ultrium 960 model and an Ultrium 448 model. These 2U tape autoloaders are rack-mountable for space saving and provide a cost-effective backup solution without the need for an IT technician to manually change tapes.

Extending support to these two new Ultrium tape drives increases the autoloader's maximum capacity to 6.4 terabytes (TB) with an Ultrium 960 drive or to 3.2 TB with Ultrium 448 (assuming 2:1 data compression). The Ultrium 960 model, which uses the fastest tape drive now on the market, boosts the autoloader's performance to a blazing 576 GB/hour (compressed).

The HP StorageWorks 1/8 Ultrium 960 Tape Autoloader starts at $7,499. The HP StorageWorks 1/8 Ultrium 448 Tape Autoloader starts at $5,299.(2) Both are now available.