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  5. Stopgaps Are Forever: Virtual Tape Libraries: Page 2 of 2
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Stopgaps Are Forever: Virtual Tape Libraries: Page 2 of 2

I was somewhat surprised by Quantum's introduction last month of a new deduplicating Virtual Tape Library (VTL). Ever since backup applications started universally supporting backup-to-disk, I've wondered how long the virtual tape library market would continue to be viable. Treating disk like tape adds complexity to the data path, and VTL vendors make a significant markup on the software and integration that turns a server with a bunch of disk drives into a VTL. Are storage admins really so cons
Howard Marks
September 17, 2010

CommVault is the exception here. Their backup to disk option stores files in a single instance backup repository without tape emulating containers.

That all being said, there are advantages to VTLs at the high end of the market where speed is a primary concern. Streaming data at 8Gbps over Fibre Channel is usually faster than sending it via CIFS or NFS even over a 10Gbps Ethernet link, although Symantec's OST and EMC's Boost aim to change that. It's also a lot easier to redefine a few dozen backup jobs than a few thousand. So what do you think?

Are VTLs here to stay, or will we start really treating disk like disk for backup?

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