Hi,

It can be, considering that often it is cheaper to buy the hardware to set up your own dedicated backup LAN than buying the hardware to set up your own dedicated backup SAN.

In fact NetApp is working to offer solutions in both areas. The FC SAN area discussed earlier today and via the Open Storage Networking (OSN) Initiative that was announced at N+I last week:

http://www.netapp.com/news/press/news_rel_20000510.html

If you were at the show you would have seen a pre-production ATL P3000 running an NDMP tape server within the library with backups of a GbE connected filer via a Cisco & Foundry GbE/100bT switch. The tape library was connected to the switch(es) via 100bT.

Yip, network attached tape libraries will soon be with us.

Cheers, Grant

-----Original Message----- From: Bruce Sterling Woodcock [mailto:sirbruce@ix.netcom.com] Sent: Wednesday, May 17, 2000 6:57 PM To: foo; toasters@mathworks.com Subject: Re: Attaching a Netapp to Fibre Tape drives in a SAN?

As far as I know, there still exists no sane backup strategy for multiple filers, unless you think having one tape library per filer or backing up multiple terabytes of data over the network and through some kind of backup management box is sane.

It can be, considering that often it is cheaper to buy the hardware to set up your own dedicated backup LAN than buying the hwardware to set up your own dedicated backup SAN.

But if you have a pre-existing SAN and a Vixel switch, NTAP's new solution seems ideal.

Bruce