What about tape? Tape is the greenest backup solution. Which is yet  another reason to integrate tape for backup into your tiered data storage plans.

Trying to save money on data backups is a topic unto itself. Backing up the same data over and over again wastes both tape and disk, and isn’t wise. If you have a gut feeling that your backups may not be efficient, you should examine how much you spend on backing up data, and ensure that whatever you do spend is spent wisely.

If you send hundreds of tapes offsite each month, take a look at options for eliminating redundancies. Perhaps operating system images or application binaries are backed up more times than needed to restore the environment. Are log files and other types of disposable files being backed up? Be smarter when writing those “exclude” lists and policies. It’s easy to implement and configure a backup solution, but it can be very difficult to configure it efficiently.

You should also consider investing in suitable data deduplication technology. Like thin provisioning, deduplication has the potential to cut down the amount of data that gets backed up. But beware the pitfalls of virtual tape libraries (VTLs), which are nothing but a bunch of disk drives at the back end. When purchased without any deduplication solution, VTLs can be more expensive consumers of energy than older tape libraries. Right sizing your infrastructure should therefore apply to your backup infrastructure in the same way it does to your online storage infrastructure.

An additional way to save on energy consumption, money on your tape media investment and be green at the same time is to use certified tape media. Especially when archiving to tape or data that is being written to tape only once are great ways to save up to 50% on the tape media you are currently buying.

For more information on certified tape and to place an order call 949-757-0100 or email brian@recycleyourmedia.com

(Some of the content in this is from searchsmbstorage.com)