What Is a Virtual Tape Library Last Updated: 09-01-2010 ,
Posted: 06-16-2006 Virtual tape is a concept that has been in
the data center for many years. Originally introduced for IBM
mainframes, it is now exploding in the open systems arena. VTLs
are logically just like physical tape libraries: They logically
appear and operate as physical tape devices including virtual
tape drives, data cartridges, tape slots, barcode labels and
robotic arms. Traditional Tape SolutionsTraditional tape devices
have a few problems: They are slow and the only way to solve
that problem is to add more and more tape drives. Tape library
robotics are prone to failure and the tape media itself is
"delicate" and must be stored in a conditioned, secure
environment. To increase backup performance, backups can be
multiplexed across multiple drives and tapes. This increases the
odds of a failed backup due to a bad tape, a faulty drive or
malfunctioning robotics. Restores from tape are also time-
consuming. Consider trying to recover a file