Re: Physical Tape Alternatives?

Rob,

From the last few messages I gather that VTLs are defined as a tape media

library devices such that the "MLB" (i.e. WRKMLBSTS) and "TAP" (i.e.
INZTAP) commands work with them. Also, such that the behavior and options
in SAV, SAVLIB, and SAVOBJ that apply to tape media also apply to VTL
media. One might compare and contrast that with optical devices such as RDX
which are supported by alternate commands and command options. That was
what I was more interested in comparing and contrasting, although I
appreciate the distinctions that you've made regarding VTL media and mylar
media.

When compared to mylar media, I also view RDX devices and media as a huge
liberator.

I question your assertion that deduplication would reduce a say 1 TB
library to 20 GB on a VTL. That type of reduction sounds more like
compression than deduplication. My understanding is that deduplication
refers to the elimination of duplicate files. With optical media you
eliminate duplicate files by replacing them will current versions, rather
than adding new files during a save. You do that via the use of "labels".
Compression is also supported on optical media.