Virtual Tape Library Appliance for IBM i

Program Overview

A virtual tape library appliance lets shops keep existing save scripts and tape-oriented operational habits while getting disk-based backup speed underneath. It is a common upgrade path for environments where nightly save windows have become too tight for physical tape drives to keep up.

The appliance still typically supports export to real physical tape for offsite retention, which keeps compliance and disaster recovery policies intact.

Best Fit

Best fit for multi-partition environments whose save window has outgrown physical tape drive throughput but that do not want to rewrite existing save scripts.

What this program helps with

• Disk-based virtual tape drives presented to existing save scripts unchanged
• Faster backup completion than comparable physical tape drives
• Export to physical tape supported for offsite or compliance retention
• Capacity scaling without adding physical tape slots

What to vet before shortlist

• Confirm export-to-physical-tape workflow if offsite retention is required
• Size appliance storage against total retained backup volume, not just nightly size
• Plan network or SAN bandwidth for the appliance attachment