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Tandberg Data Exabyte VXA 172 Packet Tape Drive
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Product Description
The VXA-172 provides enterprise level performance (up to 24MB/s) and the ability to grow as your data grows. First, by utilizing both the 80GB X6 and the 172 GB X10, the VXA-172 gives you the ability to buy only what you need and increase your capacity instantly. Second, the VXA-172 offers an industry first end-user electronic upgrade to give you the ability to use the 320 GB X23 tapes down the road.
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Average User Rating:
1.0
out of
5
Number of Ratings:
2
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User Reviews for
Tandberg Data Exabyte VXA 172 Packet Tape Drive
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Problems with Exabyte VXA-320
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Reviewed
August 5 2007 1:39:37 PM
1
out of
1
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
1
out of 5
Pros:
Low cost, reasonably priced media |
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Cons:
Problems with each one I purchased I am a small system integrator with many customers using Microsoft Small Business Server. A Small Business Server serves as a file server, domain controller, exchange server, share point server, and a SQL server. Customers using SBS are counting on it to run their entire business in many cases. Getting a reliable backup each day is crucial. I have been using Sony AIT drives for many years with very good results. I recently decided to try the Exabyte VXA-320 (External SCSI) tape drives and have had problems, problems and more problems.
I am using recommended backup software, the correct SCSI controller, a good cable and have failed backups on a regular basis. Exabyte recently released firmware version 3208 for this drive which allows you to run an "Internal Self Test" on the drive. This allows you to esentially test the drive internally without interaction of your computer or SCSI controller. Following the test you can see the results on the LED's on the front of the drive. If this test reports a problem you use the VXA tool (software) to download a file from the drive that can be emailed to Exabyte for analysis. I have purchased three of these drives, used them lightly for 2 - 6 months, and had nothing but problems. I have run this test on all three drives (purchased months apart) and had the test report a drive problem that required returning the drive to Exabyte for repair/replacement. I have not received the replacement yet so I don't know if the problems will be solved or not.
I had called Exabyte Tech Support several times prior to the new firmware and the ability to run the self test and each time felt like I was speaking with a lawyer trying to pin the blame on anything but the drive. I am shocked that all three of my new drives failed the self test. I suspect that there is a widespread problem that should be noted on the front page of their website. If Exabyte is aware of a problem that places thousands of customers data at risk they should be forthcoming and issue a recall on the affected models. My read on this drive can be summed up in the following sentences: The Exabyte VXA-320 is a poor quality drive sold by a manufacturer providing poor tech support both on the website and telephone. The VXA-320 is obviously a poor value and I would not recommend that you buy one.
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VXA-172 nice try
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Reviewed
July 13 2006 6:05:25 PM
0
out of
0
users found this recommendation helpful.
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Ratings:
1
out of 5
Pros:
Cheap large storage |
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Cons:
Unreliable, Poor Support, Poor website I have the VXA-172 with the auto loader. The Autoloader works but the drive has issues.
I'm only using a fraction of the tape and switch tapes (out of 6) every backup.
After about 2 weeks I got drive errors. I cleaned the drive and now schedule a drive cleaning once a week. It uses a fraction (~20gb) of each tape. It lasted another couple weeks and failed on the second day after a cleaning.
Couldn't erase or recognize tapes. I cleaned again and had to erase all tapes because they were corrupt. It failed on 4th tape doing a quick erase.
Their web site is terribly confusing, looks good at first glance until you try to find the right firmware for the right device. Their tech support didnât even know what kind of internal drive I had and drivers I needed. They wonât support NT native backup but Iâm using backup exec anyway.
Getting through to technical support is horrible.
I should have bought a tried and true DAT or DLT.
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