STORAGE INSIDER: Tales of the tape - The tape market shrinks, but not the tapes. Brother, can you spare a terabyte?(Sony Corp.)

UNLESS IT'S THE only protection you have for your databases, a tape backup may seem passe. After all, disk-based copies now offer more flexibility and less exposure to operating snafus.

But don't discount that old faithful tape quite yet; a reel is still the most cost-effective choice to store data by the terabyte and preserve it for a long time.

Those reels' capabilities and performance are still improving, too. Take for instance the new S-AIT, which stands for a mouthful of adjectives: super advanced intelligent tape. Sony released S-AIT to its OEM partners for evaluation in December; with a 5.25-inch form factor, the new drive is slightly bigger than the …