Why Does Google Use Tape Backup To Store Gmail Data?

Some of you out there may have read stories like this one and may be confused at the fact as to why Google of all companies uses tape as one of its backup mediums. After all, they own tens of thousands of servers that perform tens of thousands of redundant backups, so what would be the point?

The point is one that escapes anyone that hasn’t worked in a corporate server environment, specifically concentrating on long-term storage. It’s called shelf life.

Premium half-inch tape has a shelf life of about 30 years, like this brand. It’s really expensive as it’s specially coated to ensure maximum life span over any other media type you can possibly think of. And there’s even tape that boasts a shelf life of 50 years.

Why Google uses tape is the same reason any large corporation does the same – disaster recovery.

In the event of a natural (e.g. earthquake) or otherwise (e.g. massive power grid failure) disaster, the tape stands the most chance of actually surviving. In addition, it is a physical media that if need be can be physically transported to a data recovery center much safer and easier than hard drives. If you’re wondering why anyone would need to do that, well, if the power is out there’s no internet, you have to get the data transported somehow – even if that means by truck and/or flight.

Another type of disaster is when the system itself suffers a large failure. The tape backup is ultimately independent from the system, so if the system goes awry and corrupts the data beyond repair cascade-style, the tape backup saves the day there as well as it should not be affected in a system-wide bug.

Should you use 1/2-inch tape backup?

For home use it’s total overkill. The equipment and media is prohibitively expensive and data transfers are slow.

Here’s a link showing where you’d have the most choice with tape backup (40+ different drives to choose from) using the LTO Ultrium 4 format, sorted by lowest price first. Believe me, you need seriously deep pockets to store data this way.

Want to develop your own long-term/disaster recovery on the cheap?

Optical and cloud are still your best options here. Using both would be the best cost-effective home backup solution.

On the optical side of things, if you’re of the opinion DVD is too small, consider a Blu-ray burner drive because they have broken the $100 price barrier. One by LG with 10x write is $89. One by LITE-ON with 12x write is $99.

A 50-pack of BD-R 25GB discs will run you between $30 and $60, depending on brand and write speed. If you think that’s expensive, it isn’t. Bear in mind 50 25GB discs is 1.25TB of storage.

Also know that there is the BD-R DL format, which can store 50GB per disc – but you’ll need a BD-R DL-capable burner drive + the media, all which costs significantly more than regular BD-R.

Why not just use 1TB/2TB hard drives?

You could opt to use 1 or 2TB HDDs, but the discs are easier to handle and use. Packaged properly, they can also withstand long-term storage much better.