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Media Lifecycle Management


      

Spectra Logic's Media Lifecycle Management (MLM) helps ensure your data will be accessible when you need it by improving tape reliability.  MLM promotes pain-free tape storage and gives you the freedom to truly maximize your storage investments and save IT costs.

 

What is MLM?

MLM provides the unparalleled ability to reduce media related issues through its intuitive reporting of at-risk media that should be retired. For truly complete media health reporting, MLM non-intrusively tracks over 30 criteria about each tape throughout its usable life*. Included with Spectra's T-Series, MLM's media health reporting is accessible directly from the library, remote web access, or even using the MLM Reader. With MLM you can easily identify whether a tape is safe to store your data upon by simply checking its health score that is calculated from its health statistics. And for more thorough details, you can also view each tape's complete health record. MLM's comprehensive reporting gives you the advantage to know your data is safely stored, and even reduce the possibility of data loss.    

"Media Lifecycle Management is not only about enabling workable administrative practices; it is also about best practices for ensuring the security and quality of your data, so that it is available when you need it."
— Mike Kahn, Managing Director of The Clipper Group, Technology Acquisition Consultants.

Why is MLM so Important?

In this age of digital information, it is customary for companies to protect their data with tape.  While a data cartridge may be small, they are typically the final repository for storing invaluable information.  Therefore, the importance of using dependable media must not be diminished so that you can reliably restore your data when you need it.

"Foreseeing problems in tape environments and taking action to correct them before they occur can have important end-user benefits. While other products may alert storage administrators to problems with tape after they occur, Spectra Logic's Media Lifecycle Management tool proactively monitors tape health over the lifetime of the media, recommending changes as needed to prevent problems. Fewer media issues mean fewer backup failures."
— Heidi Biggar, Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group

MLM Storage Efficiency Improvement – Guaranteed!

At Spectra, we are confident that MLM can help you reduce tape related pains through more efficient storage operations and dependable data restoration.  With MLM you can:

  • Maximize storage investments: Media, Drives and Library
  • Minimize downtime and associated costs
  • Resume operations faster with targeted diagnostics
  • Keep storage operations running, and reduce job restarts

Spectra Professional Services will work with you to assess your storage practices, implement MLM and provide improvement recommendations.  To back this commitment, we guarantee a 10% minimum improvement when you use MLM in combination with our implementation services and recommendations, or our service is free. 

The MLM Reader

Extend MLM's functionality and capabilities outside of your Spectra Library. Like MLM through the T-Series BlueScale interface, the MLM Reader mirrors that tracking and reporting with the benefit of use outside of the library.  The Reader easily connects to any computer via USB, allowing you to conveniently view your tapes for:

  • Quick media health checks before cycling to/from vault
  • Before rotating media back into your storage environment
  • Identifying unknown media in a data center or shared over distributed sites
  • Which library, partition, or even data center a tape belongs

MLM and Spectra Certified Media

MLM uses Spectra Certified Media, that is backed by our Certified Media Lifetime Guarantee.  Spectra's LTO media* exclusively supports MLM's media health tracking and reporting, as supported by Spectra's T-Series tape libraries or the MLM Reader. Pre-labeled, pre-certified, and pre-loaded into our media TeraPacks - Spectra Certified Media is ready to use!

*Requires use of LTO-4 or later tape drives, and Spectra Certified Media LTO-3 or later, shipped after Nov. 15, 2007.