Big Data Supply, Inc offers data migration services.

Data migration is the process of transferring data between various device types, formats, and computer systems. Without a doubt, the process of transferring data is usually extremely tedious and can be both resource and time consuming – not to mention expensive.

A growing number of organizations are finding that data migration is essential in order to keep up with industry regulations and work to pull together data that has been collected via many different formats/technologies.

For example, in the world of medicine, it is quite common for an organization to have different formats of technologies they would use across various departments. One medical specialty may have decided on one mode of operation, while others chose to employ a variety of different methods.

This may have worked in the past -- however, because of regulations and pending reforms it is becoming more and more important to allow for data to be easily shared throughout the organization. This means a lot of work must be done.

To accomplish this feat, the following usually must occur:

• All tapes, disk drives, arrays, and other equipment must be gathered and labeled.

• The old system is mapped to the new system, making sure that data extraction and loading is done in a systematic manner.

• The new system must be properly assembled and ready to accommodate the data to be migrated.

• Data moved to new storage formats must be reviewed/tested to make sure that all data has been perfectly transferred.

Because this process is very tedious and time consuming, a number of our clients depend on our data migration services.
The Big Data Supply data migration team works around the clock to make sure that data is effectively preserved and moved to a format that can be used organization-wide.

Once data has been successfully moved to the new and improved format, our clients then turn to our buyback and tape recycling programs. The buyback program helps our clients recoup a percentage of their initial data storage investment, while our recycling program keeps equipment out of landfills or from environmentally toxic incineration. Earn some green while being green!

Plus, other organizations can truly benefit from purchasing used technologies. It’s definitely a win-win scenario for all involved.

Without a doubt, one of the biggest concerns of our customers is data erasure for their used/old tape. This is to be expected, as proprietary data should be guarded against all odds. This is why we as an organization have developed a winning solution.

Our executive engineering partners spent more than five years investing in research and development for the best possible method of data eradication for LTO cartridges. The technique completely erases each LTO Ultrium tape, rather than re-writing a test pattern over existing data.

To successfully accomplish this task, we actually degauss tapes between the servo bands without destroying them. This allows for them to be reused again by the same or a different organization. Our LTO Tape Erasure and Reconditioning process meets the rigorous demands of major regulatory bodies such as HIPAA, SOX, SEC, Sarbanes-Oxley, and more.

Additionally, our process is environmentally friendly. Because we completely wipe LTO tape free of data and make them ready for reuse, numerous tapes are kept out of landfills and kept from incineration. Recycling is a responsible action that can be taken by organizations large and small.

How Our Reuse Process Works

To give you a deeper understanding of how our process works, the following steps are employed as we recondition LTO tape:

1. All data is completely expunged from pin to hub by “localized” degaussing. (DO NOT USE A TRADITIONAL DEGAUSSER) (see video:
2. The entire tape surface is cleaned.
3. The media pack is exercised and precision retentioned.
4. The tape reference edge is laser scanned and evaluated for quality.
5. Each tape is performance evaluated for age, wear from usage, data errors, servo track errors, and drive interface issues.
6. A separate drive read/write data test and reset to blank tape action is performed.
7. A permanent marker is recorded onto the tape memory to date and reveal our process has been performed.
8. A complete record is kept by Big Data Supply as proof that each tape has undergone erasure, is reset, and is high quality.

There are many benefits surrounding LTO Data erasure. Not only is it eco-friendly and does it help organizations meet various regulations where data is concerned, it has the power to generate cash.

If for any reason you don’t want to hold on to your old tapes, our buy-back program pays cash for recycled tape.

Feel free to ask our team as many questions as you’d like on both data erasure and our buyback program. We live to educate our clients!

Info@BigDataSupplyInc.com / Toll Free 800-905-7329 / Local (714) 647-9000

 

 

LTO Tape Eraser

LTO Tape Eraser in action.

We buy New and Used LTO6 Data Tape Media. All Brands.

We buy New and Used LTO6 Data Tape Media. All Brands.

As you may already be aware, the Linear Tape Open Consortium made LTO-6 tape technology available to the market in the latter part of 2012. Defying the ridiculous claims by data storage experts that tape would be dead by now, the LTO community was thrilled at what they had accomplished with the LTO-6.

To give you an idea of their accomplishments, we will outline a handful of facts you should know about the impressive technology:

• LTO-6 holds up to 6.25TB of compressed data. Wildly enough, the medium’s capacity has more than doubled and its throughput boosted by more than 40 percent. This is excellent news for organizations wanting to keep their tape storage costs down, while accommodating massive amounts of data.

• LTO-6 Drives Offer 400MBps Performance. This means that it uses a 2.5:1 compression ratio and allows for up to 1.4TB of data transferred per hour. Now data management is much easier and time effective.

• Industry leading brands now ship LTO-6. Organizations with major data storage systems can rely on HP, IBM, Quantum, Fujifilm, Hitachi, Maxell, Imation, Sony, and TDK for their LTO-6 products. These brands understand the true value of tape and are committed to making it readily available to the world.

• LTO-6 includes encryption and WORM. These features were also offered in LTO-3, LTO-4, and LTO-5. Encryption helps secure important data, while WORM allows for organizations to store data in a non-rewritable format. They both help organizations meet compliance regulations as set forth by the SEC, Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, SOX, and more.

• LTO-6 Includes Partitioning Functionality, also known as LTFS. The Linear Tape File System is much of the reason data storage experts are eating their previous words that went something like “tape is dead.” Now it is possible to drag and drop files, which makes tape work in a very similar manner as a removable disk drive.

On a daily basis our team is asked by organizations to help them make cost-effective choices for their data storage infrastructures. We can’t be more thrilled with the LTO Consortium and the technologies they have made available in the recent months and years. Not only is LTO-6 impressive from a technical standpoint, it is very durable and can last for 30 or more years.

It has been said time and time again that “the steady horse wins the race.” In our minds, tape is the steady and reliable horse for safely storing data for decades to come.

Organizations rely on our team to oversee tape redeployment for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they understand that our services can made a major impact on their bottom line.

If you are unfamiliar with the term "Tape Redeployment," it is essentially the refurbishing of used tape that can be reused once again.

For example, say you have 1,000 tapes filled with data that isn't needed anymore and out of it's retention time. Instead of throwing the tapes into a dumpster or continuing to store them for the next decade in warehouses, we can wipe the tapes clean of all data, refurbish and repackage them, and they will be ready to be used again.

In the case that a newer data storage system is going to be put in place, our buyback program provides cash to our customers, which can be used to offset the cost of newer tape formats. You can sell your hard drives or data tape to us.

Where cost-effectiveness is concerned, our tape redeployment program:

(1) Reduces the amount of storage space needed.

(2) Cuts down manpower expenses (in the case organizations need to pay internal staff).

(3) Eliminates any fines/lawsuits associated with failing to follow regulations set by FACTA, HIPAA, SOX, etc.

(4) Compensates organizations for tape to be recycled and resold.

Beyond refurbishing and recycling, organizations also call on our team to help them unify their data tape media storage infrastructures.

For instance, it is quite common for large entities to use a combination of LTO, SDLT, 3592, T10000, and other technologies. Once a situation arises that they discover information can't be easily shared, they decide to convert data to a single, unified format.

At Big Data Supply, Inc., we take this process very seriously. To develop a comprehensive system, we work as partners to construct a comprehensive system and develop a plan to convert all data, while making sure that old tapes are completely wiped of data in the end.

The secret to your success in creating a unified data storage system is to carefully assess your goals and gain as much insight as possible on what technologies will best suit your needs.

The beauty of tape in today's world is that they can hold so much data. Our customers are often blown away when we reveal to them how much data LTO-5 and LTO-6 can hold, not to mention the massive tape libraries available on the market.

If you have any questions surrounding your own tape redeployment needs, we would be happy to answer your questions.

Big Data Supply Free Pickup and Delivery.

Big Data Supply Free Pickup and Delivery.

One of the most exciting and valuable aspects of our business is our Big Data local IT buyback program. We have the privilege of working with and educating organizations on the money they can recoup (and efficiency they can gain) when they sell their used IT equipment.

All too many organizations aren’t aware of equipment buyback and recycling programs. To give you an idea as to their power, here are some benefits to selling your old data center equipment:

Eco-Friendly – There is absolutely no benefit to holding onto old equipment and/or throwing them away. The improper disposal of electronics leads to the wasting of resources that could be used by other organizations and the needless filling of landfills.

Money In the Bank – When you sell your used data center equipment, you will be provided instant cash that can be banked away for future technology investments and/or for other business needs.

• Liquidate Excess Tape – It is quite common for organizations to have excess tape prior to system upgrades and major data center changes. Rather than storing unused tape for years to come, it is possible to gain cash that can be applied to new tape and equipment.

To accommodate the needs of local companies – throughout Orange County, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, and surrounding areas – Big Data will send our trucks to pick your equipment up free of charge.

We pay industry leading rates for:

Data Tape Media
Tape Libraries
Tape Drives
Disk Array
Sell Hard Drives
• Peripherals
Telecom Equipment

Big Data can also help you recover or recycle assets that may be stored on tapes you wish to recycle. Our team leverages certified processes that helps organizations meet regulations set by leading regulatory bodies such as HIPAA, SOX, Sarbanes-Oxley, etc.

Tape Media

We welcome tape of all shapes sizes including LTO, VS1, DLT, SuperDLT, VXA, SLR, MLR, QIC, 9940, 9840, 3590, 3590, 3592, 3570, 3480, 3490, AME, AIT, 4MM, and more. The same is true of leading brands including HP, Imation, IBM, Fuji, Quantum, Sony, SUN/Oracle, and Dell.

Tape Drives and Libraries

The same applies to tape drives including the following brand and more: ADIC, Archive, ATL (Quantum), Benchmark, Certance, Cipher, Compaq, Conner, DELL, Digital Equipment, Exabyte, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Siemens, HP, IBM, LaCie, Maxoptix, Overland Storage, Qualstar, Quantum, Seagate, Sony, StorageTek, SUN, Tandberg Data, Tecmar, WangDat, and Wangtek.

We also buy tape arrays (all brands and models) and telecom equipment.

To schedule a pick-up or for more information, call the Big Data Supply, Inc. offices at 800-905-7329 or email support@bigdatasupply.com.

According the 2012 Compliance, Governance, and Oversight counsel Summit analysis, a whopping 69 percent of a company's data has no immediate value. This means that the majority of organizations are spending massive amounts of money to make sure that unneeded data is available 24 x 7 via disk.

IT professionals around the world, and the organizational leaders they consult, are often overwhelmed by the idea of making major changes -- such as the adoption of both disk and tape.

There are many that love to assert that "tape is dead" -- however, huge brands such as Google, Yahoo, and Facebook are proving that hybrid data storage solutions (a mix of disk and tape) ARE the answer to the equation.

Not only is tape a reliable backup solution, the Clipper Group recently discovered the average cost of storing archived data on disk is 26 time more expensive than the utilization of an automated tape library.

Thankfully, the last couple of years have seen data tape become highly user friendly. With the birth of the Linear Tape File System (LTFS) as developed by IBM in 2010, writing to tape has become amazingly easy. Gone are the days in which tape users had to run through hours and hours of tape to find an exact piece of data.

More specifically, files on LTO-5 and LTO-6 tape are stored in a similar fashion as disk or a removable USB flash drive. This is extremely attractive to organizations seeking to store unstructured data, especially rich media such as video, digital cinema, and audio. Plus, the high data transfer rates and massive capacities make LTO data tape amazingly efficient.

As provided by the LTO Consortium, other benefits of LTO with LTFS (LTO-5 and LTO-6) include:
• Open Specification
• Portability
• Ease of Use
• Multi-Platform Support
• Reliability and Robustness

In the end, LTO is the very best solution for the 69 percent of data that doesn't have to be accessed immediately. It's cost-effectiveness and reliability make it a surefire winner for 30 plus years of storage.

The secret to developing a cost-effective big data environment is to carefully outline your organization's true needs. Define which data needs to be stored on disk and develop a plan for the long-term storage of data that can be kept offline.

Happy 4th of July from Big Data Supply, Inc.

Happy 4th of July from Big Data Supply, Inc.

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