Streamer Settings

The settings for a backup to a tape device can be changed by using the "Settings" button to the right of the destination menu field which opens a settings window. The following parameters can be changed for tape drives:
Tape drive selection
Overwrite existing data
Hardware compression

The most important setting for a tape backup is the selection of the used tape drive. A tape drive can be selected from the menu field "Streamer". The menu field lists all available tape drives that are connected. Mostly only one tape drive is installed. This will be selected automatically. Are more than one tape drive available, Siegfried Backup selects automatically the first one of the list (the one with the lowest SCSI ID.)

Another setting for tape backups is "Overwrite". If "Overwrite" is selected, all existing backups of the used medias would be deleted when a new backup job is started. "Overwrite" is important when only the latest version of a backup is needed, for example, when storing data on a tape media at regular intervals.

This brings a disadvantage in a lower level of data safety, with access only to the latest backup; older versions are deleted. The usage of the "Overwrite" mode depends on the kind of data which needs to be backed up, if consecutive versions are needed and if there is enough free space on the tape media.

"Hardware compression" can be used to compress the data on the target tape drive. This option is available only for tape drives that support hardware compression. Siegfried Backup checks the target drive and deactivates these settings if the tape drive doesn't support this feature.

Hardware compression is not the same as "Compression" of the backup window. "Compression" of the backup window performs a software compression of the data. The compression is done by Siegfried Backup itself. Hardware compression, however, is performed by the tape device. Hardware compression has the big advantage that there is no computer power needed to compress/decompress the data. Software compression needs computer power and slows down the backup speed if the computer hasn't enough power. Important: do not activate hardware and software compression for the same job. The result isn't better packed data! It slows down backup speed and decreases the overall pack ratio.

There are additional settings for tape management. The following direct commands are available:

Command Description
Erase (Quick) Deleting all data of the used tape media. The SCSI command "Erase" will be performed.
Erase (Complete) The complete media will be erased. All data are overwriten with zeros. Depending on the capacity of a media a complete erase can take some time.
Eject Ejects the used media (only possibly if the tape drive supports an ejection through software).
Rewind Rewinding a tape media to it's start position. This will be performed automatically by Siegfried Backup when a backup job ends.
Rescan Checks the SCSI device for connected tape drives. The menu field of the streamer selection will be refreshed.
Retension Preserves the tape media.

The commands are selectable in the menu field "Command". The button "Go" sends the selected command to the tape drive. The time to finish a command can take seconds to some minutes. It depends on the kind of command. The "Go" button is disabled while a command is being performed.

When clicking "Ok" all settings are used. "Cancel" discards the modified settings and Siegfried Backup uses the old settings. The same happens when the user closes the window by using the close button or the <ESC> key.

The selected target location for the tape backup is written to the right of the "Settings" button.