TAPE BACK-UP
A magnetic tape is a medium that is structured in blocks for sequential access (unlike the direct access used with hard drives for example). The data is simply placed (or removed) sequentially.
This is why back-up on this media leads to many problems, such as human error or hardware failure, which complicates the restoration of back-up data or makes it impossible.
- Overwriting of data with new data: the data is overwritten and permanently lost
- Failure of the medium
- Misaligned heads
- System Area Damage: if the system areas that are at the beginning of a magnetic tape are damaged the magnetic tape appears blank.
Furthermore, this medium is fragile: low resistance to shock (transportation or fall), risk of the tape unreeling, high sensitivity to moisture, heat and magnetic fields, natural aging, all requiring tapes to be frequently replaced.
