LTO tape and its role in immutable backup strategies

We all know that ransomware attacks have become a significant threat to organisations of all sizes. These attacks can cripple operations, resulting in lost data, financial damage, and reputational harm. Many organisations are turning to immutable backup strategies to combat this threat, which provide an air-gapped, write-once-read-many (WORM) storage solution that malicious actors cannot alter or delete.

Tape: A Proven Backup Technology for Immutable Storage

LTO tape, with its long history of reliability and durability, has emerged as a leading technology for immutable storage. LTO tape cartridges are by their nature WORM-enabled, meaning that data can be written to the tape only once. Once the data is written, it cannot be overwritten or deleted, providing an unchangeable record of the backed-up data.

Benefits of Tape for Immutable Backup

Several factors make tape an ideal choice for immutable backup strategies:

• Write-once, read-many (WORM) storage: LTO tape cartridges are WORM-enabled, ensuring that backed-up data cannot be altered or deleted.
• Air-gapped storage: LTO tapes can be stored offline in a secure location, providing an air gap that protects them from cyberattacks.
• Long-term data retention: LTO tapes can last for decades, making them ideal for long-term data retention.
• Cost-effectiveness: LTO tape is a cost-effective storage solution, especially for large data sets.
• Scalability: LTO tape technology can scale to meet the storage needs of businesses of all sizes.

LTO Tape: A Resurgent Technology

Once considered a legacy technology, LTO tape is now experiencing a resurgence as organisations recognise its value in protecting against ransomware and other cyber threats. With its WORM capabilities, air-gapped storage, and long-term data retention, LTO tape is an essential component of modern and immutable backup strategies.

For organisations of all sizes, LTO tape offers a reliable, cost-effective, and scalable solution for immutable backup and disaster recovery. By leveraging LTO tape technology, organisations can safeguard their critical data and ensure business continuity in the face of evolving cyber threats.

LTO Tape in Disaster Recovery Strategies

In addition to its role in immutable backup strategies, LTO tape also plays a crucial role in disaster recovery (DR) plans. LTO tapes can be stored offsite in a secure location, providing a copy of critical data that can be used to restore operations in the event of a disaster.

Veeam Cloud Connect Tape Integration

Veeam Cloud Connect provides several features that make it easy to integrate LTO tape into your backup and recovery strategy. These features include:

• Tape job scheduling: Veeam Cloud Connect can schedule tape jobs to run at specific times or intervals.
• Tape media management: Veeam Cloud Connect can track the location and status of tape media.
• Tape data encryption: Veeam Cloud Connect can encrypt tape data for added security.
• Tape data validation: Veeam Cloud Connect can validate tape data to ensure its integrity.

LTO Tape and Veeam Cloud Connect: A Powerful Combination for Immutable Backup

Covenco is an authorised Veeam Cloud Connect provider able to offer cloud-based backup and recovery services to our customers. Veeam Cloud Connect integrates seamlessly with LTO tape, providing an air-gapped, WORM storage solution for long-term data retention.

IT Managers: Implementing LTO Tape

IT managers can integrate tape into their backup and recovery strategies by following these steps:

1. Assess your data retention requirements: Determine how long you need to retain your backed-up data.
2. Choose the right LTO tape technology: Select an LTO tape generation that meets your performance and capacity needs.
3. Deploy LTO tape infrastructure: Install LTO tape drives and libraries in your infrastructure.
4. Configure Veeam Cloud Connect for tape: Integrate Veeam Cloud Connect with your LTO tape infrastructure.
5. Create tape backup jobs: Schedule tape backup jobs to run at specific times or intervals.
6. Monitor tape backups: Monitor tape backups to ensure they are running successfully.

Just get in touch to ask the Covenco team for advice and support in making any of these decisions. Our managed services team are on hand to assist you with your backup, DR and data protection plans.

Tape as a defence against ransomware

Because LTO tapes are physically isolated from the network, they are inaccessible to ransomware that typically infiltrates systems through network connections. The air-gapped, WORM capabilities of LTO tapes provide an unchangeable and resilient data storage solution that ransomware cannot compromise.

By incorporating LTO tape into their backup and disaster recovery strategies, organisations can effectively protect their critical data from ransomware attacks and ensure business continuity in the event of a breach.

Our Thoughts on Tape as a Modern Backup Solution

LTO tape is a proven technology that can provide an air-gapped, WORM storage solution for long-term data retention. When integrated with Veeam Cloud Connect, LTO tape can provide a powerful and cost-effective solution for immutable backup and disaster recovery.

Buy your LTO tape drives from Covenco

Covenco has over 60 models of tape drives in stock, from external tape systems to the largest tape libraries.  Our technicians ensure that all our LTO tape drives and libraries are thoroughly tested and ready to integrate into your network as quickly as possible.

Covenco also provides support, maintenance, and licensing for tape systems. For pricing, advice and specifications please contact the sales team for more information.

Covenco Backup-as-a-Service

If you don’t want to host your own LTO tape library, then Covenco can manage your backups for you. We are a Veeam Platinum Cloud provider that can deliver a complete backup as a service solution for your business, and we already host over 9 petabytes of customer data in our dedicated cloud storage system.

Contact the team at Covenco today to learn more about our backup-as-a-service options, including managed tape-out, air-gapped and immutable backups.