LTO-9 Autoloader for bareos?
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Thomas Pries
Jul 28, 2026, 4:19:30 AMJul 28
to bareos...@googlegroups.com
Dear Bareos community,
we are going to setup a new Bareos server and we want to include a LTO-9
autoloader. We want to replace a mixed setup consisting of:
a) bareos + 20TB-HDD without LTO
b) Solaris + 20TB-HDD + LTO-8
by Bareos + HDD + LTO.
To reuse the LTO-8 tapes and to be save for a while, my favorite was a
Quantum Superloader 3 with LTO-9 HH Tape Drive, but the technical specs
state "windows only".
Now I'm running out of ideas.
Any suggestions for LTO-9 autoloader to use with Ubuntu+Bareos?
What setup Bareos+LTO are you running?
What to aim for in 2026 to be save for the next years?
Kind raegards
Thomas
we are going to setup a new Bareos server and we want to include a LTO-9
autoloader. We want to replace a mixed setup consisting of:
a) bareos + 20TB-HDD without LTO
b) Solaris + 20TB-HDD + LTO-8
by Bareos + HDD + LTO.
To reuse the LTO-8 tapes and to be save for a while, my favorite was a
Quantum Superloader 3 with LTO-9 HH Tape Drive, but the technical specs
state "windows only".
Now I'm running out of ideas.
Any suggestions for LTO-9 autoloader to use with Ubuntu+Bareos?
What setup Bareos+LTO are you running?
What to aim for in 2026 to be save for the next years?
Kind raegards
Thomas
Andreas Rogge
Jul 28, 2026, 11:01:56 AMJul 28
to bareos...@googlegroups.com
Am 28.07.26 um 10:19 schrieb Thomas Pries:
Basically if it was produced in the last 25 years and does some kind of
SCSI (i.e. SAS, FC, iSCSI, etc) it will work.
If you take a closer look you'll realize that the "Windows only" from
the specs is in the "Software" section: the Superloader 3 comes with a
license for some Windows Backup software, that you won't need when using
Bareos.
> Now I'm running out of ideas.
>
> Any suggestions for LTO-9 autoloader to use with Ubuntu+Bareos?
Hmm. Anything you can buy basically. It doesn't really matter. IBM,
Quantum, HPE, Dell, whatever you prefer and can afford. Nevertheless, a
lot of people hate LTO-9 because of the initial calibration when a new
medium is loaded for the first time.
If you want to continue using LTO-8 tapes, I would just go with LTO-8
drives. At the scale you're asking for, I'd rather try to get a library
with more slots than a smaller one with a newer tape generation.
You should get a Scalar i3 with 1 LTO-8 HH and 25 Slots around the price
of a Superloader 3 with 1 LTO-9 HH and 16 Slots. When considering the
extra slot for the cleaning tape, that provides 288 TB vs. 270 TB.
> What setup Bareos+LTO are you running?
Me personally at home? An IBM TS3200 with 2xLTO-6 FH FC somebody was
kind enough to just give to me.
When you go with a modern upgradable and scalable library (like the
Scalar i3, for example) you can later move to LTO-10 (or newer) with a
simple drive-swap. You can also scale up the number of slots and drives
if you ever need it.
What would be nice is Full-Height drives for a lot better performance
and Fibre Channel for flexible placement of the library (i.e. in another
fire compartment).
Best Regards,
Andreas
--
Andreas Rogge andrea...@bareos.com
Bareos GmbH & Co. KG Phone: +49 221-630693-86
http://www.bareos.com
Sitz der Gesellschaft: Köln | Amtsgericht Köln: HRA 29646
Komplementär: Bareos Verwaltungs-GmbH
Geschäftsführer: Stephan Dühr, Jörg Steffens, Philipp Storz
> we are going to setup a new Bareos server and we want to include a LTO-9
> autoloader. We want to replace a mixed setup consisting of:
>
> a) bareos + 20TB-HDD without LTO
>
> b) Solaris + 20TB-HDD + LTO-8
>
> by Bareos + HDD + LTO.
>
> To reuse the LTO-8 tapes and to be save for a while, my favorite was a
> Quantum Superloader 3 with LTO-9 HH Tape Drive, but the technical specs
> state "windows only".
I haven't yet seen any modern tape autochanger that wouldn't work.
> autoloader. We want to replace a mixed setup consisting of:
>
> a) bareos + 20TB-HDD without LTO
>
> b) Solaris + 20TB-HDD + LTO-8
>
> by Bareos + HDD + LTO.
>
> To reuse the LTO-8 tapes and to be save for a while, my favorite was a
> Quantum Superloader 3 with LTO-9 HH Tape Drive, but the technical specs
> state "windows only".
Basically if it was produced in the last 25 years and does some kind of
SCSI (i.e. SAS, FC, iSCSI, etc) it will work.
If you take a closer look you'll realize that the "Windows only" from
the specs is in the "Software" section: the Superloader 3 comes with a
license for some Windows Backup software, that you won't need when using
Bareos.
> Now I'm running out of ideas.
>
> Any suggestions for LTO-9 autoloader to use with Ubuntu+Bareos?
Quantum, HPE, Dell, whatever you prefer and can afford. Nevertheless, a
lot of people hate LTO-9 because of the initial calibration when a new
medium is loaded for the first time.
If you want to continue using LTO-8 tapes, I would just go with LTO-8
drives. At the scale you're asking for, I'd rather try to get a library
with more slots than a smaller one with a newer tape generation.
You should get a Scalar i3 with 1 LTO-8 HH and 25 Slots around the price
of a Superloader 3 with 1 LTO-9 HH and 16 Slots. When considering the
extra slot for the cleaning tape, that provides 288 TB vs. 270 TB.
> What setup Bareos+LTO are you running?
kind enough to just give to me.
> What to aim for in 2026 to be save for the next years?
That really depends on what you consider to be the "next years".
When you go with a modern upgradable and scalable library (like the
Scalar i3, for example) you can later move to LTO-10 (or newer) with a
simple drive-swap. You can also scale up the number of slots and drives
if you ever need it.
What would be nice is Full-Height drives for a lot better performance
and Fibre Channel for flexible placement of the library (i.e. in another
fire compartment).
Best Regards,
Andreas
--
Andreas Rogge andrea...@bareos.com
Bareos GmbH & Co. KG Phone: +49 221-630693-86
http://www.bareos.com
Sitz der Gesellschaft: Köln | Amtsgericht Köln: HRA 29646
Komplementär: Bareos Verwaltungs-GmbH
Geschäftsführer: Stephan Dühr, Jörg Steffens, Philipp Storz
Thomas Pries
Jul 29, 2026, 6:27:47 AMJul 29
to bareos...@googlegroups.com
Hi,
Am 28.07.26 um 17:01 schrieb 'Andreas Rogge' via bareos-users:
>> autoloader ... favorite was a Quantum Superloader 3 with LTO-9 HH
> ... If you take a closer look you'll realize that the "Windows only"
> from the specs is in the "Software" section ...
You are right, thanks for pointing me to that fact.
>> ... Any suggestions for LTO-9 autoloader to use with Ubuntu+Bareos?
> ...Hmm. Anything you can buy basically. It doesn't really matter. IBM,
When I take into account, that we got a lot of LTO-8-Tapes, this idea
makes absolute sense.
> ... You should get a Scalar i3 with 1 LTO-8 HH and 25 Slots around
... thanks for pointing me to that device, I will discus the idea with
my colleges.
> ... and Fibre Channel for flexible placement of the library ...
When the new solution is working, we can retire a Solaris+FC-LTO-8 and
integrate that with Bareos.
Thank you very much for your support an your ideas, it helped me a lot.
Kind regards
Thomas
Am 28.07.26 um 17:01 schrieb 'Andreas Rogge' via bareos-users:
> Am 28.07.26 um 10:19 schrieb Thomas Pries:
>> ... setup a new Bareos server and we want to include a LTO-9
>> autoloader ... favorite was a Quantum Superloader 3 with LTO-9 HH
>> Tape Drive, but the technical specs state "windows only".
>
> I haven't yet seen any modern tape autochanger that wouldn't work.
> Basically if it was produced in the last 25 years and does some kind
> of SCSI (i.e. SAS, FC, iSCSI, etc) it will work.
Great to hear that.
>
> I haven't yet seen any modern tape autochanger that wouldn't work.
> Basically if it was produced in the last 25 years and does some kind
> of SCSI (i.e. SAS, FC, iSCSI, etc) it will work.
> ... If you take a closer look you'll realize that the "Windows only"
> from the specs is in the "Software" section ...
You are right, thanks for pointing me to that fact.
>> ... Any suggestions for LTO-9 autoloader to use with Ubuntu+Bareos?
> ...Hmm. Anything you can buy basically. It doesn't really matter. IBM,
> Quantum, HPE, Dell, whatever you prefer and can afford. Nevertheless,
> a lot of people hate LTO-9 because of the initial calibration when a
> new medium is loaded for the first time.
>
> ... If you want to continue using LTO-8 tapes, I would just go with
> a lot of people hate LTO-9 because of the initial calibration when a
> new medium is loaded for the first time.
>
> LTO-8 drives. At the scale you're asking for, I'd rather try to get a
> library with more slots than a smaller one with a newer tape
> generation....
> library with more slots than a smaller one with a newer tape
When I take into account, that we got a lot of LTO-8-Tapes, this idea
makes absolute sense.
> ... You should get a Scalar i3 with 1 LTO-8 HH and 25 Slots around
> the price of a Superloader 3 with 1 LTO-9 HH and 16 Slots. When
> considering the extra slot for the cleaning tape, that provides 288 TB
> vs. 270 TB.... When you go with a modern upgradable and scalable
> considering the extra slot for the cleaning tape, that provides 288 TB
> library (like the Scalar i3, for example) you can later move to LTO-10
> (or newer) with a simple drive-swap. You can also scale up the number
> of slots and drives if you ever need it. ...
> (or newer) with a simple drive-swap. You can also scale up the number
... thanks for pointing me to that device, I will discus the idea with
my colleges.
> ... and Fibre Channel for flexible placement of the library ...
When the new solution is working, we can retire a Solaris+FC-LTO-8 and
integrate that with Bareos.
Thank you very much for your support an your ideas, it helped me a lot.
Kind regards
Thomas
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