This topic discusses the different tape drives to be used for a Linux® backup.
Linux backup applications can either save to an iSeries™ tape drive or a tape drive directly controlled by a Linux server somewhere in the network.
iSeries tape drives can be accessed by backup applications running on the integrated Linux server.
Because an iSeries tape drive appears to an integrated Linux server as a directly connected tape drive, you can also save remote integrated or non-integrated Linux servers to the iSeries tape drive across the network using a utility such as rsync. In other words, the iSeries tape drive behaves exactly as if it were a native Linux tape drive.
If you have a Linux-based backup infrastructure already in place, it is likely that you have tape drives attached to standalone Linux servers in the network. Therefore, you can save files to a tape drive attached to an integrated Linux server in the same way as you would save files on any other standalone Linux server in the network.