On-The-Road Backup

Michael Nadeau

Karl Malden notwithstanding, ``Don't leave home without it'' could well be the motto of Datasonix. The company is positioning its Pereos ``mobile companion'' as a portable tape backup unit. Using tiny tape cartridges that are about the size of a pad of butter--yet hold over 600 MB of uncompressed data--you can travel with every file from your server in your briefcase, so Datasonix ((303) 545-9500) claims.

That might not be the most compelling reason to use Pereos, which is slated to ship in the third quarter. Its small size, large capacity, and relatively low price make it attractive for many types of nonnetwork backup. The product falls in the ``genuinely cute'' category. It weighs a mere 10 ounces and looks like an electric razor mounted in a recharger. In fact, the tape unit detaches from the base, which hous es two AA batteries. Datasonix claims a respectable 10-MBps backup rate using compressed data over a parallel-port connection. Windows-based backup and data management software, designed specifically for Pereos, comes with the package. The company expects the price to be less than $600. Tapes are about $28 each.

Despite the respectable speed and what appears to be a well-designed software front end, Pereos is still a linear storage technology. It cannot match a hard drive for access speed. Still, such a small, battery-powered unit could be very useful in other situations. For example, its small form factor and low cost make it attractive for small or home office use. Or a company could buy one for a workgroup to share.

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Photograph: Datasonix's portable tape backup unit uses tiny tape cartridges that can hold over 600 MB of uncompressed data.