Disk-based virtual tape library appliance built for AS400/IBM i shops, with native support for iSeries backup commands and up to 16 parallel backup streams.
- Category
- Disk-based virtual tape library appliance
- As400 Ibm I Support
- Native support for iSeries tape backup/restore commands, including Option 21 and IPL, plus backup software such as Robot Save
- Concurrency
- Up to 16 parallel backup streams to independent logical libraries
- Interfaces
- GbE, 10GbE, iSCSI, SAS, 8G/16G Fibre Channel, and legacy SCSI, covering older iSeries hosts alongside current systems
- Model Range
- VTL2000/VTL3000/VTL4000 class appliances scaled for SMB through enterprise capacity
- Differentiator
- Presents to backup software as physical tape, so existing save scripts, job schedules, and media rotation logic keep working unchanged
A virtual tape library (VTL) is a disk-based appliance that presents itself to backup software exactly like a physical tape library or drive, so save jobs, media rotation scripts, and scheduling that were written for real tape keep working without modification. See the Virtual Tape Library glossary entry and the fuller VTL vs. physical tape library comparison for how the two approaches actually differ in practice.
Cybernetics is one of the longer-running vendors in this space, with native support for iSeries-specific backup commands (including Option 21 and IPL-based saves) and compatibility with IBM i backup software such as Robot Save, which matters because not every VTL vendor tests specifically against AS400/IBM i save commands rather than generic SCSI tape emulation. The appliance supports up to 16 parallel backup streams to independent logical libraries, useful for shops consolidating backup from multiple LPARs or partitions onto one physical unit, and offers a wide interface range (GbE, 10GbE, iSCSI, SAS, 8G/16G Fibre Channel, and legacy SCSI) to bridge both older iSeries hardware and current Power Systems generations.
The practical case for moving from a physical tape library to a VTL like this is usually backup window and reliability: disk-to-disk backup is faster than tape for both the save and any restore, and it removes tape drive mechanical wear and media handling from the daily job, while still producing something the backup software and any downstream tape-offload process recognizes as a tape.