Considering everything we have to think about as IT administrators, nothing is more fraught with potential problems than backups. A lot of this is simply because we hope we never have to use it. One of the more annoying aspects of backups is that as hard disk space has increased, backup media hasn't, and that means we have to use multiple tapes, tape libraries and autochangers. More tapes also means more storage space and that means bigger fireproof safes, or higher costs with offsite media storage companies. This is complicated by the fact that the higher density tapes and drives are expensive.