I am not a fan of direct-to-tape database backups using the Veritas, ArcServer or other SQL Server backup agents for several reasons:

1. The tape drive is usually a shared resource, so it may not be able to backup a database at the point in time that I want it backed up. Also, a tape drive can only backup one database at a time, and I may need to backup multiple databases at the same time.

2. Direct to tape backups are especially unsuitable for transaction log backups, since they should run very often, like every 15 minutes, and it is unlikely that the tape drive will be available that often.

3. Restore requires the use of the tape backup software, and the last thing I want is an NT backup admin restoring a database.

4. I like to have the current backup on disk, because it is the one that I am most likely to need to restore from, and I usually need it in a hurry. Tape has a higher media failure rate than disk, so there is a higher safety factor in a restore from disk. Also, if the tape drive is in use, I may have to wait until its current operation is complete to start a restore.

I prefer to backup the database and transaction logs to disk with a regular SQL Server backup, and then have the backup files saved off to tape on a daily basis. It requires more disk, but I think that the safety of the database has to be the first consideration.