RE: Storage of a Save 21 Tape

Do you keep the tapes in a locked, fire-resistent/proof safe?

Is your house better able to withstand whatever natural forces impact
your area (flood, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.)?  What about
resistance to fire and likelihood of burning?

Forgetting your vacation, what happens if you (and all residents of your
home who would know about the tape storage) die in a flaming car
accident?  Or if your home is robbed?  How will the business retrieve
it's assetts (tapes)?

Have you discussed the situation with your banker to see if they could
provide access off-hours during an emergency?  Maybe they could for a
fee.  And if not, check in to an Iron Mountain/Recall-type of service.
Or, if your company has multiple locations, off-site to the other
locations.  A former employer had multiple factories around Chicagoland;
we rotated tapes using our interoffice van such that we always had
grandfather, father, and son sets off-site.

Maybe do both home & the bank:
- Keep a full GO SAVE/21 at both home & the bank.  Refresh once in a
while as needed; quarterly is probably sufficient.
- Do nightly saves of your data (however you choose - incremental,
*ALLUSR, whatever).  Include the IFS (if used) and SAVSECDTA.
- Off-line copy the tape to another tape or just make a second backup.
- Send one tape to the bank & take the other home.
For the price of a few extra tapes (and maybe a second tape drive) you
have the security of the bank vault + the convenience of having the
tapes in your home.  But get the fireproof safe anyway.

Evaluate the risks with each option.  There are features, risks, and
costs to each.  Any decision will be a compromise and you're going to
have to figure out what works best for your situation.

Also, if your company gets audited, run any plans by your auditors to
see if they'd raise a red flag.