One improvement of Seagate's Viper 200 over its predecessors is the inclusion of a flap on the tape insertion tray. This prevents dirt from getting inside. Two fans are integrated into the front to ventilate the tape drive.

The control elements are limited to an eject button for the tape. The tape is automatically drawn into the tray when inserted. Four LEDs display the current operational status: drive working; clean; error; and drive in operation.

The LTO drive is automatically recognized by Windows 2000. The handbooks and diagnosis software are on the included CD-ROM. Archiving software Netvault 6.5 is also included in the package.

In terms of performance, the Viper 200 can't keep up with the SDLT 320 from HP or Tandberg. Despite the nominally identical transfer rate, the Viper 200 is slower than this model when backing up and restoring. Only when it's restoring individual files is this drive nearly as fast.

Comprehensive equipment and service are worth a positive mention. This includes a toll-free phone number and the free-of-charge exchange at your home. The tape drive costs $4995 and is one of the most expensive drives in the test. The cost of a gigabyte's worth of data storage is $0.89. The Viper 200 finishes at a well-deserved second place in the overall rankings.