1. is it worth splitting the scsi channels to two servers or should i use the two channels on one server. **I would leave them on a dual port card in one server... 2 drives will not kill a server. 2. do i need to upgrade to backup exec 11d. ** Its always a good idea to upgrade to the latest s/w. I think Symantec has released 12D already. You will need to verify with the HCL for Symantec if the ML6x is supported. 3. how can i get the maximum transfer rate to the ml6000 if I'm doing backup over Ethernet through a main server attached to the library? ** Upgrade your network to 10Gb :) You will be limited to the pipe you provide the data to flow through... do your backups overnight or during the slowest network period.