VALIDATION SERVER IN TAPE-BASED BACKUP AND ARCHIVE ENVIRONMENTS

A method for preventing unauthorized access to tape data is disclosed. In one embodiment, such a method includes maintaining, by a validation server, a lock on a tape drive. The method detects loading, by a requesting server, a tape into the tape drive so that it can be written to. The method confirms, using the validation server, that the requesting server is authorized to write to the tape. The method releases, using the validation server, the lock in response to confirming the authorization of the requesting server. In certain embodiments, the validation server is maintained in a separate environment from the requesting server and/or the validation server is not accessible using the same authentication methods used to access the requesting server. A corresponding system and computer program product are also disclosed.