Best software for LTO Tape Backup.

So, I’m currently running a Win Server 2019 with shared storage and a VM. I am currently just using DrivePool mirrored just as a drive fail safe for my video production. Everything is backed up also to 20TB drives that are stored else where. I’m going to be moving to a new machine and I’ve got a LTO-8 tape drive that want to start using for the off-site backup of my important media and projects. The server/nas currently has approximately 80TB of used data and that is mirrored (for quick retrieval in the event a drive goes down), with about 40TB of free space. All that to say, I started getting curious in starting to use Proxmox, TrueNAS or something of that nature instead of Windows. I went down the rabbit hole.

Here is the conundrum. What software do you recommend that I use for backing large amounts of files and will be easily accessible in the event my machine goes down or I need to pull something from the backup tape?

Proxmox Backup Server – It mentioned you needed a DataStore that required 2-3x your current space to create and then it backs that up to the tape. I don’t have that extra amount of space currently and it didn’t appear to have an option to do File to Tape.

Veeam Community Edition – This one is a bit confusing. I’ve read several things that they changed the license in version 12+ and pricing rocketed? I thought this was free, but maybe only for backing up machines/VM and such. Maybe someone can help me understand this better. My storage is only going to increase, so I want to make sure I’m not limited to a certain size. I’m fine with having to create multiple tapes with media and have it split between tapes.

Iperius Backup is another one I looked at. It seemed to only support Windows, but I could always run that in a VM if I move to a Linux based OS, or within Windows Server if I continue using it. I know there is a cost to it, but It didn’t seem too insane. Does it do the same thing as Proxmox, or can it do File to Tape?

I guess what I’m trying to find is a software solution that writes it in a format I can easily retrieve data in the future, that is free or low cost for home use, and that doesn’t require a full-size backup database of the files. It would be nice if it saved it in a format that isn’t proprietary, but I’m not sure if there is a solution like that, due to the compression and such? It’s my first time using an LTO and the software, so I have no clue what I’m getting myself into.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Let me know if you have any questions.

EDIT: OK, so I was looking at the drive and searched for it. It’s a MagStor (IBM I believe) and apparently supports LTFS and software that uses it.