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Re: [ARSCLIST] Storing digital media
At 02:17 PM 5/8/2006, Christina Hostetter wrote:
Good Afternoon. I am in the middle of a debate on what is the best way
to store large quantities of digital media (audio, video, and images).
I have always been under the impression that for such large quantities
of information and such large files a dedicated server (or servers) is
the best way to go as opposed to external hard drives or CD-ROM.
I would think that you're onto something here. A managed central
store or repository is a process, not a piece of hardware.
What do you consider "large quantities?"
The common large repository architecture today is a combination of
servers (typically RAID) and redundant data tape copies, with one set
off site and the active set in a robotic archive.
My personal small-office implementation is triple redundant,
non-RAIDed 1250 GB of storage, with one store in the adjacent
dwelling unit connected by fibre optics.
Our IT manager had this to say: Our servers have only lasted about 5
years before requiring replacement. I wonder what makes you think
servers are appropriate for storing large amounts of data?
My reply to him would have been, "Have you ever lost any data when
you replaced a server?"
He is suggesting that we use external hard drives
I would prefer to see these connected even if spun down. I don't like
the concept of hard-drive-on-shelf. If you do that, three drives that
are tested annually would be a compromise.
or CD-ROM
650 MB/disc?
"large quantities"
0.65 GB /disc
"large quantities"
Even at 4700 MB/disc, gold DVD-Rs from MAM-A are small. I just did an
audio project where my client was waiting for the MAM-A gold discs
and I sent him 15 DVD-Rs. 4.7 GB is better than 0.65 GB, but still,
it's not 200 or 400 GB of LTO 2 or LTO 3 data tape.
LTO-3 is 2.5 tapes / TB
DVDs are about 225 discs / TB
CD-Rs are about 1,600 discs / TB
250 GB hard drives are 4 discs / TB
to store our
media. I think it would be much easier to store everything on one or
more servers and have the files accessible to anyone rather than having
to come to me all the time to pull materials in the archives.
Yes as long as there is proper digital rights management and/or
access control installed.
Plus, you
could migrate that information to a new server when the old one is no
longer working.
...BEFORE the old one stops working <smile>.
Any thoughts? I always thought servers that store only digital files
last longer than 5 years.
5 years is probably an economic end of life.
There are no simple answers to this.
Cheers,
Richard
Richard L. Hess email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX
Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm
Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.