Reply-to: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxx>
At 05:24 PM 2007-03-28, John Spencer wrote:
My initial intent for responding to the post was simply to point out
there are other options for underfunded archival projects. HDDs and
CD-Rs are not the only cost-effective solutions, but I sense my
thinking is in the minority....
Perhaps, John, I am confused about what cost-effective solutions you
are suggesting. Could we step back a bit and clearly see the
offerings that you and others are suggesting? I am open to a wide
variety of cost-effective solutions. However, in the cost-effective
solution that you propose, I would like to see the basic framework
for the 100-year life briefly outlined. For example, I will do this
for three options:
(1) Institutional repository (IR): This is stored on enterprise-class
SAN systems with LTO tape backup (or equal). There is management in
place to shepherd the frequent technology-driven migrations to
different architectures and storage media as the IT industry climate
changes. There is a mandate to develop and maintain this IR at the
highest level of the institution. The "client" base for the IR is
broad enough that is is not serving one or two departments, but
rather integrated across the entire structure of the institution.
(2) NAS Appliances: NAS Appliances (as required by NARAS) with LTO
tape backup. When these devices and tapes are delivered, then who,
long term will manage them? These devices/media also require
migration. The NAS appliance can be hooked to an institutional LAN
and the LTO tapes can be added to the institutional media library.
This requires both OS synchronization for the NAS appliance (at least
to some degree, especially if a rights structure is in use) and a
typically read minus two, write minus one generation scenario for
migration for the tape. In fact, long-term active management of this
option is simplified by the IR model as the data is treated more
homogenously. Of course, the bigger the basket, the more eggs that
are broken with the fall.
(3) CDs/DVDs: These need to be sampled every year or two and
monitored and migrated. When Blu-Ray or similar is a viable
technology then a migration may happen. When UltaViolet-Ray discs
become common, then another migration needs to occur. Generations can
be skipped more easily in these more-consumer-ish formats than in the
IT pro formats in (1) and (2) as long as functional readers for the
older, bulkier media are readily available. There is a chance that
gold CD-Rs, coupled with the availability of garage-sale CD players
MAY (stress MAY) just make the 100 years on their own. I do not see
that for any other without active management.
None of these scenarios (except PERHAPS the gold CD-R) is immune from
funding interruptions.
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.