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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: [log in to unmask] 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.