usb flash as long term storage/archive

Moderated by: guardian

Visit the FM Store · Image Upload · Buy & Sell
FM Forum Rules

FM Forums | PRO digital corner | Join Image Upload
1

end

Kyle Yates
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.2 #1 · usb flash as long term storage/archive

I think the query here displays the fundamental problem people have in distinguishing between ARCHIVE and BACKUP.

When you are archiving data this assumes that you have essentially finished needing it on a regular basis and you can then write it away to a Permanent medium such as a DVD (blu ray, DVD-RAM or whatever).

Backing up is a TOTALLY different ballgame --you could be backing up several 100GB at a time --for this external hard discs are the correct tool.

Archiving generally shouldn't involve writing more than a few GB per archive session.

Under Linux it's even easier -- you set up a CRON job which runs automatically every day to copy all files (or a selection) which say haven't been modified or accessed for several weeks / months or whatever and store these on to a temporary directory on a hard drive.

You can then archive these files at your leisure. You shouldn't have too much to archive.

After you've run the archive you delete the temporary directory and the files from your current hard drives.

(Don't forget you've still got your backups if the archive fails during the run.

Cheers

-K

Aug 20, 2008 at 02:45 PM

ajkessler
Offline
Buy and Sell: On

p.2 #2 · usb flash as long term storage/archive

Kyle Yates wrote:
I think the query here displays the fundamental problem people have in distinguishing between ARCHIVE and BACKUP.

It seems like most people are understanding this (I am in any case). I'm just mentioning that on a cost/convenience basis, hard drives win hands down. As I said earlier, fill one up, stick it in a safe, and migrate it every 5-10 years. It's nice that CD's (bluray, whatever) might last 100 years, but chances are readers/players aren't going to be commonplace then. Case in point, no new computers come with a 3.5 floppy (not that you can't buy one), yet usb/firewire is continually backwards compatible, ie no extra hassle on your end if you're using a 5-10 year old external HDD. You're going to end up migrating your data in the meantime anyways, so you might as well go with the easier and cheaper solution in the interim.

Edited on Aug 21, 2008 at 05:25 AM

Aug 21, 2008 at 05:24 AM

alexhibbert
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.2 #3 · usb flash as long term storage/archive

we seem to be going round in circles here! Everyone seems to be in agreement that HDD is best for onsite backup, but the question was about infrequent access offsite archive. I'm not looking for a 100 year solution, but something to last until the next technology change. 5-10 years perhaps. Flash? Optical? Online?

Thanks

Aug 21, 2008 at 01:45 PM

nathanlake
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.2 #4 · usb flash as long term storage/archive

ajkessler wrote:
Kyle Yates wrote:
I think the query here displays the fundamental problem people have in distinguishing between ARCHIVE and BACKUP.

It seems like most people are understanding this (I am in any case). I'm just mentioning that on a cost/convenience basis, hard drives win hands down. As I said earlier, fill one up, stick it in a safe, and migrate it every 5-10 years. It's nice that CD's (bluray, whatever) might last 100 years, but chances are readers/players aren't going to be commonplace then. Case in point, no new computers come with a 3.5 floppy (not that you can't buy one), yet usb/firewire is continually backwards compatible, ie no extra hassle on your end if you're using a 5-10 year old external HDD. You're going to end up migrating your data in the meantime anyways, so you might as well go with the easier and cheaper solution in the interim.

I would be amazed if USB is still being used 20 years from now.

Aug 21, 2008 at 08:31 PM

monkeyonacamer
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.2 #5 · usb flash as long term storage/archive

I only briefly scanned every ones comments but didn't see anyone mention tape drives.

DLT tape drives are great the can hold up to 800 gigs of data, write speed faster then any hard drive, easy to store. Its an actual proven tech that works. Its used by quite a few financial institutions that need a good way to archive data.

It also fits yer criteria of different storage medium.

That being said using hard drives for backup/archiving is perfectly viable.

Aug 21, 2008 at 11:26 PM

nathanlake
Offline
Image Upload: On

p.2 #6 · usb flash as long term storage/archive

monkeyonacamer wrote:
I only briefly scanned every ones comments but didn't see anyone mention tape drives.

DLT tape drives are great the can hold up to 800 gigs of data, write speed faster then any hard drive, easy to store. Its an actual proven tech that works. Its used by quite a few financial institutions that need a good way to archive data.

It also fits yer criteria of different storage medium.

That being said using hard drives for backup/archiving is perfectly viable.

I would say "quite a few" is a real understatement. Most large companies use take backups. Yes, HD is getting cheaper, but tape is still king of the backup. It is not suitable for long term archive.

Aug 22, 2008 at 01:54 AM

ajkessler
Offline
Buy and Sell: On

p.2 #7 · usb flash as long term storage/archive

alexhibbert wrote:
we seem to be going round in circles here! Everyone seems to be in agreement that HDD is best for onsite backup, but the question was about infrequent access offsite archive. I'm not looking for a 100 year solution, but something to last until the next technology change. 5-10 years perhaps. Flash? Optical? Online?

Thanks

Alex,

Perhaps you just skimmed my post above yours and missed my point. If so, I'm suggesting using a HDD for infrequent offsite archival means. This is not a 100 year solution. It is probably the easiest and cheapest 5-10 year solution that you seem to be searching for. Not sure what else to say here....

Nathan, your point is probably true. USB might not be around in 20 years, but you'll be migrating data before than anyway, so its pretty much a moot point. Blue-ray, dvd, firewire (etc. etc.) won't exist in it's current iteration in 20 years either.

And yes, enterprise class tape drives kick ass, but again, they're far more expensive than a simple external hard drive.

Aug 22, 2008 at 05:19 AM

Hammy
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.2 #8 · usb flash as long term storage/archive

.... round and round she goes, where she stops... nobody knows!!
(she being this thread)

AJ summed it up quite nicely: simplest, cheapest, fastest is what people need for the short term.

THERE IS NO LONG TERM

Aug 22, 2008 at 05:35 AM

Kyle Yates
Offline
Image Upload: Off

p.2 #9 · usb flash as long term storage/archive

As a great 20th centrury British Economist said

"It really doesn't matter about the long term because in the long term we are all dead".

(However that doesn't mean we should go down the road some US coprporations follow --If it's Tuesday then Friday is long term).

Cheeers

-K

Aug 22, 2008 at 08:41 AM


FM Forums \| PRO digital corner \| Join Image Upload 1 2 end