Anyone reading this very likely has data of some sort stored on
optical discs. Music, information, movies etc., that you either bought
or created yourself. Arguably, the things we personally archive are most
important, possibly irreplaceable, so we want our personal data to last. But how
long is long enough? And furthermore, what about those government or business
records that have been stored by others?
Inquiring minds want to know, so in order to assist the National Institute of Standards and
Technology (NIST) develop a standard test to estimate the longevity of
recordable optical media, the DVD Association (DVDA) and the Government
Information Preservation Working Group (GIPWoG) have created a
short survey to determine what various organizations think is
prudent.
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Government Survey: For more than 15 years, recordable optical disc technology has proven to be a very versatile and convenient storage and distribution medium. The Government Information Preservation Working Group (GIPWoG) is working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to establish a long-term, or archival, standard measurement for recordable CD and DVD media. The GIPWoG is seeking your opinion on this effort, specifically: Do you have a period of time (in number of years) that is considered necessary, ideal, or required, for the longevity of storage media? 20 years 25 years 30 years 35 years 40 years 40+ years (* please explain for 'above 40 years') (One should consider the issues of digital obsolescence and migration - Is 100 years (or 'forever') really practical for typical long-term digital storage strategies? While you may need to preserve data for a particular length of time, is it really necessary to preserve that data on any particular technology or can it be migrated to newer technologies?). If a label, statement, or logo is accompanying a specific type of disc to identify it as meeting the minimum quality requirement as determined above, would this be specified or recommended when purchasing these products for long-term storage applications? Yes No Not Sure (The overall response to this question will provide the incentive for industry to participate in the test method development and its application.) |
Well, a label indicating whether a media is "certified" for archival use seems to be a no brainer. You can take a look at the original survey if you would like to participate. But just for curiosities sake, we wonder what you think is a reasonable length for critical data to last on disc.
Of course
governments are not the only ones affected, any organization will have records that must be maintained for years, the length could even be dictated by law. Some good examples are hospitals and banks. Possibly, some of these records may be required to be held for decades. Another important issue they address, is the migration of the data to future formats. !00 years? We have to wonder what hardware will be available in 20 in my opinion. How can this information be protected efficiently and reliably? We have to wonder if all our technology has done very much for the archival of information.
Source: PhysOrg
