[nylug-talk] CD-R as archival media

[Henning Follmann]

On Fri, May 02, 2003 at 03:22:30PM -0400, Steven Kreuzer wrote:
> On Friday, May 2, 2003, at 12:31 PM, David Panofsky wrote:
> 
> >Ok, so I have some data which I don't need frequent or quick access 
> >to, but
> >which I'll almost certainly need to use in the future.  I want to 
> >archive it
> >so I can free up some space on my system.  I've been planning on just 
> >burning
> >the files to a couple of CD-Rs, but I'm concerned about the 
> >possibility of
> >data loss due to media degradation.  I'm looking for an efficient 
> >method to
> >minimize my risks, and I don't really care if the data is stored in a 
> >standard
> >or user friendly way.  Note, I'm looking for technological advice, not
> >information about off-site or fire-proof storage, etc.
> >
> >First off, I'm wondering if any of you have an opinion of how likely I 
> >am to
> >have any problems down the line.  I know that the red-book format has 
> >some ECC
> >built in which helps with small scratches, but I'm sure we've all 
> >experienced
> >cases where that is not enough protection. I have the sense that CD-Rs 
> >are
> >pretty likely to develop significant errors, but if I'm being overly 
> >paranoid,
> >just let me know....

I think you are right. CD(-R)s scratch easily. 
For safety I always would make two copies.

> >
> >The simplest thing is probably to make multiple copies of each disk on 
> >the
> >assumption that no two will fail in exactly the same way. This can get
> >cumbersome with a lot of data, but I'll do it if nothing better comes 
> >up.  I
> >was also thinking I could use an old, small (by today's standards) HD 
> >to hold
> >one data copy and CD-Rs for other copies on the assumption that only 
> >one of
> >the two media types is likely to fail in a given storage environment.
> >
> >Here are some ideas I've been having which use some sort of Forward 
> >Error
> >Correction scheme to add redundancy to the data set, but none is ideal:
> >
[...]
(too much work)
> >  dave p.
> >
> To be honest, I think you are being a little paranoid. CD-R's have a
> lifespan of about 10 years. From a cost standpoint, CD-R's are going
> to
> be the cheapest. Burn the data you want to archive, put it in a jewel
> case and store it somewhere at room temp and you should be fine. If
> you
> are really paranoid, simply make 2 copies of the data, just in case
> you
> accidently run over one of the discs with your chair (this happened to
> me, don't laugh).
>
> -Steve
>

My advise would be:
buy a hard drive. I backup my laptop on an external (via Firewire PCMCIA)
hard drive. (Normal ide hd in one of these cheap external boxes).
I even backup my wife's hard drive that way, because the admins in her
company are clue-less.
For that purpose I have a knoppix cd. Boot from this cd and use partimage
to backup the whole partition. More elaborate backups are also possible
of course.

Just my $0.02

Henning




-- 
Henning Follmann          |   hfollmann at itcfollmann.com
it consulting             |  http://www.itcfollmann.com