Hi all, We are preparing to install a Digital Asset Management System, which has led to a debate regarding what is "enough" redundant storage to keep the digital assets safe from disaster.
Initially we specified production and mirrored on-line storage at different physical locations on campus with tape backup to get the assets off-line. The on-line storage would be raid 6 (two spare drives), and about eight miles apart, which should be enough to protect at least one copy of the data from disaster short of nuclear war. Also, we will be sending the images to another on-line campus system called the Digital Preservation Repository. In total, that makes three on-line copies of the same images, not to mention whatever redundancy and backup the DPR will incorporate. Now, we are debating whether it is worth the investment to include tape backup, which seems to be tedious, error prone and technology that needs to be upgraded frequently to keep it current. Has anyone done a cost/benefit analysis for tape backup verses redundant on-line storage? Can you point me to any web sites/documents that discuss this issue? How are you handling data redundancy of digital assets at your museum? Thanks for your help. David Parsell Systems Manager Yale Center for British Art 1080 Chapel Street PO Box 208280 New Haven, CT 06520-8280 203 432-9603 203 432-9414 f david.parsell at yale.edu
