Current Computing Research on Long Term Data Storage

Current Computing Research on Long bourn entropy StorageSamuel Kahura WachiraEvaluation of Current Computing Research on Long Term info StorageAbstractThe increasing number of digitized documents and the content gush that has been experienced in this digital age has necessitated the research into the Long Term information Storage. There are various methods, modes and approached to this problem. Whichever the solution, it must adhere to these principles the media or applied science should be affordable, flexible, durable and readily accessible and clear-cut by any software. This paper will be examining the current state of available technology for yen limit entropy shop, especially on the development of long term transshipment center, the various existing and upcoming hardware, the issues that affect Long Term Storage of digital data and some possible solutions. In this paper, strategies for preservation of data in specific formats and mediums are also investigated.1.0 I ntroductionLong-term data computer store is considered to be one of the biggest topics discussed in the field of Information Technology today. This is attributed to the fact that valuable information faces the threat of becoming unreadable owing to overreliance on paper as a medium of storage. In the modern face the danger of becoming unreadable thus the need to digitize the documents by wasting disease of Long Term digital Preservation (LTDP). Factor et. al. (2009), describes Long Term Digital Preservation as being a set of processes, strategies and tools which can be to store and thenceforth access digital data for periods long passable in the drive out of ever-changing technologies, formats, hardware, software as well as technical communities.There has been an en intumescent in the amount of digital information, as well as the aging of existing digital heritage. Well-publicized examples of such losses have resulted into an urgent need to engage with the challenge of long- term preservation of data. It is therefore important for us to understand the components (both hardware and software), the technology, the standards and the research that is being conducted to give us a stable , larger, high-speed capacity storage system.We are also able to appreciate the steps that we have made as regards storage size, speed, durability and stability od data storage devices.1.1 Development of Long Term Digital StorageA study by Kremser (2012), on long term digital storage revealed that as time goes by, there are many risks that threaten data integrity. Some of such threats include deterioration and/or obsolescence of storage media, obsolescence of the data format or in normal the software needed for running the application for accessing the data such as old operating systems. Such a risk is most related to hardware architectures.It follows therefore that in prescribe to ensure long term data preservation one has to overcome the problem of non-prompt memory inst itutions, including libraries, museums, annals as well as different cultural heritage institutions.Magnetic tape showed the way to consumer-grade data holding equipment. Since then, storage has pervaded nearly every gadget , electronics, form printers, Home appliances, mobile devices etc. This consumerization is driving the market forces to research more and innovate.Farley (2009) argues that careful selection of the electronic medium essential in order to deal with the many hazards that result from overreliance digital storage media which are not instantly apparent.It is evident that data to be archived needs to be retrievable other than the purpose of archiving is negated. In this regard therefore, the use of the Internet could as well eliminate the need to have a single point data storage in the future, if at all the data can be stored and at the same time be retrieved simultaneously on numerous different drove computers given that each individual computer upgraded or replace d, the data is therefore retained on other host computers.Technology and Long Term Data StorageTechnology comprises of discoveries in sciences, product development and improvement in machinery, process, and automation as well as information technology (Kurnet, 2012). These developments are changing the way that service firms and consumers interact, and are raising a host of research and practice issues relating to the delivery of e-service. Electronic-service is becoming increasingly important not only to delay the success or failure of electronic commerce, but also in the provision of consumers with a superior experience in regard to the interactive persist of information.Technology has become a leading driving force nowadays, in different businesses (Ahmed et. al. (2011). As such it is important to research the investments in technology and their match in the telecom business. It is particularly essential to assess how technology is reducing the labour intensive activities, red ucing service as well as process cost, increasing service levels, not forgetting improving the productivity and competitiveness of the telecom sector.1.3 economic science of Long Term Digital StorageRosenthal et.al (2012) has some interesting findings as regards the Economics of Long Term Digital Storage. In the paper of the same title, the authors analyse and present facts that support the conclusion that the decrease in cost per subprogram of storage in this decade, is likely to be much slower or it might eventually stop. This in turn will make the expenditure inscription implied by a decision to preserve some digital content much bigger and much harder to predict than would be expected on the ass of history. Rosenthal et.al (2012).Additionally, Rosenthal et.al (2013). and Goldstein et.al (2010) agree that there will be an increase in the importance of developing accurate and predictive models of storage as well as other preservation costs, as IT budgets become ever smaller.Wh en organizations recognize the Total Cost of ownership of preserving data for long periods, they migt consider investing in SSD (Solid Stata Drives) which although are initially expensive, will realize a lower TCO than traditional disks, whilw at the same time improve performace of data read and write operations. Rosenthal et.al (2013).1.3.1The OAIS Model consort to CCSDS Secretariat (2012), OAIS (Open archival Information System) is an ISO standard that is intended to be a referential design of digital archives with long term preservation capabilities. triad base roles are defined in the model producer, consumer and management. The OAIS Model (CCSDS et al 2012)The OAIS model defines functional entities Ingest, Data Management, Archival Storage, Access, Preservation Planning, and Administration.OAIS is more than a exigent specification of referential model. OAIS is a set of vague advice on how to build a digital archive. It identifies some basic actors/roles, describes the data a nd their flows in the systems. The central judgment of OAIS is an information package. There are three types of packages SIP (Submission Information Package), AIP (Archival IP), and DIP (Dissemination IP) depending on the life cycle of the data. The content of those packages slightly differs, but in general there are some descriptive and structural metadata, the manifest describing the content and the data itself.1.4 receivedization of Formats for Data ArchivingIn order for data to be readable in future, it will have to adhere to some form of standards. Hajicek and Studensky (2005) were of the opinion that standard generalized markup language would eventually become the de-facto standard for data archiving, since it covered most of the criteria for archiving. Standard Generalized Markup Language is considered to be an international standard when defining device-independent, as well as system-independent methods of representing texts in electronic form (Goldfarb, 2010).However, Haj icek et.al (2005) also suggest that SGML itself does not provide us with a solutionfor presentation of non-textual data and dynamic nonlinear (interactive) documents.XML is a lightweight cut-down version of SGML that keeps just enough of the functionality so as to make it useful. It is therefore aimed at making SGML usable easily.This discussion shows the importance of standardization in the march towards long term data storage.1.5 Data Storage MediaThe selection, storage as well as handling of media is very important when it comes to data storage. This is because we need to understand the various storage media that has been in existence, and is still being developed. Some Storage media has also been overtaken by technology, e.g. floppy disks, resulting in rapid discontinuation of previous formats.1.5.1 Magnetic MediaMagnetic media makes use of magnetic particles that which are suspended in a non-magnetic film or metallic disks that are then magnetized..Magnetic media is a flexible, low cost storage medium that has the ability to retain magnetic charges. It requires Clean operating conditions as well as environments to reduce the scope for damage to media and devices.1.5.2Optical MediaOptical storage media on the other hand uses laser light to read data from the discs. Optical Storage Media exists in different types such as CD-ROM as well as DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read Only Memory). Ross Gow (2012),2.0Proposed Modes for Long Term Digital Storage2.1DiskThe disk industrys roadmap everlastingly predicted a consistent 40% per year improvement with regards to bit density on disk platters, which can be translated to a 40% per year reduction in cost per bit stored. Although in the recent past the industry did not acquire this roadmap target. It is predicted that there is going to be more than a 20%/yr improvement in bit density for the next five years.2.2TapeTape is considered to be an important medium for long-term storage of large amounts of data. Thi s is attributable to low media, costs, low power consumption as well, its relatively high reliability outweigh its long access times. The recording technology that is utilize by tape is about 8 years behind disk however it is on approximately the same cost per bit curve as disk. Thus it is expected that tapes cost per bit will continue dropping, albeit somewhat more slowly as compared to previously, for perhaps another 8 years. This is likely to increase tapes cost advantage significantly.2.3Solid State MemorySolid State drives store data via electronic integrate Circuit systems as memory to store data persistently. SSD drived do not have moveable parts, so they do not suffer from the problems of disks i.e Head-Crash, Overheating, and are go at shock resistsnce than their counterparts. Previously, SD Drives were more expensive than disks and were of less storage capacity, but in the last two years, we have seen an incredible leap from 16Gb to 500GB drives.On a Cost per byte analy sis, SSD is still more expensive than traditional disks, but this is envisaged to slowly change as people adopt the new technology and more research and development is carried out.3.0 Challenges of Storing Electronic DataAhmed et. al. (2011), argues that preserving electronically-held data presents a problem. The storage media is unstable and is susceptible to physical abuse. Also, the technological advances that are creating lower TCO drives and discs, is leaving in its wake a lot of obsolete equipment still holding the data. The access of this data becomes a problem because of the scarcity of the equipment that is required to read the data presents problems which mostly attend to be unsolvable in the face of accelerating technological change.Ahmed et al (2011) goes further and concludes that optical discs might offer a induce solution. However, the breakage and simoleons that is usually characterized by storage of optical disks might render his argument null and void.Data stora ge on the internet also seems a compelling alternative where companies pay to store and retrieve the data they require, without the headache of managing the storage devices. Amazon, Rackspace, Google and Microsoft are already on this exciting phase of data storage. However, issues of legislation, privacy, security and availableness of the data is keeping some people away from this solution.Magnetic Media is cheap, lasts long and is flexible. However, magnetic media are also considered to be vulnerable to corruption via magnetic and stable fields apart from physical and chemical changes that occur during storage. (Russell, 2012).Good technology should only be applied in data storage if it satisfies some basic principles. Proper technology should ensure that information is stored accurately and retrieved immediately it is needed. All technological advances in automation processing, mass data processing and elimination of administrative challenges fall in this category. Farley (2009). 5.0 ConclusionThe research has shown that there is still a lot of research to be done as concerns Long term Data Storage. Commercial entities are pushing each other to greater heights of research and innovation in the race to produce the cheapest, largest and fastest devices. This race has seen a lot of hardware becoming obsolete, and in essence, not being supported. The question becomes how to read and extract the data in these obsolete storage media.On the other hand, the introduction of standardized models for long term Data Retention, such as OAIS, will go a long way in helping to achieve the standardization of formats, methods and approaches.On the economics of storing data in the cloud, Rosenthal et.al (2012, 2013) concluded that it is not yet economical to store data on the cloud, as compared to Disk.ReferencesAhmed A, JoAnne Holliday, D. E. Long, Ethan L. Miller, J., and Thomas S (2011). Data management and layout for shingled magnetic recording. IEEE Transactions onMagnetic s, 47(10)CCSDS Secretariat (2012). Reference Model for an Open Archival Information System (OAIS), Recommended Practice, CCSDS 650.0-M-2 (Magenta Book) Issue 2, June 2012Factor, D. Naor, S. Rabinovici-Cohen, L. Ramati, P. Reshef, J. Satran, D.L (2009) Architecture for Preservation-aware Storage. MSST 2007 3-15.Farley, J. (2009). An Introduction to Archival Materials new media (PRO Preservation Guide series).Hajicek C, Studensky I, The Long Term Data Storage, FI MU Report Series, July 2005Kryder, H.M and Chang K. (2009). After Hard Drives-What Comes Next? IEEE Trans. on Magnetics, 45(10), 2009Neil B. (2012).Digital Preservation Benefit Analysis Tools Project. http//beagrie.com/ krds-i2s2.php, 2012..Rosenthal, D.S.H., Rosenthal, D.C., Miller, E.L., Adams, I.F., Storer, M.W. Zadok, E. (2012). The Economics of Long-term Digital Storage. Paper presented at The Memory of the World in the Digital Age Conference, Vancouver, BC. Retrieved from http//www.lockss.org/locksswp/wp-content/upload s/2012/09/unesco2012.pdfRosenthal, D.S.H, Vargas D.L (2013) Distributed Digital Preservation in the Cloud,International Journal of Digital Curation (2013), 8(1), 107119.Russell K. (2012). Digital preservation Ensuring access to digital materials into the future.