Current Computing Research on Long Term Data Storage

Current Computing Research on great limit selective information StorageSamuel Kahura WachiraEvaluation of Current Computing Research on pine Term entropy StorageAbstractThe increasing get along of digitized documents and the heart and soul explosion that has been experienced in this digital age has necessitated the look into the foresightful Term Data Storage. There ar various methods, modes and approached to this puzzle. Whichever the solution, it mustiness adhere to these principles the media or technology should be affordable, flexible, durable and readily sociable and readable by any software. This news report lead be examining the underway state of available technology for long term info entrepot, specially on the suppuration of long term shop, the various existing and upcoming hardware, the issues that affect Long Term Storage of digital entropy and whatsoever possible solutions. In this paper, strategies for deliverance of selective information in spec ific initializes and mediums are also investigated.1.0 IntroductionLong-term data reposition is considered to be oneness of the biggest topics discussed in the field of Information Technology today. This is attributed to the fact that valuable culture faces the threat of change state 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 use of Long Term digital Preservation (LTDP). Factor et. al. (2009), describes Long Term digital Preservation as existence a set of processes, strategies and tools which can be to store and on that pointafter access digital data for periods long abundant in the wake of changing technologies, formats, hardware, software as nearly as technical communities.There has been an increase in the amount of digital learning, as well as the aging of existing digital heritage. Well-publicized examples of much(prenominal) losings have resulted in to an urgent need to deal with the challenge of long-term delivery of data. It is therefore cardinal for us to understand the components (both hardware and software), the technology, the standards and the look that is being conducted to give us a stable , larger, faster capacity storage system.We are also able to appreciate the steps that we have do as regards storage size, speed, dur baron and stability od data storage devices.1.1 Development of Long Term Digital StorageA guinea pig by Kremser (2012), on long term digital storage revealed that as time goes by, there are legion(predicate) risks that threaten data integrity. any(prenominal) of such threats include deterioration and/or obsolescence of storage media, obsolescence of the data format or in general the software needed for running the finish for accessing the data such as old operating systems. Such a risk is closely related to hardware architectures.It fol baseborns therefore that in order of battle to ascertain long term data rescue one has to cut across the problem of non-prompt memory institutions, including libraries, museums, archives as well as another(prenominal) cultural heritage institutions.Magnetic videotape showed the way to consumer-grade data keeping equipment. Since indeed, storage has pervaded nearly every gadget , electronics, form printers, Home appliances, meandering(a) devices etc. This consumerization is driving the market forces to explore to a greater extent and innovate.Farley (2009) argues that careful infusion 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 unadorned that data to be archived needs to be retrievable otherwise the aim of archiving is negated. In this regard therefore, the use of the Internet could as well devolve the need to have a single point data storage in the future, if at all the data can be stored and at the kindre d time be retrieved simultaneously on numerous different host computers given that each individual computer upgraded or replaced, 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 facts of life a host of research and practice issues relating to the delivery of e-service. Electronic-service is becoming more and more important not only to determine the success or harm of electronic commerce, but also in the provision of consumers with a gilt-edged experience in regard to the interactive flow of information.Technology has take a leading driving force nowadays, in different businesses (Ahmed et. al. (2011). As such it is important to research the investments in technology and the ir impact in the telecom business. It is particularly essential to assess how technology is reducing the effort intensive activities, reducing service as well as treat cost, increasing service levels, not forgetting improving the productivity and competitiveness of the telecom sector.1.3 Economics of Long Term Digital StorageRosenthal et.al (2012) has slightly kindle 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 chipping of storage in this decade, is likely to be much(prenominal) slower or it might finally stop. This in turn forget make the expenditure commitment implied by a decision to relate some digital content much bigger and much harder to call off than would be expected on the basis of history. Rosenthal et.al (2012).Additionally, Rosenthal et.al (2013). and Goldstein et.al (2010) agree that there will be an increase in t he importance of developing unblemished and predictive models of storage as well as other preservation costs, as IT budgets become ever smaller.When organizations recognize the Total Cost of self-will of preserving data for long periods, they migt consider investing in SSD ( self-coloured Stata Drives) which although are initially valuable, 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 precedent harmonise to CCSDS Secretariat (2012), OAIS (Open Archival Information arranging) is an ISO standard that is intended to be a referential design of digital archives with long term preservation capabilities. Three basic 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 st rict specification of referential model. OAIS is a set of light advice on how to build a digital archive. It identifies some basic actors/roles, describes the data and their flows in the systems. The central notion of OAIS is an information package. There are terce 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 Standardization 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 reason out Markup Language is considered to be an in ternational standard when defining device-independent, as well as system-independent methods of representing texts in electronic form (Goldfarb, 2010).However, Hajicek 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 adept enough of the functionality so as to make it useful. It is therefore aimed at make SGML usable easily.This discussion shows the importance of standardization in the marchland 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. or so Storage media has also been overtaken by technology, e.g. floppy disks, resulting in rapid discontinuation of previous formats.1.5.1 Magnetic Med iaMagnetic media makes use of magnetic particles that which are hang 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.1.5.2 optic 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 always predicted a consistent 40% per year improvement with regards to sting 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 achieve 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. This 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 used by tape is about 8 years behind disk however it is on approximately the same cost per bit curve as disk. and so it is expected that tapes cost per bit will cover 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 integrated Circuit systems as memory to store data persistently. SSD drived do not have moveable parts, so they do not deliver from the problems of disks i.e Head-Crash, Overheating, and are better at shock resistsnce than their counterparts. Previously, SD Drives were more exp ensive than disks and were of slight storage capacity, but in the last two years, we have seen an incredible leap from 16Gb to 500GB drives.On a Cost per byte analysis, SSD is still more expensive than traditional disks, but this is envisaged to slowly change as people pull in 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 expert advances that are creating lower TCO drives and discs, is leaving in its wake a take 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 seem to be unsolvable in the face of accelerating technological change.Ahmed et al (2011) goes supercharge and concludes that optical discs might offe r a compelling solution. However, the breakage and clams that is usually characterized by storage of optical disks might render his business line null and void.Data storage on the internet also seems a compelling alternative where companies pay to store and retrieve the data they require, without the annoying 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 accessibility of the data is keeping some people outdoor(a) from this solution.Magnetic Media is cheap, lasts long and is flexible. However, magnetic media are also considered to be unguarded to corruption via magnetic and electrostatic 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 retri eved 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. mercenary 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 unbelief 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 compare d 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 proceeding onMagnetics, 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 manoeuvre 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 succeeding(a)? 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. (2 012). The Economics of Long-term Digital Storage. Paper presented at The Memory of the World in the Digital develop Conference, Vancouver, BC. Retrieved from http//www.lockss.org/locksswp/wp-content/uploads/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.