info request - CDR / CDRW data integrity Vs Time

[petrefax]

morning all,

just after a bit of info really....i'm trying to implement a data archiving exersise at work, becuase our servers are getting a bit full

due to the nature of the stuff we need to keep, it will need to be kept for 7 years

i know that due to the way they're made, CDRs "decay" over time, so there is a possibility of data being lost, which is obvioulsy a bad thing! so i've got it into my head that CDRW is the best media for the job, but for the life of me can't back this up....its just one of those things i take for granted as being a fact

can anyone point me in the right direction to back up or disprove my claims, since i know our site director is going to ask....and i doubt he'll accept "take my word for it mate, thats just how it is" he's going to want proof!!!

[Apex]

er cd's are not any good for this job, you want to be using tapes tbh.

[Butuz]

CD's will not be garuntee'd to work after 7 years, and frankly neither will many tapes.

I believe WORM tapes is what you require. Garuntee'd to outlast both the tape drives, and the servers they [used to] fit into \o/

Butuz

[Rave]

DVD-RAM is suposed to have good archival qualities is it not?

I have audio CDs that I burned five years ago and which are still working fine. That was when discs cost a pound or more each and got burned at 2X though. The only CDRs I have that now don't work are ones that were left in front of a sunny window for a long time; even they still play the inner tracks fine. I reckon that good discs like Taiyo Yudens, burned on a good burner and then verified for low error rates, then stored in a dark, dry container ought to easily last 10 years or more.

I never heard of CDRWs being better than CDRs for data stability.

Rich :¬)

[Sk!mD4Rk]

I back up IMPORTANT stuff to newly purchased hard drives, they're cheap, pretty much safe and why not!?

[javalord]

In Holland, the music industry uses Sony CD-R's (Taiyo Yuden dye) to archive audio time to time. So id say its a safe bet using Sony CD-R's written at CLV levels rather than CAV levels.

On the other hand, you really should look at Write once tapes, after all its business material.

[funnelhead]

I'm with sk!md4rk on this. You can pick up 160gigs or £53......stick it in a faraday cage to keep the evils of magnetism at bay.

i wouldnt trust anything on cdrs.

tape drives i dont know anything about, but id assume it would be an expensive, bu secure option.

[petrefax]

cheers everyone

i know its not a particularly secure / reliable method of backing up....but then thats the company i work for, if a corner can be cut they'll cut it!! so i'm looking fvor the best of a bad lot

perhaps i dreamt that CDRW are better than CDR, i dunno!! thats why i said i have no rational reason for thinking this, its just something i *think* i know & was looking for a reality check

[Rave]

If I were you I'd ask on the CD Freaks forums, or somewhere like that. Optical media geeks are bound to know the answer.

Rich :¬)