Arcplace AG – Digital Archiving Solutions

Avoid tapes. Keep archived data online

Over time, archives have tended to become synonymous with tape libraries for storing backups. The shortcomings of storing everything on tape only become obvious however when someone needs to access a file that has been offline for some time. The process of recovering a document stored on a tape (especially off-site) can be very painful. On top of the time taken to find the right tape and reconstruct the original environment, it is not unusual for tapes to be damaged or contain errors.

The simplest and most cost effective means of providing continuous long-term access to digital records is to keep the data online. Online files are easier to track, simpler to verify, faster to index and less cumbersome to migrate than files stored on tape. Most important of all, the technology exists today to create reliable, usable and practically unlimited online archives.

Store archived data off-site

Archived data must be taken off-site regularly and stored in a secure location immune from site-level damage. Moving data to a separate, off-site location mitigates risk and protects against data loss when, for example, the company's physical site is damaged by fire, water, natural disasters or terrorist attack. Archived data duplicates need to be stored separately, in geographically diverse locations, to protect them from extensive natural disasters or attacks that could affect an entire area.

Implement mechanisms to preserve data integrity

In order to demonstrate the authenticity of archived records it is necessary to prove that the records have not been modified after entering the archive system. For online archiving solutions all records should be digitally signed and time stamped before being archived. Depending on the regulations this either needs to be done using a WORM equivalent hard-disk, or before the data is transferred to the storage media.

Use long-lived record formats

In order to guarantee accessibility and reproducibility of archived business records it is crucial to convert records to long-term compatible data formats. The most commonly used formats for electronic archiving are TIFF and PDF.

TIFF guarantees reproducibility in the long-term and has an established structure. TIFF is easy to generate, but is not easily searchable. For the PDF format, ISO has defined a new file format known as PDF/A (ISO 19005-1), approved on September 28 2005. This new format provides a mechanism for representing electronic documents in a manner that preserves their visual appearance over time, independent of the tools and systems used for creating, storing or rending the files. In addition PDF/A documents are fully self-contained, and can be searched easily.

Check data continuously to guarantee readability

Readability refers to the validity of the data. Digital archiving solutions must ensure data preservation and therefore must have automatic mechanisms to ensure that the medium used for archiving preserves data and keeps it readable over the full record retention time.

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Archiving Definitions Why Archive? Archiving Best Practice Product Information White Paper Learn more about Swiss archiving laws and regulations Click here to download white paper		Avoid tapes. Keep archived data online Over time, archives have tended to become synonymous with tape libraries for storing backups. The shortcomings of storing everything on tape only become obvious however when someone needs to access a file that has been offline for some time. The process of recovering a document stored on a tape (especially off-site) can be very painful. On top of the time taken to find the right tape and reconstruct the original environment, it is not unusual for tapes to be damaged or contain errors. The simplest and most cost effective means of providing continuous long-term access to digital records is to keep the data online. Online files are easier to track, simpler to verify, faster to index and less cumbersome to migrate than files stored on tape. Most important of all, the technology exists today to create reliable, usable and practically unlimited online archives. Store archived data off-site Archived data must be taken off-site regularly and stored in a secure location immune from site-level damage. Moving data to a separate, off-site location mitigates risk and protects against data loss when, for example, the company's physical site is damaged by fire, water, natural disasters or terrorist attack. Archived data duplicates need to be stored separately, in geographically diverse locations, to protect them from extensive natural disasters or attacks that could affect an entire area. Implement mechanisms to preserve data integrity In order to demonstrate the authenticity of archived records it is necessary to prove that the records have not been modified after entering the archive system. For online archiving solutions all records should be digitally signed and time stamped before being archived. Depending on the regulations this either needs to be done using a WORM equivalent hard-disk, or before the data is transferred to the storage media. Use long-lived record formats In order to guarantee accessibility and reproducibility of archived business records it is crucial to convert records to long-term compatible data formats. The most commonly used formats for electronic archiving are TIFF and PDF. TIFF guarantees reproducibility in the long-term and has an established structure. TIFF is easy to generate, but is not easily searchable. For the PDF format, ISO has defined a new file format known as PDF/A (ISO 19005-1), approved on September 28 2005. This new format provides a mechanism for representing electronic documents in a manner that preserves their visual appearance over time, independent of the tools and systems used for creating, storing or rending the files. In addition PDF/A documents are fully self-contained, and can be searched easily. Check data continuously to guarantee readability Readability refers to the validity of the data. Digital archiving solutions must ensure data preservation and therefore must have automatic mechanisms to ensure that the medium used for archiving preserves data and keeps it readable over the full record retention time.