Computer scientists have unveiled details of a project to develop technology
for the long-term storage of digital data.
"The problem is how to build a large-scale data storage system to last 50 to
100 years," said Ethan Miller, associate professor of computer science at the
Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Miller's group has come up with a new approach to replace technologies such
as tape libraries.
The Pergamum technology uses hard disk drives to provide energy-efficient and
cost-effective storage.
The declining cost of hard drives has made them competitive compared with
tape, and they offer numerous advantages for searching and retrieving data,
according to Miller. "It's like the difference between a VCR and TiVo," he said.
Pergamum, named after the
ancient
Greek library that made the transition from fragile papyrus to more durable
parchment, is a distributed network of intelligent, disk-based storage devices.
There is a risk that an entire generation's cultural history could be lost if people are not able to retrieve that data
Mark Storer University of California, Santa Cruz
The team that developed Pergamum includes UCSC graduate students Mark Storer
and Kevin Greenan, along with researcher Kaladhar Voruganti of NetApp (formerly
Network Appliance).
"There is a risk that an entire generation's cultural history could be lost
if people are not able to retrieve that data," said Storer.
"Everyone is switching to digital cameras, but we have never demonstrated
that digital data can be reliably preserved for a long time."
The researchers designed the system to provide reliable, energy-efficient
data storage using off-the-shelf components. It also has the ability to evolve
over time as storage technologies change.
"You want to avoid 'forklift upgrades' where you have to get rid of the old
system and transfer all your data to a whole new system," said Miller.
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