I'm looking for advice for Long Term Digital Archive solutions - a reliable way to store data for decades. I gather the typical shelf life of a standard hard drive is <8 years, so our current model of shelving external drives is not the best way to go. We are collecting and generating new HD video content on a daily basis, so cloud storage is just going to get more and more expensive. Is LTO the best answer out there? Is anyone else out there dealing with this issue?
Long Term Archive Solutions
- Thread starter habragg
- Start date
arniepix
Well-known member
LTO is probably the best answer today, but in 10 years there will be a better answer. Not that I have any idea of what that answer will be, but progress is inevitable. So backup on LTO right now, and in 5 or 10 or 20 years, transfer those LTO tapes to some newer, better form of media.
Keep in mind that LTO devices only play back back two versions of tape. For example, LTO 5 device can read an LTO 3 tape, but not earlier. Over a 15 year span, chances are there will more than 3 generations of devices. One of the costs associated with digital archive is the maintenance to move files to more recent supported devices, operating systems, etc. Also, the tape itself has a limited guaranteed life span under recommended storage conditions. But considering all non-film alternatives, LTO is the best way to go. Just plan on on moving those over to an updated LTO or another format in 5-8 years.