Computer Architecture Long-Term Data Storage Technologie

Question:-

Write a paper on Long-term data storage technologies.

What are primary and secondary storage devices?

Answer:-

Over time, the volume of data has been increased tremendously. Every individual, organization, and agency (government and private) is using the internet and producing a big amount of data per day. It has made it very important for the organization to store confidential and important data for a longer period of time so that the organization can use such data whenever necessary. It has created a demand for technologies that can store data for over 50 years. Considering the demand for technologies to store data for the long-term, various technologies have been developed. Determining the most suitable and efficient technology to store data for a longer period of time depends on the cost and storage capacity along with vulnerabilities to external or internal threats (Bhat, 2018). The following options are available for data storage for over 50 years. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages.

DVDs could be used to store data for a longer period of time and it is one of the most cost-effective as well as risk-free data storage options. An organization can store a video file, audios file, and pictures using a DVD storage system. There are several tools such as DVD Creator that have simple features that help in storing data for a longer period of time. However, the storage capacity of a DVD is a major concern.

It is also important to consider the factors that could significantly affect the data before selecting one of the options to store data. Some factors that should be considered are;

·         Online services can be compromised or taken down

·         Storage media can be lost and hence all stored data would be lost

·         Data could be corrupted or degraded over time

·         Storage media can also fail completely

Considering the above factors, SSDs are one of the suitable storage options that should be used to store data for a longer period of time. It is a type of mass storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies in order to store data persistently. It is similar to a hard disk drive (Zhang et al., 2016). SSDs support reading as well as writing data along with maintaining stored data in a permanent state even without power.

Blu-Ray is also an excellent option to store data for a longer period of time. It allows the user to store data for years without any risk of external threat to the data. However, the storage capacity of Blu-Ray is a key concern for companies.

One of the most important and crucial breakthroughs in the field of storage technologies is M-Disc. M-Disc has the potential to solve all problems related to data storage. It is efficient, safe, as well as it can store 1000 GBs of data effectively and efficiently. But it needs an M-Disc writer and hence it is a bit more expensive compared to other storage media available.

LTO tape is also a very significant technology for data storage for decades. One of the key advantages of LTO tape is that it is faster than any other option available for data storage. The storage capacity of LTO tape is also up to 10TB that makes it the first choice for mass data storage for a relatively long period. However, it has also a downside. The organization needs to buy a tape drive to use LTO tape for data storage.

Apart from the above all, an online storage backup system could also be used for the same purpose. But before selecting an online storage backup system, it is necessary to identify the risks associated with the option in question. The online storage system is managed by a third party and hence the organization will have no control over that. Apart from this, service providers also charge annual subscription fees for the usage of an online storage platform. It increases the cost of the organization. The most critical risk associated with an online storage system is its vulnerability. A sudden data breach is quite common these days and if it occurs, the organization can lose its confidential and important data (Li & Yang, 2019). Given the risk associated with online storage system, it is a wise decision to store data using options other than online.

An on-premise storage system is managed by the organization itself whereas could storage services are provided by various could computing companies such as Microsoft Azur, AWS, or Google Cloud. It is also important to understand that cloud storage services are provided by these companies that are highly concerned for the safety and security of data. They place effective measures to safeguard the data.