We have a tiered system: a) Personal files. Small and many, change often. Typical: CCP4, coot, CNS and other files. Backed up daily. b) X-ray images. Not so many, but large. Large in total. Never change once established. Backed up every two hours. c) Archive. Mostly X-ray images but also some personal files from people who have left the lab. Projects that have been or are being published and data that need to be preserved 'indefinitely'. Backed up when I have time or when we run low on storage space (whichever comes first).
All files reside on a network-attached storage device with currently 2TB of space, can be expanded to 4x largest HD (currently 4x1TB or better, I lose track). We have two of these devices, one primary and one backup in a different building. We archive (are set up to archive) to external HDs. We make two archive copies, one stays in a file cabinet, one goes home to PI, so there are copies at all times. Presumably entire projects will be archived (with multiple data sets, consisting of hundreds of X-ray images) at once. We designed it this way because we wanted 'instant security' once the files are established and we did not want to overwhelm the campus network with large backups overnight when data are collected. In the end, all our storage is on standard HDs, always in duplicate. Our network-attached storage consists of two Infrant (now NetGear) ReadyNAS NV+ systems (they are X-RAIDed). We have run this system for a couple of years now and it works=2 0like a charm. Our local computers do not have disk storage other than O/S, so no local files. Our O/S systems are backed up once in a long while to a VM server so in theory everything should be disaster-proof. I don't know that I would ask 'outsiders' like PDB to keep copies of files. After all, the researcher is responsible to keep good copies of their research data. It is not hard to do, but it requires quite a bit of thinking, probably by an IT specialist. In particular, I can remember when our 9-track tape system was thrown out in grad school. All media (with data) were subsequently useless. So you have to stay with time and upgrade storage once in a while, even if I have to admit that James' clay tablets are 'almost forever'. Technically I think that our 'forever' storage ends when the PI(s) retire(s). Mark -----Original Message----- From: David Aragao <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 5:09 am Subject: [ccp4bb] long term data backup Dear All, I wonder how people currently do their long term backups. I see DATs/DLTs being slowly dropped off at the beamlines and most people brings their data home in external HDs. Anyone using blue-ray or double layer DVDs for long term backups? If so what kind of hardware? Do you use HDs for long term storage? If so, do you do a second copy and how do you store them? I will try to compile the answers and relay back to the list a resume. Thank s, David -- David Aragão, Ph. D. Postdoctoral Researcher Membrane Structural and Functional Biology Group L2-007, Lonsdale Building University of Limerick, Ireland T: 353 (0)61 202302 F: 353 (0)61 234329
