Optical storage remains a top choice for compliance

Optical storage remains a top choice for compliance

The business requirements for a record archive have evolved very rapidly over the last few years. Major financial scandals and recent incidents involving large-scale data loss have turned the spotlight on the management of digital archives. An increased awareness of the value and liability of archive records has resulted in both industry regulation and internal operational risk management.
The requirement for tighter integration of archive policies within an IT infrastructure is creating a demand for more flexible strategies that can accommodate the new regulatory and risk management burden. This need for flexibility is particularly important in the choice of physical storage media since it will, in large part, determine the success of implemented policies. Currently, the two preferred advanced-technology choices for archiving are UDO (Ultra Density Optical) with "True" WORM (Write Once Read Many) storage and disk-based technology such as WORM storage with a CAS (Content Addressable Storage) interface. Each performs the same end function, but the method, cost and effectiveness are not equal. This can be illustrated by examining common archive objectives that are tightly linked to storage media attributes, including record authenticity, record destruction, and TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).

UDO (Ultra Density Optical) offers "True" Write Once technology implemented at the physical media level. The recording surface of True Write Once UDO media allows files to be written, but the media itself cannot be physically erased or modified. This technology is significantly different than magnetic disk and tape emulation since the Write Once properties of UDO are inherent to the recording surface of the media and are not a function of software or firmware controls.

If archiving on a typical RAID system, a simple delete operation does not remove the data from the disk. The only way to physically destroy records is by repeatedly overwriting the targeted sectors with a patterned sequence to ensure no residual trace of the document remains on the media.
The US Department of Defense has an often-quoted specification for data shredding on magnetic disk media. The specification (DoD 5220.22-M), which has been implemented in some specialized CAS interface products in the context of a record retention policy, states that depending on the source of the recommendation, targeted sectors should be overwritten between three and 35 times.
By contrast, UDO offers a Compliant Write Once media format designed specifically for data disposition requirements. Compliant Write Once UDO operates like standard WORM media, but has the ability to physically destroy targeted files through the use of a special "shred" operation. This is a one-pass function that provides full verification and unlike the erase pass on magnetic disks, the shred procedure on UDO media leaves no residual traces of previously written files. Compliant Write Once UDO media enables record level retention management with an extremely high standard for physical record destruction.