Contents:
- Scope
- Executive summary
- 1. Introduction
- 2. ‘The cost of compromise’
- 3. Overview of the tools
- 4. Walkthrough of the long-term storage planning tool
- 5. Walkthrough of the interactive storage simulation tool
- 6. Parameters: What do they mean, where do they come from
- 7. Assumptions and simplifications
- 8. Implementation of the models
- 9. Conclusion and future developments
This report describes two software tools, developed in the PrestoPRIME project, to be made available via the PrestoCentre website. They allow the quantitative simulation and modelling of the costs and risks of using IT storage systems for the long-term archiving of file-based AV assets. One tool is for long term planning, e.g. selecting a storage strategy. The other tool allows for more detailed investigation of the likely behaviour of a given storage strategy. The report includes an exploration of the concept of ‘cost of compromise’, e.g. cost of risk of loss when selecting archive storage technology, or the cost of throughput and quality when designing digital transfer and quality control chains; provides an overview of the tools in terms of their objectives and anticipated application areas; gives a walkthrough of the tools including a series of screenshots to show how they might be used in practice; describes how to calculate the input values needed by the tools, e.g. costs of storage and the probability of file loss, and describes the simplifications and assumptions made as design decisions when the tools were developed. Lastly, it provides details of the tools including their implementation. The authors of this report both work at the IT Innovation Centre.
Although the goal of this report is to introduce two new important tools for audiovisual archive storage managers, it stands on its own in that it provides a thorough overview of the most important issues involved in the complex process of providing reliable storage and managing av digital assets. Three chapters in particular are especially rich in information: one describing the parameters used, the one on assumptions made during tool design and the one on implementation of the models. Essential reading for staff responsible for av digital file storage and preservation management.