Overijssel Collection

The sustainable preservation of digital and The sustainable preservation of digital and digitized heritage

The challenge

In an age where digital transformation is happening all around us, Collection Overijssel faced a significant challenge. How do you ensure that an extensive and growing archive, containing both physical and digital elements, is preserved sustainably and securely?

The institution faced two major issues. First, the physical archive needed to be carefully digitized, not only preserving these unique resources for future generations, but also making them more easily accessible to a wider audience. The second issue concerned the storage of both the newly digitized and original digital files. These needed to be stored in a way that both ensured integrity and authenticity and was future-proof.

Faced with these challenges, Collection Overijssel sought a sustainable storage solution that was reliable, secure and able to grow with technological developments.

Essential requirements

When searching for a suitable solution to their data storage challenge, Overijssel Collection identified several crucial criteria. First, it was important that digital files not be mutable in order to ensure the authenticity and integrity of historical data. In addition, there had to be a period of time during which permanently preserved files could still be modified. This was especially relevant during the digitization process, where files were transferred to a permanent storage location immediately after creation, but needed to be checked and corrected later if necessary.

Another essential criterion was the ability to mirror the data environment to a second location, which is critical for protecting against data loss and ensuring data availability even in the event of disaster.

An important choice

After carefully evaluating several storage solutions, Collection Overijssel ultimately chose FAST LTA’s products. This decision was based on several factors. FAST LTA’s storage system offered the flexibility the institution needed, with the ability to easily expand storage capacity as their data grew. Another deciding factor was the system’s access speed. Despite its durable nature, the Silent Brick system provides quick access to stored files, which is essential for an archive that is accessed regularly.

In addition, the physical airgap protects the data on the semi-static archive, which can still be edited and modified, from hackers. Finally, the Silent Brick system is so maintenance- and user-friendly that Collection Overijssel does not need to be in the management interface after setting up the systems, as long as there is no change to the storage infrastructure. This significantly simplifies day-to-day records management.

Implementation

On April 18, 2023, Collection Overijssel took an important step toward advanced digital records management. The installation of two Silent Brick storage systems took place. Each of these systems is in a different location at the final configuration. This implementation was a critical part of their strategy to provide a robust, flexible and future-proof storage solution for their growing archive. With a focus on security, reliability and accessibility, these systems were strategically placed in two locations to not only provide data protection, but also to ensure continuity of access to the archives in the event of local failures or emergencies.

Before these two systems were placed at the different locations, the initial data transfer on both systems took place at the same location. This so that there is no data transfer of huge size on a slower remote connection. Thus, both systems are ready for use in a fast and efficient manner.

The two systems are connected after the initial transfer such that the stored data is present on both systems via replication. The systems are nearly identical, however, there is no airgapped replica of the semi-static archive at the second location.

Solution

Location 1 – the primary storage system:

• 1x SB controller G5000

• 1x SB 2/3 TB SSD

• 1x SB 16/24 TB

• 1x SB 128/192 TB DS WORM

• 1x SB 32/64 TB DS WORM

Location 2 – the replication and backup site:

• 1x SB controller G5000

• 1x SB 2/3 TB SSD

• 3x SB 16/24 TB

• 1x SB 128/192 TB DS WORM

• 1x SB 32/64 TB DS WORM

The first location serves as the main system for storing both the static and semi-static archive. Its extensive configuration and air-gapped storage capabilities provide maximum security and flexibility in managing archive data. Location two acts as a replication and backup site. This ensures data protection and continuity in the event of a disaster or failure at the primary site.

Both locations have a 2 TB net SSD staging, which is essential for flexibly managing the staging time of files before they are moved to the WORM area. This allows Collection Overijssel to adapt file storage to the needs of their digitization processes.

Advantages

• Disk failure does not lead to data loss

• Storage easily expandable

• Easy setup airgap backup of semi-static data within the system

• Setting up a quarantine period when storing files to permanent storage within the system

• Easy configuration, user-friendly interface

Industry

• Provincial Archives

Applications

• MAIS-Flexis