Hi,
1) I keep the shots not yet loaded onto CDR on a SCSI RAID drive system. I also copy the shots onto CDRW until the CDRs are made, as a quick backup method.
2) I use an 8mm tape system for backup, both full on a weekly basis and incremental on a daily basis. I produce both file x file and full drive image backup tape sets for full backups.
The drive image method is intended to restore everything - including OS in the event of a major hardware malfunction or one of those viri that love to wipe the system files out. The way this works is to boot up from CD with Linux and perform a 'block copy' from the SCSI array to the tape device. This way even the 'locked' files that Windows uses are backed up. A restore is performed from Linux in the same manner.
BTW, this is a commercial backup package from Novastor, known as Instant Recovery. The file x file is also performed by the companion Novastor product. This would be used to restore an 'oops' rather than a catastrophic failure.
3) There are two sets of tapes in each mode and the tapes are produced on a weekly basis for full backups. One set is stored at the business location and the other at home. For the CDRs, the same applies. Two sets with one in each location. This covers physical damage, like we almost had a month ago.
We're in an industrial strip complex, at one end. The guy at the far end had an arsonist decide to torch his business - on a Sunday morning. We were lucky in that my wife was going into the shop to get something and saw the smoke coming from the roof and called the fire department. We had some light smoke smell but that was all (and easily cleaned up by the crew the landlord hired).
The point is that failing storage media and viri are not the only problems to guard against. If you don't have off-site physical backup storage, you're not really protected at all.
As far as CDR media goes, all one needs to do is buy name-brand. The off-brand ones are usually where the ones that fail the name-brand quality tests, but are still deemed 'ok', go. Personally, I'll just pay a bit more and get something better than 'ok'.
I also don't burn at a faster rate than 4x as a safety precaution. I like to let the laser beam heat the material just a bit more and produce a deeper pit. That will be much easier to read when the discs are 20 years old.....
Stan
In these days, it’s very important to store your digital images at
a save way. The RAW or NEF files are the only ‘negatives’ you have.
I burn my images on CD-ROM’s. I make from every CD a copy, to
minimize the risks.
The brand I use: Fuji film 700MB silver disk (1-24x), because Fuji
is a well known company.
1. What are your storage methods?
2. If you use CD-ROMs, what brand do you use, and why?
-Hendrik-
--
Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer
