UDO
Optical media was specifically designed
for data archiving and long-term data retention,
providing native write-once read-many
properties (WORM).
Once data files are written to UDO media, they cannot
be deleted or modified in any way, either accidentally
or intentionally.
Security of UDO vs.
Hard Disk and Tape
 Tapes
and Hard Drives are erasable and were not originally
designed for use as an archive medium.
Tape was designed to perform high-speed backups
for the purpose of file restores and disaster
recovery, and hard disks were designed to store
active files and databases that require immediate
access and the ability to be modified and/or erased.
WORM versions of AIT, LTO, and DLT tape products,
and WORM Hard Drive systems such as EMC Centera and
Network Appliance SnapLock require “write-once
emulation” software to prevent deletions and
modifications to files.
Relatively new to the data archive industry, write-once
emulation software in conjunction with tape or hard
drives will never match the security that UDO natively
offers.
Reliability of UDO
vs. Hard Disk and Tape
 UDO
offers the highest degree of tolerance to environmental
factors such as temperature and humidity fluctuations,
and is not affected by magnetic fields including
Electro-Magnetic Pulse (EMP), which is said to
be an actual terrorism threat.
Hard drives and tape cartridges do not provide this
level of reliability, and both media types experience
loss and/or corruption of data due to excessive temperatures,
humidity, and magnetic fields. In addition, neither
medium will survive an EMP terrorist attack.
Longevity of UDO vs.
Hard Disk, Tape
 UDO
has an expected shelf life of 50 years when properly
stored and used.
Hard drives have a typical life span of up to 3 years
under normal operating conditions, and are prone to
crash at what always seems like the wrong time.
Tape cartridges may last up to 5 years depending
on the amount of read/write activity and whether or
not they are properly stored and maintained. In addition,
tapes may break or become unusable at any time during
a backup or restore.
Transportability of
UDO vs. Hard Disk and Tape
 UDO
media is simple to duplicate and transport to
off-site storage and disaster recovery facilities,
whereas hard drives offer no transportability
and must be backed up to tape in order for the
data itself to be transported.
Although tape cartridges offer the same level of
transportability as UDO media, their vulnerability
to environmental factors and media handling could
negatively impact the integrity of the data written
to the media.
Disaster Recovery
with UDO vs. Hard Disk and Tape
 Because
data files written to UDO media are already in
a readable file system format, there is no restoration
process required to recover from a disaster, essentially
offering the ability to perform an “instant
file system restore”.
With hard drives and tape, however, data files must
be restored back to a server through a backup/restore
application; a time-consuming, laborious task, which
often produces unsuccessful results when the tape
media fails or backup application catalogue becomes
corrupt.
Regulatory Compliance
with UDO vs. Hard Disk and Tape
 UDO
media is accepted as an archive medium by most,
if not all, regulatory agencies that require information
to be stored on a non-erasable, non-rewriteable
media type.
In order to meet today’s strict compliance
laws for data retention and preservation, tape and
hard drive storage systems require “write-once
emulation” software to prevent deletions and
modifications to data files.
UDO provides a 100% guarantee that files on the media
are original, authentic, and have never been erased
or modified, either intentionally or accidentally,
whereas one can only trust that write-once emulation
software is performing what UDO guarantees. |
