From: Gordy Hoke <[log in to unmask]>

> You mentioned solar flares, and I want to ask more specifically:
> Have you ever experienced file corruption attributed to pixel-destroying cosmic rays?  If so, have you tried protecting the media in any way, such as subterranean storage or lead-lined boxes?
> Can anyone cite a validated study on this challenge to persistent records?

In my 28 years, we have not experienced file corruption on back up computer media stored in a shielded vault environment. Nor have we had issues with on-line equipment having issues in that time.  We have a government vault project which is 100% on line except for typical service issues not has never experienced a problem.  But at best they could be added to a larger data base model to develop any predictive behavior but there simply isn’t this type of testing being done.

We had n on-line system above Montreal when the solar flares were at their worst and no problems were reported.  But agin these small data bases could only be a minor part of a study if there was a real study being done. 

Anecdotally we have a great track record but in a field of 1,700 vault projects in a data base of hundreds of thousands, is it even significant. But until NIST or ASTM develops a broad scale test methodology people are writing ISO Standards without the data to back up the projections.

I am not a fan of underground storage because there are other issues.  We have built vaults in these caves and invariably there are issues of underground water, methane gas, contaminants, poor air quality and fighting underground fires is impossible.  (Americold in Kansas is an example.) Underground flooding has developed in areas receiving rain in huge volumes that have not occurred before.  I wonder if shale oil drilling and other types of fracking could cause fracturing that we have not seen before.  

I have never seen anyone use lead-lined containers.  They would be heavy and expensive and hard to move around.  The Douglas containers which are metal containers have an excellent record over the last 30 years. They keep adding new features.  Also Gemtrac shelving is nice because it stores in high density within a metal file unit.  They keep media in the dark, vertically stored and all within a metal box.  Those and the metal Douglas containers are good ancillary approach.

Most of the power outages to the Canadian power grid due to solar flares were because of the interference on the on-line computer systems from my readings.  Damage occurred but the back up tapes brought out of secure vault storage put them back on line so the back ups were not damaged.  Which is what you would expect.

I am at NIRMA and there will be discussions here on issues of records and online records for these large plants so that might be interesting to hear about.

Hugh Smith
FIRELOCK Fireproof Modular Vaults
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(610)  756-4440    Fax (610)  756-4134
WWW.FIRELOCK.COM


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