Re: Backup to Blu-ray M-Disc

[Sad Clouds <cryintothebluesky%gmail.com@localhost>]

On Fri, 27 Dec 2019 13:05:08 -0500
Greg Troxel <gdt%lexort.com@localhost> wrote:

> With the fancy formats (including bluray) you really need to stash
> readers for your format elsewhere.  usb2/3 disks, on the other hand,
> can be read just about anywhere, even if you have to install NetBSD
> to deal with UFS (and if you are paranoid, cgd or similar).
> 

Yes you're right, but I always viewed backup to hard disks as a short
term solution. If your data is changing on a weekly or monthly basis
and you need fast backup/restore, you can't beat hard disks.

The concerns I have with tape and hard disks for long term storage is
that those mediums are quite fragile and need to be stored under ideal
conditions. If you expose tape to high/low temperature and humidity, it
will start degrading. Hard disk components are quite fragile and can be
damaged by all sorts of environmental factors. Even with solid state
disks, charge slowly leaks if there is no power and you get data
corruption after a few years.

What draws me to M-Disc technology is the fact that I don't need secure
vaults with climate control. I can write data to discs, seal them in a
sturdy plastic box and bury somewhere safe in the ground. Cheap and
effective.