On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 3:25 PM, Edward M. Corrado<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Yes, maybe you save on staff time patching software on your storage array,
> but that is not a significant amount of time - esp. since you are still
> going to have some local storage, and there isn't much difference in staff
> time in doing 2 TB vs. 20 TB.

Well... with 2TB you might try and get away with a few 1TB disks
slapped onto a Promise RAID card or something. With 20TB, you're
probably at least seriously considering a SAN.

> There are many
> different options from cloud to tape to disk, but no matter what you choose
> without a long term digital preservation plan, you might be doing storage
> but you are not doing preservation.

If I already did enterprise storage, I wouldn't really consider cloud
storage -- it's unlikely to be cheaper enough to outweigh its
disadvantages. If I didn't already do it, and had to build staff
expertise and buy big expensive kit... I'd look at the cloud bit more
seriously.

Even if you don't use it for storage, S3 is particularly useful is as
a reality check in the planning process. Once you model all of the
costs (even if you don't pay power, model it at market rates), you're
unlikely to beat Amazon's price. If you think you're doing so, you're
probably being optimistic or missing something.

Cheers,
-Nate