Despite some of its relative flaws, MD5 is frequently selected over SHA-256
in archives as the checksum algorithm of choice. One of the primary factors
here is the longer processing time required for SHA-256, though there have
been no empirical studies calculating that time difference and its overall
impact on checksum generation and verification in a preservation
environment.

AVPreserve Consultant Alex Duryee recently ran a series of tests comparing
the real time and cpu time used by each algorithm. His newly updated white
paper "What Is the Real Impact of SHA-256?" presents the results and comes
to some interesting conclusions regarding the actual time difference
between the two and what other factors may have a greater impact on your
selection decision and file monitoring workflow. The paper can be
downloaded for free at
http://www.avpreserve.com/papers-and-presentations/whats-the-real-impact-of-sha-256/
.
______________________________________

Alex Duryee
*AVPreserve*
350 7th Ave., Suite 1605
New York, NY 10001

office: 917-475-9630

http://www.avpreserve.com
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