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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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How to save data for archive purposes? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Hi,

I’m not sure if this is the right community for my question, but as my daily driver is Linux, it feels somewhat relevant.

I have a lot of data on my backup drives, and recently added 50GB to my already 300GB of storage (I can already hear the comments about how low/high/boring that is). It's mostly family pictures, videos, and documents since 2004, much of which has already been compressed using self-made bash scripts (so it’s Linux-related ^^).

I have a lot of data that I don’t need regular access to and won’t be changing anymore. I'm looking for a way to archive it securely, separate from my backup but still safe.

My initial thought was to burn it onto DVDs, but that's quite outdated and DVDs don't hold much data. Blu-ray discs can store more, but I'm unsure about their longevity. Is there a better option? I'm looking for something immutable, safe, easy to use, and that will stand the test of time.

I read about data crystals, but they seem to be still in the research phase and not available for consumers. What about using old hard drives? Don’t they need to be powered on every few months/years to maintain the magnetic charges?

What do you think? How do you archive data that won’t change and doesn’t need to be very accessible?

Cheers

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago (3 children)

The local-plus-remote strategy is fine for any real-world scenario. Make sure that at least one of the replicas is a one-way backup (i.e., no possibility of mirroring a deletion). That way you can increment it with zero risk.

And now for some philosophy. Your files are important, sure, but ask yourself how many times you have actually looked at them in the last year or decade. There's a good chance it's zero. Everything in the world will disappear and be forgotten, including your files and indeed you. If the worst happens and you lose it all, you will likely get over it just fine and move on. Personally, this rather obvious realization has helped me to stress less about backup strategy.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

So you would suggest to get bigger and bigger storages?

I really like and can embrace the philosophical part. I do delete rigorously data. At the same time, i once had a data lost, because I was young and stupid and tried to install Suse without an backup. I still am sad to not to be able to look at the images of me and my family from this time. I do look at those pictures/videos/recordings from time to time. It gives me a nice feeling of nostalgia. Also grounds me and shows me how much have changed.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Fair enough!

So you would suggest to get bigger and bigger storages?

Personally I would suggest never recording video. We did fine without it for aeons and photos are plenty good enough. If you can still to this rule you will never have a single problem of bandwidth or storage ever again. Of course I understand that this is an outrageous and unthinkable idea for many people these days, but that is my suggestion.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

Never recording videos... That is outrageous ;) Interesting train of thought, though. Video is the main data hog on my drives. It's easy to mess up the compression. At the same time is combines audio, image and time in one easy to consume file. Personally, i would miss it.

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