6.3.16 System Description, Complexity and Cost

6.3.16.1 As noted in Section 2, Key Digital Principles, the more recent generations of computers have sufficient power to manipulate large audio files. All recent generation computers incorporate hard disks of adequate speed and size, and an external HDD adapter can be plugged into a USB, Firewire or SCSI port. The system complexity and the degree of expertise required to run such systems is not much greater than is necessary for desktop computer operation.

6.3.16.2 When large quantities of audio and audiovisual material required for access are stored on HDDs, the disks are usually incorporated into a RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks). RAID increases the reliability of the hard disk system, and the overall access speed by treating the array of disks as one large hard disk. If a disk fails, it can be replaced and all the data on that disk can be reconstructed with data from the rest of the disks in the array. The level of failure the system will tolerate, and the speed of recovery from such failures is a product of the RAID levels. RAID is not designed as a data preservation tool, but as a means of maintaining access through inevitable disk failures. The appropriate RAID level for any particular installation, and the requirement for duplication of controllers, is dependant on the particular circumstance and the frequency of data duplication. A RAID requires that all disks in the array be turned on when any part of the disk is in use. All RAIDs containing archival material, as with all digital data, must be duplicated more than once on other carriers.

Capacity Native tape capacity (GB) # of tapes Recommended
# of
tape drives
Maximum #
of drives
System price (€) Tape price (€) Drive price (€) Cost per GB (€)
10 TB 800 13 2 4 20.480 97 7.625 2,05
50 TB 800 63 4 16 56.800 97 10.175 1,14
100 TB 800 125 8 16 134.050 97 12.725 1,34
200 TB 800 250 12 16 205.350 97 12.725 1,03
500 TB 800 625 18 56 446.938 97 15.975 0,89
1000 TB 800 1250 36 88 864.517 97 15.975 0,86
2000 TB 800 2500 72 176 1.687.690 97 15.975 0,84

Table 2 Section 6.3: Investment Costs of LTO-4 technology based Storage Systems

 

Capacity HW maintenance, year 1 (€) SW maintenance, year 1 (€) HW maintenance, year 2 (€) SW maintenance, year 2 (€) HW maintenance, year 3 (€) SW maintenance, year 3 (€) HW maintenance, year 4 (€) SW maintenance, year 4 (€) HW maintenance, year 5 (€) SW maintenance, year 5 (€)
10 TB 2.420 n/a 2.420 n/a 2.420 n/a 2.514 n/a 2.514 n/a
50 TB 3.454 n/a 4.958 n/a 4.958 n/a 4.958 n/a 4.958 n/a
100 TB 11.808 490 13.817 490 13.817 490 13.817 490 13.817 490
200 TB 15.787 582 19.323 582 19.323 582 19.323 582 19.323 582
500 TB 27.380 1.068 34.111 1.068 34.111 1.068 34.111 1.068 34.111 1.068
1000 TB 47.542 2.115 66.734 2.115 66.734 2.115 66.734 2.115 66.734 2.115
2000 TB 99.272 4.221 99.272 4.221 99.272 4.221 99.272 4.221 99.272 4.221

Table 3 Section 6.3:Yearly Maintenance Costs of LTO-4 technology based Storage Systems

Notes to the tables:

  • Prices are averages of list prices from multiple vendors. A price that a customer has to pay is usually somewhat lower.
  • Prices indicate price of raw capacity. At least double amount of tape media will be needed for backup purposes.
  • Price in the system price column includes cost of tapes and drives for the capacity in question, but does not include any HSM software or hardware
  • The tables indicate only investment costs and maintenance fees that have to be paid to a vendor. In addition to this, also costs from electricity, cooling, machine room, management, etc. must be included in individual calculations. Electricity and cooling of tape library system might cost 10% of purchase price over five year period.

 

Capacity Drive technology Size of drive (GB) # of drives System price (€) Drive price (€) Cost per GB (€)
5 TB SATA 500–1000 5–10 11.884 1.000 2,38
10 TB SATA 750–1000 10–14 19.997 1.000 2,00
50 TB SATA/FATA 1000 50 124.334 1.800 2,49
100 TB SATA/FATA 1000 100 230.914 1.800 2,31
200 TB SATA/FATA 1000 200 456.942 1.800 2,28
500 TB SATA/FATA 1000 500 1.202.726 1.900 2,41
1000 TB SATA/FATA 1000 1000 2.566.513 1.900 2,57
2000 TB SATA/FATA 1000 2000 4.782.584 1.900 2,39

Table 4 Section 6.3: Investment Costs of HDD Based Storage Systems

 

Capacity HW maintenance, year 1 (€) SW maintenance, year 1 (€) HW maintenance, year 2 (€) SW maintenance, year 2 (€) HW maintenance, year 3 (€) SW maintenance, year 3 (€) HW maintenance, year 4 (€) SW maintenance, year 4 (€) HW maintenance, year 5 (€) SW maintenance, year 5 (€)
5 TB 826 750 826 750 826 750 1.845 750 1.845 750
10 TB 1.206 1.125 1.206 1.125 1.206 1.125 2.600 1.125 2.600 1.125
50 TB 5.822 6.125 5.822 6.125 5.822 6.125 12.365 6.125 12.365 6.125
100 TB 10.514 8.500 10.514 8.500 10.514 8.500 22.391 8.500 22.391 8.500
200 TB 21.724 12.750 21.724 12.750 21.724 12.750 44.956 12.750 44.956 12.750
500 TB 57.061 37.250 57.061 37.250 130.394 37.250 130.394 37.250 130.394 37.250
1000 TB 130.203 66.250 130.203 66.250 263.537 66.250 263.537 66.250 263.537 66.250
2000 TB 223.778 124.250 223.778 124.250 477.121 124.250 477.121 124.250 477.121 124.250

Table 5 Section 6.3:Yearly Maintenance Costs of HDD Based Storage Systems

Notes to the tables:

  • Prices are averages of list prices from multiple vendors. A price that a customer has to pay is usually somewhat lower.
  • Price in the system price column includes cost of hard disk drives for the capacity in question.
  • The tables indicate only investment costs and maintenance fees that have to be paid to a vendor. In addition to this also costs from electricity, cooling, machine room, management, etc.must be included in individual calculations. Electricity and cooling of hard disk drive system might cost 30% to 40% of purchase price over five years period.