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We use WORM (Write Once Read Many) optical platters exclusively now. Previously
we have used: 8-inch floppies, 9-track tape, and TK-50 tape. We're having some
difficulty getting a new re-writable optical configured, so I can't comment on
that yet. The WORM drive is on a MicroVAX II computer, and all FCS data is
FACSnetted over. Each platter holds 400 Meg per side. In general, WORM data is
good for 10 years or so, re-writable data less than that, and everything else
is questionable as far as data archiving goes. (Of course, sometimes the media
lasts longer than the VALUE of the data on it: the longer the data sits, the
less it is reviewed, in our experience.
If we didn't have the WORM/MicroVAX, we would probably get a computer to act as
a file server, with a re-writable optical drive. This would allow FACS users to
'dump' their data to the server. Users could then access the data from PC work-
stations for analysis (to free-up the FACS for aquisition). When done analyzing
the data, it could be archived on the optical. Each user would be responsible
for their own optical disk to reduce facility costs (currently our facility
archives ALL data, filling expensive optical platters with data that never gets
looked at after archival.)
/\/\/\_ Eric Van Buren vanburen%flovax.dnet@rocdec.roc.wayne.edu
\ \ \-' Immunology/Microbiology 313 577 1009 voice
\_^_/ Wayne State University 313 577 1155 fax
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