7.8.4 Cost and Scalability

7.8.4.1 A small scale system described above can be added to in order to allow the creation of larger storage and management capabilities. Relatively small tape drives which can handle a number of data tapes are available and larger scale robotic systems may make the system expandable. If HDD costs continue to fall the cost of replacing and expanding the disk arrays remains affordable.

7.8.4.2 Partnerships between commercial suppliers and open source providers mean that the sophistication of the repository software can be integrated with the safety of a commercial service provider. DSpace and FEDORA, for example, have both released an open source system that operates with a commercial storage solution company.

7.8.4.3 The cost of establishing a small scale data storage system may seem relatively high in comparison to purchasing an individual CD burner, however, on a bit for bit comparison for the storage of more than a few hundred hours of audio, the relative difference is greatly reduced when costing all the requirements of an archive. In addition, a properly managed data storage facility is an altogether more reliable system and will allow the future transfer of audio data to the next storage solution when that inevitability occurs.