Storage System for Thousands of CDs and DVDs? 244
Lucy V. asks: "My husband works for a firm in New York that receives customer data on CD and DVD. After copying the data to their server, they are required to retain the original media for several months until the job is delivered and the customer has approved the work.
It is common for the firm to have 30,000 CD's and DVD's on hand at any one time. They are struggling to find a better storage solution than what they have now as the current setup is awkward and requires quite a bit of space. They are removing the media from the jewel case and slipping them into one of those large notebook style disk holders and then storing the notebook on a shelf.
I have spent quite a bit of time doing web searches for CD and DVD storage but nearly all the racks that I find are low capacity ones intended for home use. I have found one vendor called Can-Am that makes a high quality steel drawer system that might fit the bill." Has anyone found (or put together) a storage system that can handle thousands of discs?
Bookshelf or spools? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Bookshelf or spools? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
I agree. Of course, 30,000 CDs would consume over 18 terabytes, but most of them are probably not filled with 650MB of data. Plus there are a myriad of compression tools such as PK/WinZip and GZip that will decrease the storage requirements further. With high-density IDE and SATA disks and PCI or software RAID being so cheap these days, it should not be hard to build an inexpe
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
If your facility has the room, 20 or 40-foot ISO
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Also, Google is your friend:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=media+ca
(Need the phrase "data center" in there or you'll get a zillion home entertainment centers instead!)
Re: (Score:2)
We need to ask this question to the submitter: Is there some legal requirement for keeping the data on physical media? I mean, they are on CD's, really its no different than keeping the data on some hard drive. The only thing that's changed is the storage medium, its still all electronic data. Why not invest in some sort of large network storage device, and keep the data there? As long as
Re:Bookshelf or spools? (Score:5, Insightful)
Oh, come off it. 50 per spindle. 20 spindles per thousand. 600 spindles. 20 spindles per shelf. 30 shelves. Three bookcases total. Catalog by spindle number and date added + uniqueifier. Sharpie both on the disc. Done.
Re: (Score:2)
Interns and Cake Containers (Score:5, Insightful)
Remember, interns are cheaper than actual solutions.
Re:Interns and Cake Containers (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Interns and Cake Containers (Score:5, Funny)
Wait... I've been making labels for the past two weeks.
Crap, he's right.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm gonna modify this slightly for more ease of use. I still like the basic idea, though.
Use the above mentioned CD labeling system.
Place CD's in 208/300 CD/DV
Re:Interns and Cake Containers (Score:4, Informative)
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Binders waste a lot of sp
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Was this by any chance due to a lack of air-conditioning? I've never had this problem, but mine have all been kept below 85 degrees F.
Re: (Score:2)
Interns and overseas. (Score:2, Funny)
Yes but the shipping to India will inflate costs.
How much space do they have? (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Jukebox or Disc Changer (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
HP used to sell them, and are likely a good starting point.
Here's the first link from a google search that I ran:
http://www.kintronics.com/jukebox.html [kintronics.com]
I used the following search criteria:
optical disk CD-ROM DVD jukebox
Good luck
"Keep the original CD" = silly requirement (Score:3, Insightful)
I'd bet you could ROI the "don't keep the original CDs" plan to under a year.
Re:"Keep the original CD" = silly requirement (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes, but legal work often has all sorts of silly requirements. Sometimes you do need the original rather than a certified copy.
Me, I would copy the CD to an iso file, make it read-only, stick a barcode on the physical CD, then ship the physical CD to an offsite storage facility. If they ever need the physical CD they can get it, but otherwise you work from the iso.
I'd bet you could ROI the "don't keep the original CDs" plan to under a year.
Yes, but you would have to include "lose the legal work" in your ROI calculation
Re: (Score:2)
If media = "digital" media, toss the damn CD (Score:3, Insightful)
We do this every day with checks, payroll sheets, purchase orders, receipts and all kinds of other tidbits that used to have to have a physical component, but we (and our various industries) got smarter.
Re:"Keep the original CD" = silly requirement (Score:5, Insightful)
This is the government/legal system at work. If you were to lose the CD's and an audit was done and you did not have them, you can face massive legal fines.
Re: (Score:2)
Which is precisely the reason why the data should be put in a RAID protected disk subsystem that
has Sarbanes-Oxley compatible data retention (WORM) capabilities. CDs don't last. Data online can
be made to last indefinitely.
Re: (Score:2)
We have a similar situation at my job. We get files from clients on CD and DVD (although a LOT less often in the last year or two due to high-speed internet connectivity and me setting up an FTP server) and we need to keep the CDs on hand for extended periods of time. We do keep a backup of the original files on the server for quick access.
At least if you keep the original media, and someone says that
Re:"Keep the original CD" = silly requirement (Score:4, Insightful)
That is why it is imperative to keep the original CD.
Self Preservation.
Paper boxes? (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't need to have quick access to these CDs, you have digital copies on servers so you just need it in emergency.
You need normal storage same as for paper documents.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
Put the range of disk numbers on the front of the box.
If you want to get fancy, use a prefix that indicates the retention period (6m-123 is not the same as 6y-123)
CD Hook-on Files (Score:3, Informative)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Imation Disc Stakka (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.imation.com/products/disc_stakka/index
- Stack units up to five high to create a tower that holds up to 500 discs without any extra cabling or rebooting your computer.
- Connect towers using powered USB hubs to control over 100 towers (that's over 50,000 discs) from a single computer.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Besides at a price (newegg) of $115 each that is $34,500.00. That is insane. The only way you could justify spending that much money on this is if it was not going to be a nightmare to install (i.e. single box).
If it was the cost of doing business with the government, or (better yet) the cost of winning federal project bids because you have demonstrably faster data archive access than the next bidder, then $35K is dirt cheap. The only thing cheaper would be an intern.
Stakka Insanita (Score:2)
Re:Imation Disc Stakka (Score:4, Informative)
Holds 50% more discs for 25% less price.
I had the DC-101, it was awesome. The 300 is supposed to be superior in every way.
Contact a company that does this for a living (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Here's the real solution to your requirements... (Score:5, Interesting)
Large quantity CD/DVD storage solution [slashdot.org]
Read no further (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Not quite the best. It still requires you to have organizational skills to put the CD back where you found it so you can find it again next time. Searching through meatspace is annoying.
Instead, attach little RF receivers and piezo speakers to the spindle hole of each CD, low enough power so that it is powered by the signal (no dead batteries). Maybe an LED that will shine through to the edge of the CD too. Each tag gets a unique ID.
White folder boxes (Score:5, Interesting)
It's cheap and easy. But probably way too low tech for the slashdot crowd.
Storage solutions (Score:3, Informative)
I'd check out any of the big-boys that deal with large-scale, physical storage.
The one company I can think of off the top of my head is Spacesaver. If you've ever seen a hospital's records storage system, it was probably a Spacesaver unit.
They even claim CD/DVD support:
http://www.spacesaver.com/appl_cat.asp?cat_id=4 [spacesaver.com]
Re: (Score:2)
In their defense, sometimes one needs to question the premise of the question. Perhaps there is some give in the requirement that allows other solutions (e.g. do the disks still need to be rapidly or readily accessible or even readable?), and surely there are other readers interested in solutions that aren't so encumbered.
I know that, though my DVD collection isn't yet that big, my Atlantic Penguin and (lately) Elf racks aren't quite meeting my needs, especially since I
Any additional time spent is time wasted... (Score:5, Interesting)
How do you scan them in now? Do you put them in an automatic machine, do you have humans sitting there doing the work, etc?
However they come out of the scanning process should direct how to store them.
If you've got humans doing the work then put them back in the jewel case, and drop the case into a filing box that you can store on shelving. Mark that box with a large barcoded sticker. Every week scan all the boxes, and have the system beep when you scan a box due for disposal. Dump the contents into the secure shed bin, and put the box on the pile of empties for new projects.
If you do the scanning automatically,a nd simply have a human de-casing the disc and putting them on a spindle or stack, then buy spindle carriers that can pick up the spindle or stack on the output side and drop the entire thing into a suitably sized box, then do the same as above. (I'd probably go this route anyway rather than the storage in jewel case and big box above).
Look for "cake boxes" that are really spindle CD/DVD boxes, such as the following: cake boxes [supermediastore.com]
Are the CDs/DVDs in small batches or big batches? ie, do you have to store 5 of them together, or 500 together? Is there a great variance (do you accept both customers that give 5 and customers that give 500?).
If you want to spend tens of thousands of dollers then a good engineering firm can design a system that you just feed discs into. It'll then scan them for you, store them, and on regular intervals shred those that have been authorized for shredding. Should take up the space of a large closet or small cubicle for a storage capacity of 5,000 or so discs, and scanning capacity of a few hundred per hour.
-Adam
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
A few seconds in a microwave oven will render a CD completely unreadable, and also perfume the air with an ozone-y, possibly toxic aroma.
Re: (Score:2)
FIFO is key (Score:5, Insightful)
This is way more space efficient than folders and prevents them from getting 'stuck' to the soft plastic if the environment is bad. It's far cheaper and also easier. A "proper" system will of course have small sections that can be taken out to retreive a particular CD without too much effort... take some out, check with database, do binary search to find CD. This should be such a rare occurrence that the time to locate a particular CD.
If you have other requirements please elaborate... such as having to return the CD when the work is done. If not, this is a great, cheap solution imho.
Re: (Score:2)
This is a great idea. It's far more space-saving than any other design offered here, and it keeps the discs perfectly safe if used in a fairly dust-free environment. The FIFO aspect is genius. It fits their problem exactly.
I'm not sure I'd go for the wires, though... I'd probably go for a series of hooks on a wall or rack. The hanging wires tend to sway too much when you are adding/removing discs and could prove to be your undoing.
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
There'd be limitations on bar length though, as thousands of CDs is quite heavy. Get them in segments and have periodic retractable supports. By using segments, the system can be expanded as needed if data storage load for a month exceeds existing capacity, and makes it easier to retrieve original disks for evidentiary pur
Re: (Score:2, Funny)
-Lasse
Re: (Score:2)
Get a pegboard. Fill it with bars sticking out. Label each bar 0-99, 100-199, 200-299, etc. Hang up to 100 CDs on each one.
I've seen store display slatwalls with metal bars with a slight upturn at the end so products don't fall off the end. That would be ideal.
Re: (Score:2)
For one thing, a bar does not necessarily even need to support the CDs -- it can be just the opposite. With a U-shaped channel, the CDs can support themselves and the bar, with the bar providing structure and FIFO. On a human scale, a bar maybe two or three feet long should not weight too much for a person. Just pick it up, shift it by however many CDs you want accessible off th
Store only? (Score:2)
It sounds like you've got a similar re
Dated spools? (Score:2)
My solution to that would be to use the 100 disc spools that are often used to package blanks. Slap a date range on the top or side of each and store them in sequence.
An idea using stuff around the office (Score:2)
Yes, filing cabinets. The kind made for hanging folders. I've got one drawer at home full of CDs. Several hundred, in fact.
Put the CDs in paper envelopes and stack them into the lid from a 10-ream box of paper. I think one box lid will hold around 500 CDs in this manner; I've never tried to fill one up this way so actual results may vary. Stack two filled box lids into a drawer. 10 four-drawer cabinets should be sufficient for storage, and help you keep o
Scan 'Em (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
2 things (Score:2)
Lots and lots of shelves.
Well what we used to do. (Score:2)
As a service we used to keep the conversion just in case they had a crash and didn't have a backup.
This was when a one gig hard drive was every expensive so we used floppies.
We made shelves out of old floppy disk boxes and gave each floppy a number. In the customer record we entered the self number, the box number, and the disk number. Don't worry this wasn't any type of personal data. And the customers didn't
Professional Archive cabinets (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.russbassett.com/products/cabinets_disc
http://www.can-am.ca/cdvideo1.htm [can-am.ca]
There are also moving shelf options, but they normally are for mixed media (tapes, cds, etc), and you have to buy the shelves, then fill it with media packs to hold the type of media you're storing:
http://www.systems-supply.com/nms2k/edpstorage.ht
http://www.russbassett.com/media/products_disc.cf
If you're going for cheap and densely packed, I'd probably re-sleeve them and drop them into a drawered cabinet, but you'll need to make sure they're well organized if you expect to ever find them again.
Netflix (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
I have that at home (Score:2)
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
You have these at home? And they only cost $25 apiece?
Where did you find the space for a bookshelf that's roughly as long as a seven-storey building is tall? And where did you buy them (or the materials for them)? I don't have the room in my apartment for a twenty-two meter bookshelf, but if the price scales down appropriately, I want in.
eMule (Score:3, Funny)
Robotics! (Score:2, Informative)
Contract a robotics company to build you a huge multi-disk changer. Take a design similar to those multi-disk changers that hold a hundred disks and just make it bigger. That would cut down on storage space and also make accessing the disks much easer. The investment cost may be high but the end result should pay off in the long run.
CanAM is the way to go (Score:2, Informative)
Have two units at home for the music collection, works great. Gave away those other cd racks that only held 1-200 CD's, they were just such a waste of floor spac
Laserline Media Zone (Score:2)
I'm not sure if you can still get them in stores but they can be bought online.
ziploc bags and boxes (Score:2)
This would pr
pass on the cost/beneift to the customer (Score:2)
option 1: throw it away
option 2: return it to customer immediately
option 3: throw it away, but burn a new cd at job completion and return that
option 4: save it until job completion, then return original
then assign modest fee (postage) for option 2, a somewhat punitive add-on cost to option 3, and a really nasty charge for option 4
i imagine that curren
CD-R Spindles (Score:2)
A company called SSI has exactly what you need... (Score:4, Funny)
See: http://www.ssiworld.com/products/products3-en.htm [ssiworld.com]
They even have impressive videos of their products in action. They can handle almost any input format you can imagine. CDs, DVDs -- they'll even handle Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs.
Re:A company called SSI has exactly what you need. (Score:2)
400,000 CD storage facility (Score:4, Funny)
Pththth, amateurs. These guys are storing almost 400,000 AOL cds [nomoreaolcds.com]
My system... (Score:2)
I put them in a case similar to these [bestbuy.com] (the exact ones I use appear to no longer be carried by Best Buy).
In my particular case, I label the DVDs with the content, then write a category and disc # on each sleeve. I created little cardboar dividers that I slip between the categories. I then add the disc to an excel spreadsheet that I keep with the category, disc #, and
FIFO ROD (Score:2)
Knowing that those damn retailers like to spare space, I would assume that mounting DVD/CD medium on a rod would be quite effective.
Imagine a rod, holding 200-300 discs a piece, with sequential numbers.
When you run your weekly purge, you just remove an entire rod, or part of the contents of a rod (you need to be able to open the rod on both ends)
this is a real FIFO system, that make
Do what Netflix, or ehit.com do to store its dvds! (Score:2, Informative)
Numbering Scheme (Score:2)
Where they may get hung up is keeping track of them.
Here's the answer:
You use a method similar to an IP address where each octet is a symbol to their location.
customer_number.shelf_number.binder_number.page_nu mber.pocket_number
From there you just fill them chronologically. Then you don't run into logistical problems if you try to arrange thing alphabetically. ex. shelf set 1 has customers a-g shelf-s
Is speedy random access a requirement? (Score:2)
content-addressable storage (Score:2)
"It is of particular interest to large organizations that must comply with document-retention laws, such as Sarbanes-Oxley. In these corporations a la
I don't see the problem? (Score:2)
30000 discs would require 600 of these, for a volume of 52500 in^3. That's the volume of a cube just slighty over a yard on each side.
What's wrong with just numbering the discs, putting them in numbered cakeboxes, and stacking them in the corner of a closet, keeping a record somewhere of which disc is in which cakebox?
The questioner said
Buy a real storage system from EMC or NetApp (Score:2)
30,000 DVDs at say 4 GB each is 120,000 GB, or 120 TB.
Here's exactly what you need (Score:2)
This is exactly what you need:
DVD Storage Box - Corrugated Cardboard Holds 108 DVDs. 17x11-3/4x15-1/2. [bagsunlimited.com] "Comes with 2 sets of 6 cell partitions and an interlocking lift-out tray. This allows for easy access to DVDs stored on bottom. Made from 275# test brown corrugated. Comes with a 3" deep cover and die-cut handle holes for easy transport." $11 each.
Then get some standard steel shelving designed for records boxes, and you'll be able to store about 1200 disks per 4 lineal feet of shelf space and still
Contact Imelda Marcos, Phillipines (Score:2)
RAID USB 2.0 DRIVES (Score:2, Informative)
30000 DVDs X 5 GB ISO FILES = 150000 GB
150000 GB / 300 GB = 500 EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES
500 EXTERNAL HARD DRIVES X $114.99 = $57,495
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)