NDIIPP Models for Mass Data Transmission and Storage

Preservation of digital content into the future will rely on the ability of institutions to provide robust system infrastructures that leverage the use of distributed and shared services and tools. The academic, nonprofit, and government entities that make up the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program (NDIIPP) partner network have been working toward an architecture that can provide for reliable redundant geographically dispersed copies of their digital content. The NDIIPP program has conducted a set of initiatives that have enabled partners to better understand the requirements for effective collection interchange. The NDIIPP program partnered with the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) to determine the feasibility of data transmission and storage utilizing the best of breed technologies inherent to U.S. high-speed research networks and high-performance computing data storage infrastructures. The results of this partnership guided the development of the Library of Congress's cyberinfrastructure and its approach to network data transfer. Other NDIIPP partners, too, are researching a range of network architecture models for data exchange and storage. All of these explorations will build toward the development of best practices for sustainable interoperability and storage solutions.