Disturbing Facts About Data Storage

Even with the data being in a “fire proof “safe or room, there are other things to consider when storing your data backup media.

• Accessibility to that safe or room after a fire.
• It may be days or even weeks before you are permitted to re-enter the building and recover what is left of your data.
• Tape backup media becomes unstable at temperatures well below the time rated max internal temperatures of a fire safe.
• The point at which most magnetic tape media becomes unstable (starts to melt) is 51°C or 123.8°F.
• CD/DVD media is more stable than tape, but not by much.


Hub Oil Fire, Calgary 1999
Picture Courtesy of CBC TV

• Fire rating of most fire-safes etc is 1.5 – 3 hours; most commercial/office fires last a good deal longer than this.
• The Calgary Hub Oil fire of 1999 lasted at least 9 hours causing the evacuation of more than 300 people in a 6-block area and affected numerous businesses, putting some permanently out of business. (These included a drive-in movie theatre, as well as Hub Oil). Access to the site was restricted
  for 4 weeks.
  

Even if your data survives the fire, restoring that data may take a very long time to achieve, adding even greater losses to that of the fire. With the data stored in our offsite “Data Vault”1 facility with high-speed network access, data can be restored literally to any site in the world, instantly. There is no need to wait for the insurance and arson investigations before you have access to your data, it is ready for you as soon as you want, and need it. Could you recover from a fire in a timely fashion, are you certain your data is as safe and as accessible as it would be in our “Data Vault”1?

1 DCMS has a world class Data Vault protected against fire, flood, intrusion, and natural disasters. It has redundant electrical power, A/C, network connectivity and excellent physical security.

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DCMS: Where Data Loss is Not an Option©