Data Safety and Integrity

Compared to other UG storage solutions, the RDMS archive, is unique as it provided you with different means to check the integrity of the stored data.

This section will explain the important concepts in the RDMS that relate to the save long-term storage of your data. It will also explain how you can check the integrity of your data yourself.

In short, the important concepts are:

• Data Replication: Data in the RDMS is stored at two different physical locations. The versions at both physical locations are called replicas as the file is the same, meaning replicated, in both locations.
• Checksum: A checksum is a certain value that is produced by running a checksum algorithm/function on certain data. The uniqueness of these values allow to check the integrity of the data.

As mentioned in the introduction, all data that is stored in the RDMS is replicated to two physical location. This is done automatically in the background. While the replication does not guarantee the integrity of the data, as also corrupted data, will get replicated, it is a safeguard mechanism in case of any harm to the data center. Due to the replication to two different physical location, the chances of both locations being affected is limited.