OPEN ARCHIVES INFORMATION SYSTEM (OAIS) MODEL

This approach, initially devised by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems, recommends a standard framework for systems concerned with the management of information beyond the lifetime of the technology used to access it. Now adopted as an ISO standard, the result is a reference model which describes the system components required for long term preservation systems. The key elements of the model are:

• Ingest. These are the steps required to transfer items from their current location into the archive in a managed manner.
• Archival Storage: The storage of the bulk data (usually files) based on standard storage management tools.
• Data Management: Tools to manage the storage of the archive, including the metadata
• Administration: A set of tools to administer the system and access to it.
• Access: Tools to search, browse and download the contents of the archive
• Preservation Planning: The module that manages the information so that it can be accessed long into the future.

The use of this reference model as the basis of any archive implementation is recommended as it allows practitioners to use common language and potentially common tools to address common problems.