Store components temporarily store information that isn’t required, desired, or ready for long-term storage or preservation. Even if the Store component uses media that are suitable for long-term archiving, “Store” is still separate from “Preserve.” Store addresses storing information during use and retention periods, Preserve addresses longterm digital preservation of historically valuable information. The Store components can be divided into three categories: Repositories as storage locations, Library Services as administration components for repositories, and storage Technologies. These infrastructure components are sometimes held at the operating system level (like the file system), and also include security technologies that work in tandem with the “Deliver” components. However, security technologies, including access control, are superordinated components of an ECM solution.
Repositories
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Different kinds of ECM repositories can be used in combination. Among the possible kinds are:
File systems: File systems are used primarily for temporary storage, as input and output caches. ECM’s goal is to reduce the data burden on the file system, and make the information generally available through Manage, Store, and Preserve technologies. These systems are based on a reference architecture where from the database pointers link to the object stored outside of the database.
Content management systems: This is the actual storage and repository system for content, which can be a database or a specialized storage system. They use often BlOb Binary large Object storage functionality.
Databases: Databases administer access information (reference model), but can also be used for the direct storage of documents, content, or media assets (BlOb model).
Data warehouses: These are complex storage systems based on databases, which reference or provide information from all kinds of sources. They can also be designed with global functions, such as document or information warehouses. They use different combined storage models.
Library services
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Library services are the administrative components of the ECM system that handle access to information. The library service is responsible for taking in and storing information from the Capture and Manage components. It also manages the storage locations in dynamic storage, the actual “Store,” and in the long-term Preserve archive. The storage location is determined only by the characteristics and classification of the information. The library service works in concert with the Manage components’ database to provide the necessary functions of search and retrieval.
While the database does not “know” the physical location of a stored object, the library service manages online storage (direct access to data and documents), nearline storage (data and documents on a medium that can be accessed quickly, but not immediately, such as data on an optical disc that is present in a storage system’s racks but not currently inserted in a drive that can read it), and offline storage (data and documents on a medium that is not quickly available, such as data stored offsite).
If the document management system does not provide the functionality, the library service must have version management to control the status of information, and check-in/check-out, for controlled information provision.
The library service generates logs of information usage and editing, called an “audit trail.”
Storage technologies
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A wide variety of technologies can be used to store information, depending on the application and system environment:
Magnetic online media: Hard drives, typically configured as RAID systems, may be locally attached, part of a storage area network (SAN), or mounted from another server (network-attached storage).
Magnetic tape: Magnetic tape data storage, in the form of automated storage units called tape libraries, use robotics to provide nearline storage. Standalone tape drives may be used for backup, but not online access.
Digital optical media: Besides the common Compact Disc and DVD optical media in write-once or rewritable forms, Storage systems may use other specialized optical formats like magneto-optical drives for storage and distribution of data. Optical jukeboxes can be used for nearline storage. Optical media in jukeboxes can be removed, transitioning it from nearline to offline storage.
Cloud computing: Data can be stored on offsite cloud computing servers, accessed via the Internet (public cloud) or as private cloud via protected connections (VPN).