Trade-offs in protecting storage: a meta-data comparison of cryptographic, backup/versioning, immutable/tamper-proof, and redundant storage solutions

Modern storage systems are responsible for increasing amounts of data and the value of the data itself is growing in importance. Several primary storage system solutions have emerged for the protection of data: (1) secure storage through cryptography, (2) backup and versioning systems, (3) immutable and tamper-proof storage, and (4) redundant storage. Using results from published studies, we compare these four solutions against different requirements highlighting trade-offs in performance, space, attack resistance, and cost. We also present a case study of applying these solutions based on design work at NCSA. Lastly, we conclude that while different storage protection solutions may be appropriate for different requirements, some general conclusions can be made about current state-of-the-art storage protection solutions as well as directions for future research.