Preserving computer history and powering future discoveries

When you walk through the halls of the Computer History Museum (CHM) in Santa Clara, Calif., you are among the evolution of computing — from room-sized machines of the mid-20th century to today’s sleek, portable devices.

But beyond the public exhibits, there is a lesser seen challenge: preserving the vast amounts of data generated through computing’s history.

The CHM is taking on an immense scope of digitization efforts. The museum currently manages nearly two linear miles of physical documents, including paper records, film and other fragile materials — all of which are being converted into digital formats. Once these are digitized, these files require secure storage, organization and ongoing maintenance to ensure long-term accessibility.

As the museum continues to expand its digital archives, modern infrastructure is critical to maintaining access. To support the preservation of the world’s digital history, Seagate donated one petabyte of advanced data storage. The donation of 24-terabyte Exos® hard drives, powered by Mozaic™ technology, will form the backbone of the petabyte-scale storage system.

The upgraded storage will also support OpenCHM, the museum’s recently launched digital access platform, which will allow the public to explore CHM’s collections, including historical source code and interviews with computing pioneers.

Seagate’s donation will allow the CHM — and the public — to preserve and capitalize on the value of historical data to make future technological advances.

Learn more about the Mozaic technology that powers these drives and read the full story on the CHM’s efforts of preserving the past, present and future on their latest blog post.