1)The migration principle:
The SFA`s archiving strategy is based on the migration principle. According to this
principle, digital documents are kept in formats which are adjusted to changing
conditions of the environment whenever needed. Thus it is guaranteed that the
documents will stay usable even under altered conditions, and that the document
information is preserved. Digital documents are converted into a new, archivable
format whenever it is necessary. The SFA emphasises loss-free conversions.
All conversions − and concurrent alterations in the archive records, if applicable −
are documented and can be reconstructed in any case. The SFA does not adhere
to the strategy of archiving through emulation, by which the environment (i.e.
software and hardware) is adjusted to the digital objects while the digital documents
stay unmodified; nor does it follow the principle of technology conservation,
which means that the original hardware and software are archived along
with the documents.
2) Application-independent archiving:
The SFA pursues the strategy of decoupling data from specific IT environments
(applications, database systems, operating systems, hardware). Only digital documents
are archived in the digital repository. Applications of any kind (executable
binary data) are not archived. However, documentations of the applications (e.g.
databases) that are the sources of digital documents may be archived whenever it
is necessary to render administration activities verified and justified (VBGA Art. 3)
or to use the data (e.g. with data models, handbooks or images of input / output
masks that were relevant for administrative functions of the application).
3)No storage of the original data carrier :
The digital archive is designed to preserve documents respectively their content
and the relation between the information. To achieve this, it is neither necessary
nor sensible to preserve the original data carriers. Digital documents are therefore
archived without consideration of the original data carriers.
The data are transferred onto the SFA storage infrastructure for archiving. Once
this process has been successfully completed, the data can be erased from the
original data carrier. Upon completion of the transfer, the data carriers used for
transport will be destroyed or returned.
Swiss Federal archives SFA ,Digital archiving policy p12-13
