what is the most durable media of making archive of important data

[brannsiu]

what is the most durable, long-lasting media of making archive of important data?

I understand that making copies or backups are always the most critical step.

DVD? Blue-Ray discs? Or SSD drives? or online cloud?

 

[herrwizo]

BD-R media, closely followed by mechanical HDD drives which need to be refreshed (data rewritten) every 2-3 years. Depending on how important your data is, you might consider using several copies of BD-R disks and several HDD drives simultaneously.

 

[seagate_surfer]

Hello brannsiu, good question and there are several ways or media you can use. All have their pros and cons and you will need to pick one that suits your needs best.

The conventional wisdom by tech experts on backups is known as the 3-2-1 method.

Basically you want:

3 copies of any data you don't want to lose
2 different mediums it's stored on (so 2 different drives in your computer, for example)
1 copy kept offsite, to prevent against disaster. (like a DVD/CD/BR)

This is the general rule most people recommend and it is a good plan.