| Semantic unit | 1.7 storage |
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| Definition | Information about how and where an entity can be found. For bitstreams this means the location within a file. For files this means the physical location in one or more storage systems. Starting with PREMIS version 3.0, storage is applicable to representations. For physical representations such as system disks or printed versions of digital files, this means the location of the physical object, such as a shelf location. For digital representations this means the location of the digital object in a storage system, if all files in the representation can be found in this same location. |
| Applicability | Representation, Bitstream, File |
| Obligation | Optional |
| Repeatability | Repeatable |
| Rationale | It is necessary for a repository to know where to locate objects and to associate the contentLocation of digital objects with the storageMedium. |
| Usage notes | For digital representations and files, the storage container should be repeated if there are two or more copies that are identical bit-wise and managed as a unit, except for the medium on which they are stored. To use this repetition, the copies must have a single objectIdentifier and be managed as a single object by the repository.
Note that many storage systems (e.g., hierarchical storage management systems, cloud storage providers etc.) will provide only a single reference to an object even though it may store multiple copies.
For bitstreams, the storage container could be repeated if there is more than one way of getting to the start of the bitstream within a file (e.g., byte offset from start or byte offset from end).
For representations of physical Objects, the storage for both physical copies of content (for example, a paper copy of a digital object) and for physical environment instances (for example, a custom computer chip) can be specified. See the “Environment” section in “Special Topics” on page 251 below for more information on physical Environments.
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