Build a Network
A technical infrastructure for community-based digital preservation.
As a peer-to-peer system, LOCKSS technologies are deployed as a network and work in concert to carry out preservation. LOCKSS networks provide significant protections for preserved data while enabling local custody and access, reinforcing local digital preservation capacity, and minimizing vendor risk. It is the cooperative, distributed storage and ongoing coordinated validation of common content across the network that ensures the integrity of stored data on an ongoing basis. This architecture aligns well with collaborative and community-based models for digital stewardship.
Participants in a given LOCKSS network have a common interest in the preservation of particular content and therefore tend to be highly targeted collaborative efforts. Like-minded organizations work together to share the preservation responsibility (including governance and sustainability) for the digital materials that matter to the group. Most networks are implemented by communities as small hosted networks that address consortial or national preservation needs. The LOCKSS Program partners with communities to build and manage digital preservation networks.
To learn more about LOCKSS networks, please consult the following resources:
- Learn about the motivations for different LOCKSS networks, as described by their host communities.
- Learn about the myriad digital preservation use cases that LOCKSS networks support.
- Review technical documentation on LOCKSS network architecture, setup, and management.
- Contact us if you have additional questions, or are interested in exploring the possibility of a new network.