LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe)
Description
Taking its name (Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe) from the idea that a file is more likely to survive if it has multiple copies stored in multiple places, LOCKSS software allows users to preserve digital collections of any kind as it is format agnostic.
Provider
The LOCKSS team is based at Stanford University Libraries.
Licensing and cost
The software is free and is available under an open-source Stanford-written license. However, US institutions wishing to join the LOCKSS Alliance pay an annual fee ranging from $2,236 for “Baccalaureate Colleges” to $11,180 for “Very Large Research Universities”. For UK institutions, the UK LOCKSS Alliance offers pro-rata membership from £1,800-5,000 per year.
Development activity
The LOCKSS team has recently released LOCKSS 2.0 in beta form, and so development is ongoing. The software is updated on a six-week cycle.
Platform and interoperability
LOCKSS 1.0 software is integrated with a Linux installation based on CentOS 5. The LOCKSS team therefore recommend installing LOCKSS on a dedicated workstation or server (physical or virtual), which should ideally be configured with 2GB of RAM and two 1TB hard drives to support RAID disk redundancy. LOCKSS was previously provided on an OpenBSD based platform, but as of 2011 this platform is being phased out. LOCKSS includes a Java framework to support plugin writers.
Functional notes
The LOCKSS system requires certain provider-specific knowledge and code for each preserved collection. This information is contained in a “plugin” module, which can be written and supplied by the provider, the community, or LOCKSS staff.
Users can set up automatic Linux upgrades.
Documentation and user support
LOCKSS has extensive documentation through its website, including an Installation Guide, and an OpenBSD to Linux Conversion Guide. LOCKSS Alliance members receive technical and collections support from the Stanford University LOCKSS team; non-members do not receive direct user support.
Usability
Installation and configuration are non-trivial, but the LOCKSS team offers a customised Linux installation CD (the LOCKSS Net Install CD) that details the process. The administrative interface is an extremely simple GUI.
Expertise required
Installation and maintenance require solid knowledge of systems administration, particularly for Linux. Administratively, users must have sound governance, collections policies, legal arrangements with depositors, and sustainable business models.
Standards compliance
LOCKSS advertises itself as providing an OAIS-compliant infrastructure.
Influence and take-up
LOCKSS opensource software is used in at least the following digital archives: CLOCKSS, Global LOCKSS Network, Alabama Digital Preservation Network, Cariniana, GinkoNet, Michigan Digital Preservation Network, Public Knowledge Project Preservation Network, SAFE Archive Federation, USDocs, and Canadian Government Information Digital Preservation Network.
User Experiences
The community of archives using LOCKSS software is currently in transition from LOCKSS 1.0 to LOCKSS 2.0.
Development Activity
LOCKSS 2.0 introduces a modular architecture based on microservices with clearly defined APIs. This separation of core functions, such as repository management, auditing, and content replay, makes the system more scalable, easier to maintain, and better suited for future integration with external systems. One of the most significant improvements is the support for direct deposit. This allows content to be ingested without relying on web crawling or manual staging, streamlining the entire ingestion process and enabling integration across a wider array of content hosting platforms.
The platform also introduces a multi-crawler and replay framework that supports modern replay engines like Pywb and OpenWayback. These tools are better suited for rendering dynamic and JavaScript-driven web content, which is increasingly common in today’s digital publishing landscape. Another critical advancement is the move from a legacy flat-file system to database-backed operations, enabling better performance, scalability, and reliability, especially when managing large volumes of content.
With LOCKSS 2.0 ingest is faster and more efficient, triggered content can be delivered with improved user experience, and automation is enhanced to ensure better interoperability with content hosting systems.