Method and apparatus for the enhanced disaster survivability of a networked computer server

Abstract

An apparatus for protecting a digital electronic data processor or stored digital data from damage includes a digital data unit comprising a data storage medium, a protective housing having side, top, and bottom walls defining a closed compartment which contains the digital data unit to shield the digital data therein from environmental damage. Active and passive protection from overheating and data encryption provides further data protection. The housing has at least one access port for supplying electrical power or for information transfer to or from the data unit therein. The port is sealed to prevent the introduction of environmental substances into the housing in the event of potential damage from an environmental disaster or other cause. The invention thus makes possible the safe storage of digital information in a computer data storage system which therefore has substantially increased capacity to survive disasters such as fires, floods, earthquakes, and theft, as well as more common computer problems such as disk drive failures. The invention can employ multiple computer network data access mechanisms that store digital data, including but not limited to Microsoft Windows File Sharing, Common Internet File Systems (CIFS), Network File Systems (NFS), Novell Netware File Systems, iSCSI, Storage Area Network Protocol, and Network SQL Database Mechanism or other data processing units.