An Approach to Decision Support System Usage for Data Storage Configuration Variant Selection

Abstract

Electronic record management systems (including archives and libraries) should meet a large set of requirements, which can be described by tangible and intangible criteria. If digital data storage is needed for a library/archive, its configuration should be clearly defined at preliminary development stages. Tangible criteria can be represented quantitatively, by specific values of certain parameters. Intangible ones (reflecting, for instance, non-functional requirements) should be described by expert estimates, since there are usually no quantitative values to describe them. The paper suggests an approach to data storage configuration selection using multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) support methods, based on MoReq requirements and hierarchical storage management concept. MCDM support technology used allows selecting optimal data storage configuration, meeting both tangible and intangible requirements, in every specific case.