Patent ID: 7870102

Claim:
A method to store information, comprising the steps of: providing a data storage system comprising a fossilized data management apparatus interconnected with one or more data storage devices, wherein said fossilized data management apparatus comprises a format algorithm comprising instructions to read a format field written to meta data, a context algorithm comprising instructions to read a context field written to meta data, a retention algorithm comprising instructions to read a retention field written to meta data, a data management algorithm comprising instructions to read a data management field written to meta data, and a storage management algorithm comprising instructions to read a storage management field written to meta data; providing information and meta data associated with said information to said fossilized data management apparatus using a fossilized data format; wherein: said meta data does not comprise meta data field identifiers; said fossilized data management apparatus recognizes a meta data format field, a meta data context field, a meta data retention field, a meta data storage management field, a meta data data management field, and a meta data audit field, by the order of those meta data fields; said information follows said meta data audit field; said format field recites a format for writing said information to said one or more data storage devices; said retention field recites a retention time and a protection mode for said information and a retention time and a protection mode for said meta data, wherein said retention time for said information may differ from said retention time for said meta data, and wherein said protection mode for said information may differ from said protection mode for said meta data; said data management field recites an information availability level selected from the group consisting of high, medium, and low; said data management field further recites an access time level selected from the group consisting of less than 1 second, less than 10 seconds, and greater than 10 seconds; operative if said data management field recites a high information availability level, storing said information utilizing a RAID protocol; instructing by said fossilized data management apparatus said one or more data storage devices to write said information to said one or more data storage devices based upon said meta data format field.