ISO/IEC 16963:2017

Information technology — Digitally recorded media for information interchange and storage — Test method for the estimation of lifetime of optical disks for long-term data storage

ISO/IEC 16963:2017 specifies an accelerated ageing test method for estimating the lifetime of the retrievability of information stored on recordable or rewritable optical disks. The method is based on the theoretical assumption that the lifetime of data recorded on an optical disk has a lognormal distribution. Detailed testing is specified for the following formats: DVD-R/RW/RAM disks, +R/+RW disks, CD-R/RW disks and BD recordable/rewritable disks. The testing can be applied to additional optical-disk formats with substitution of the appropriate specifications and can also be updated by the committee in the future as required. ISO/IEC 16963:2017 includes: - stress conditions: - Basic and Rigorous stress-conditions for testing and subsequent analysis using both the Eyring and Arrhenius methods; - ambient storage conditions in which the lifetime of data stored on optical disk is estimated: - a Controlled storage-condition, Temp = 25 °C and RH = 50 %, representing full-time air conditioning. The Eyring method is used to estimate the lifetime under this storage condition; - a Harsh storage-condition, Temp = 30 °C and RH = 80 %, representing the most severe conditions in which users handle and store optical disks. The Arrhenius method is used to estimate the lifetime under this storage condition; - a description of the evaluation system; - procedures for specimen preparation and data acquisition; - definitions and methods used in testing specific disk types; - analysis of test results to determine the lifetime of stored data; - a format for reporting the estimated lifetime of stored data. The methodology includes only the effects of temperature and relative humidity. It does not attempt to model degradation due to complex failure mechanism kinetics, nor does it test for exposure to light, corrosive gases, contaminants, handling, or variations in playback subsystems. Disks exposed to these additional sources of stress or higher levels of temperature and relative humidity are expected to experience shorter usable lifetime.

Technologies de l'information — Supports pour l'échange d'informations et le stockage enregistrés numériquement — Méthode d'essai pour l'estimation de la durée de vie de disques optiques pour le stockage à long terme

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 24-Jul-2017
• ICS: 35.220.30 - Optical storage devices
• Technical Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 23 - Digitally recorded media for information interchange and storage
• Drafting Committee: ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 23 - Digitally recorded media for information interchange and storage
• Current Stage: 9093 - International Standard confirmed
• Completion Date: 29-Jan-2023

Relations

• Revises: ISO/IEC 16963:2015 - Information technology — Digitally recorded media for information interchange and storage — Test method for the estimation of lifetime of optical disks for long-term data storage
• Effective Date: 23-Apr-2016

Standards Content (Sample)

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 16963
Third edition
2017-07
Corrected version
2019-04
Information technology — Digitally
recorded media for information
interchange and storage — Test
method for the estimation of lifetime of
optical disks for long-term data storage
Technologies de l'information — Supports pour l'échange
d'informations et le stockage enregistrés numériquement — Méthode
d'essai pour l'estimation de la durée de vie de disques optiques pour le
stockage à long terme
Reference number
ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)
©
ISO/IEC 2017

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ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)

COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO/IEC 2017
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may
be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting
on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address
below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
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Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
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ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Abbreviated terms . 4
5 Conformance . 4
6 Convention and notations . 5
6.1 Representation numbers . 5
6.2 Variables . 5
6.3 Names . 5
7 Measurements . 5
7.1 Summary . 5
7.1.1 Stress incubation and measuring . 5
7.1.2 Assumptions . 5
7.1.3 Data error . 6
7.1.4 Data quality . 7
7.1.5 Regression . 7
7.2 Test specimen . 7
7.3 Recording conditions . 8
7.3.1 General. 8
7.3.2 Recording test environment . 8
7.4 Playback conditions . 8
7.4.1 Playback tester . 8
7.4.2 Playback test environment . 8
7.4.3 Calibration . 9
7.5 Disk testing locations . 9
7.5.1 General. 9
7.5.2 Rigorous testing location . 9
7.5.3 Basic testing location . 9
8 Accelerated stress test . 9
8.1 General . 9
8.2 Stress conditions .10
8.2.1 General.10
8.2.2 Temperature .11
8.2.3 Relative humidity .11
8.2.4 Incubation and ramp profiles .11
8.3 Measuring-time intervals .12
8.4 Design of stress conditions .13
8.5 Disk orientation .13
9 Lifetime estimation.13
9.1 Time-to-failure .13
9.2 Accelerated-ageing test method.14
9.2.1 Eyring acceleration model (Eyring method) .14
9.2.2 Arrhenius acceleration model (Arrhenius method) .14
9.3 Data analysis and judgment of effectiveness .15
9.4 Result of estimated disk life .15
Annex A (normative) Outline of Disk-life estimation method and data-analysis steps .16
Annex B (normative) Disk-life estimation for Controlled storage-condition (Eyring method) .23
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ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)

Annex C (normative) Disk-life estimation for Harsh storage-condition (Arrhenius method) .38
Annex D (normative) Alternative non-destructive stress-condition .43
Annex E (informative) Interval estimation for B Life using maximum likelihood .45
5
Annex F (informative) RSER measurement of BD disks.51
Bibliography .52
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ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for
the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent
rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the
Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following
URL: www .iso .org/iso/foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, SC 23,
Digitally recorded media for information interchange and storage.
This third edition cancels and replaces the second edition (ISO/IEC 16963:2015), which has been
technically revised.
The main changes compared to the previous edition are as follows:
— minor enhancement has been made so that the stress condition and the disk testing location are
independent of each other and the cross-combinations of them are applicable; and
— minor editorial changes have been made to conform to the latest version of the ISO/IEC Directives
Part 2.
This corrected version of ISO/IEC 16963:2017 incorporates the following corrections:
— correction of the formula in E.3 that uses function ln L = ln L(β,σ) to express the Fisher information
matrix I in E.2.
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ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)

Introduction
Markets and industry have developed a common understanding that the property referred to as the
lifetime of data recorded to optical disks plays an increasingly important role in many applications.
Disparate standardized test methodologies exist for Magneto-Optical disks versus recordable compact
disks and DVD systems. The first edition of this document provided a common methodology applicable
for various purposes that included lifetime testing of then available writable CD and DVD optical disks.
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 23/JWG 1, which is a joint working group comprising ISO/TC 42, ISO/TC 171/SC 1 and
ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 23, initiated work on this subject and developed initial drafts with assistance from
Ecma International TC 31.
After the issuance of the first edition of this document, ISO/IEC standards for the physical formats of BD
Recordable and Rewritable disks were published. Accordingly, ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 23/JWG 1 started work
again to include testing of writable BD optical disks in the second edition of this document. Additional
details for lifetime estimation are also incorporated.
The third edition was issued as a minor enhancement of this document. It is clarified that the stress
condition and the disk testing location are independent each other and the cross-combinations of them
are applicable.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)
Information technology — Digitally recorded media for
information interchange and storage — Test method for
the estimation of lifetime of optical disks for long-term
data storage
1 Scope
This document specifies an accelerated ageing test method for estimating the lifetime of the
retrievability of information stored on recordable or rewritable optical disks.
The method is based on the theoretical assumption that the lifetime of data recorded on an optical disk
has a lognormal distribution.
Detailed testing is specified for the following formats: DVD-R/RW/RAM disks, +R/+RW disks, CD-R/
RW disks and BD recordable/rewritable disks. The testing can be applied to additional optical-disk
formats with substitution of the appropriate specifications and can also be updated by the committee
in the future as required.
This document includes:
— stress conditions:
— Basic and Rigorous stress-conditions for testing and subsequent analysis using both the Eyring
and Arrhenius methods;
— ambient storage conditions in which the lifetime of data stored on optical disk is estimated:
— a Controlled storage-condition, Temp = 25 °C and RH = 50 %, representing full-time air
conditioning. The Eyring method is used to estimate the lifetime under this storage condition;
— a Harsh storage-condition, Temp = 30 °C and RH = 80 %, representing the most severe conditions
in which users handle and store optical disks. The Arrhenius method is used to estimate the
lifetime under this storage condition;
— a description of the evaluation system;
— procedures for specimen preparation and data acquisition;
— definitions and methods used in testing specific disk types;
— analysis of test results to determine the lifetime of stored data;
— a format for reporting the estimated lifetime of stored data.
The methodology includes only the effects of temperature and relative humidity. It does not attempt
to model degradation due to complex failure mechanism kinetics, nor does it test for exposure to light,
corrosive gases, contaminants, handling, or variations in playback subsystems. Disks exposed to these
additional sources of stress or higher levels of temperature and relative humidity are expected to
experience shorter usable lifetime.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
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ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)

ISO/IEC 12862, Information technology — 120 mm (8,54 Gbytes per side) and 80 mm (2,66 Gbytes per side)
DVD recordable disk for dual layer (DVD-R for DL)
ISO/IEC 13170, Information technology — 120 mm (8,54 Gbytes per side) and 80 mm (2,66 Gbytes per side)
DVD re-recordable disk for dual layer (DVD-RW for DL)
ISO/IEC 17341, Information technology — Data interchange on 120 mm and 80 mm optical disk using +RW
format — Capacity: 4,7 Gbytes and 1,46 Gbytes per side (recording speed up to 4X)
ISO/IEC 17342, Information technology — 80 mm (1,46 Gbytes per side) and 120 mm (4,70 Gbytes per side)
DVD re-recordable disk (DVD-RW)
ISO/IEC 17344, Information technology — Data interchange on 120 mm and 80 mm optical disk using +R
format — Capacity: 4,7 Gbytes and 1,46 Gbytes per side (recording speed up to 16X)
ISO/IEC 17592, Information technology — 120 mm (4,7 Gbytes per side) and 80 mm (1,46 Gbytes per side)
DVD rewritable disk (DVD-RAM)
ISO/IEC 23912, Information technology — 80 mm (1,46 Gbytes per side) and 120 mm (4,70 Gbytes per side)
DVD Recordable Disk (DVD-R)
ISO/IEC 25434, Information technology — Data interchange on 120 mm and 80 mm optical disk using +R
DL format — Capacity: 8,55 Gbytes and 2,66 Gbytes per side (recording speed up to 16X)
ISO/IEC 26925, Information technology — Data interchange on 120 mm and 80 mm optical disk using +RW
HS format — Capacity: 4,7 Gbytes and 1,46 Gbytes per side (recording speed 8X)
ISO/IEC 29642, Information technology — Data interchange on 120 mm and 80 mm optical disk using +RW
DL format — Capacity: 8,55 Gbytes and 2,66 Gbytes per side (recording speed 2,4X)
ISO/IEC 30190, Information technology — Digitally recorded media for information interchange
and storage — 120 mm Single Layer (25,0 Gbytes per disk) and Dual Layer (50,0 Gbytes per disk) BD
Recordable disk
ISO/IEC 30191, Information technology — Digitally recorded media for information interchange and
storage — 120 mm Triple Layer (100,0 Gbytes single sided disk and 200,0 Gbytes double sided disk) and
Quadruple Layer (128,0 Gbytes single sided disk) BD Recordable disk
ISO/IEC 30192, Information technology — Digitally recorded media for information interchange
and storage — 120 mm Single Layer (25,0 Gbytes per disk) and Dual Layer (50,0 Gbytes per disk) BD
Rewritable disk
ISO/IEC 30193, Information technology — Digitally recorded media for information interchange and
storage — 120 mm Triple Layer (100,0 Gbytes per disk) BD Rewritable disk
ECMA-394, Recordable Compact Disc Systems CD-R Multi-Speed
ECMA-395, Recordable Compact Disc Systems CD-RW Ultra-Speed
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the following terms and definitions apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http: //www .electropedia .org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http: //www .iso .org/obp
3.1
Arrhenius method
accelerated ageing model based on the effects of temperature only
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3.2
baseline
analysis of an initial test (e.g. initial data errors) after recording and before exposure to any stress
condition, i.e. measurement at stress time t = 0 h
3.3
Basic stress-condition
accelerated-ageing condition for estimating the lifetime of data stored on optical disks with a reasonable
amount of time and labour
3.4
B Life
5
5 percentile of the lifetime distribution (i.e. 5 % failure time) or 95 % survival lifetime
3.5
(B Life)
5 L
95 % lower confidence bound of B Life
5
3.6
B Life
50
50 percentile of the lifetime distribution (i.e. 50 % failure time) or 50 % survival lifetime
3.7
Controlled storage-condition
well-controlled storage-condition with full-time air conditioning (Temp = 25 °C and RH = 50 %) which
can extend the lifetime of data stored on optical disks
3.8
Eyring method
accelerated-ageing model based on the combined effects of temperature and relative humidity
3.9
data error
measured error on a sample disk before error correction is applied
3.10
Harsh storage-condition
most-severe condition in which users handle and store the optical disks (Temp = 30 °C and RH = 80 %)
under which the lifetime of data stored on optical disks can be reduced
3.11
incubation
process of enclosing and maintaining controlled test-sample environments
3.12
LDC Block
ECC Block of BDs using Long-Distance Code
[SOURCE: ISO/IEC 30190:2016, 13.6]
3.13
Maximum Data Error
greatest level of data error measured anywhere in one of the relevant areas on the disk
Note 1 to entry: For BD Recordable SL/DL disks, BD Recordable TL/QL disks, BD Rewritable SL/DL disks, and BD
Rewritable TL disks, this is the Maximum RSER; for DVD-R/RW disks and +R/+RW disks, this is the Maximum
PI Sum 8; for DVD-RAM disks, this is the Maximum BER; and for CD-R/RW disks, this is the Maximum C1 Ave 10.
3.14
retrievability
ability to recover physically-recorded information as recorded
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ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)

3.15
RH
variable for relative humidity used with %
3.16
Rigorous stress-condition
accelerated-ageing condition for estimating the lifetime of data stored on optical disks with higher
confidence
3.17
shelf life
maximum time an unrecorded disk can be stored under specific conditions and still meet the
performance requirements specified
3.18
shelf time
time of an unrecorded disk spent on the shelf
3.19
stress
temperature and relative humidity variables to which the sample is exposed during the incubation
(3.11) sub-intervals
3.20
system
combination of hardware, software, storage medium, and documentation used to record, retrieve, and
reproduce information
3.21
Temp
variable for Celsius temperature used with °C
4 Abbreviated terms
BER Byte Error Rate
BLER BLock Error Rate
DL Dual Layer
ECC Error-Correction Code
LDC Long-Distance Code
PI Parity (of the) Inner (code)
QL Quadruple Layer
RSER Random Symbol Error Rate
SER Symbol Error Rate
SL Single Layer
TL Triple Layer
5 Conformance
A disk tested by this methodology shall conform to all normative references specific to that disk format.
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ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)

6 Convention and notations
6.1 Representation numbers
A measured value is rounded off to the least significant digit of the corresponding specified value.
For instance, it follows that a specified value of 1,26 with a positive tolerance of +0,01 and a negative
tolerance of −0,02 allows a range of measured values from 1,235 to 1,275.
6.2 Variables
A variable with “^” above the character denotes that its value is obtained by estimation.
6.3 Names
The names of entities having explicitly-defined meanings for the purpose of this document are
capitalized.
7 Measurements
7.1 Summary
7.1.1 Stress incubation and measuring
A group of disks shall be measured at four stress conditions for Basic stress-condition testing, or five
stress conditions for Rigorous stress-condition testing, for analysis by the Eyring method. For analysis
by the Arrhenius method, three stress conditions shall be used for Basic stress-condition testing and
four stress conditions shall be used for the Rigorous stress-condition testing.
Each total incubation time is divided into several incubation sub-interval time periods. The purpose
of the sub-intervals is to provide sufficient data points to enable proper fitting of the data to an
exponential curve during analysis. Each disk in each group of disks has its initial data errors measured
before exposure to a stress condition. After each incubation sub-interval, each disk shall be measured
for its data errors again.
A control disk used for monitoring the measurement equipment may also be measured after each
incubation sub-interval.
7.1.2 Assumptions
This document is based on the following assumptions for applicability to the optical disks to be tested:
— the life-distribution of the disks is appropriately modelled by a statistical distribution;
— the Eyring method can be used to model ageing with both stresses involved (temperature and
relative humidity);
— the dominant failure mechanism acting when disks are in use under normal conditions will be the
same as that acting under the stress conditions;
— compatibility of a disk and drive combination can assure the initial recording quality and will not
otherwise affect the resulting lifetime estimation;
— a hardware and software system needed to read the disk will be available at the time retrieval of
the information is attempted;
— the recorded format will be recognizable and interpretable by the reading software.
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ISO/IEC 16963:2017(E)

7.1.3 Data error
7.1.3.1 General
Data errors shall be measured at disk testing locations defined in 7.5. For each format, the Maximum
Data Error used to estimate the time-to-failure shall be determined as follows:
BD Recordable SL/DL disks, BD Recordable TL/QL disks, BD Rewritable SL/DL disks and BD Rewritable
TL disks defined in ISO/IEC 30190, ISO/IEC 30191, ISO/IEC 30192 and ISO/IEC 30193, respectively:
Maximum Random SER (Max RSER)
DVD-R disks defined in ISO/IEC 23912 and ISO/IEC 12862, DVD-RW disks defined in ISO/IEC 17342 and
ISO/IEC 13170, +R disks defined in ISO/IEC 25434 and ISO/IEC 17344, and +RW disks defined in ISO/
IEC 17341, ISO/IEC 26925 and ISO/IEC 29642:
Maximum PI Sum 8 (Max PI Sum 8)
DVD-RAM disks defined in ISO/IEC 17592:
Maximum Byte Error Rate (Max BER)
CD-R disks and CD-RW disks defined in ECMA-394 and ECMA-395, respectively:
Maximum C1 Ave 10 (Max C1 Ave 10)
7.1.3.2 RSER
Per ISO/IEC 30190, ISO/IEC 30191, ISO/IEC 30192 and ISO/IEC 30193, a Random Symbol Error Rate
(RSER) is defined as the SER where all erroneous bytes contained in burst errors of length ≥40 bytes
are counted neither in the numerator nor in the denominator of the SER calculation:
N
EE−
()
∑ ab
ii
i=1
N
NE×−75392
∑ b
i
i=1
where
is the number of all erroneous bytes in LDC Block i;
E
a
i
is the number of all erroneous bytes in burst errors ≥40 bytes in LDC Block i;
E
b
i
N is the number of LDC Blocks.
RSER shall be averaged over any 10 000 consecutive LDC Blocks with the condition that all Blocks are
recorded either in a continuously-written sequence or in a discontinuously-written sequence excluding
disk defects.
A burst error is defined as a sequence of bytes where there are not more than two correct bytes between
any two erroneous bytes.
For determining burst errors, the bytes shall be ordered in the same sequence as they were recorded
on the disk. The length of a burst error is defined as the total number of bytes counting from the first
erroneous byte that is preceded by at least three correct bytes to the last erroneous byte that is followed
...