|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
VERS STORY | STANDARD | ASSESSMENT | PROJECTS | DIGITAL ARCHIVE | TRAINING | TOOLKIT | PUBLICATIONS | |
|
|||||||||
|
|||||
|
Frequently Asked Questions 1. What is VERS?
VERS (Victorian Electronic Records Strategy) is the Victorian solution for electronic recordkeeping. It is a framework of standards, guidance and implementation projects which is centred around the goal of reliably and authentically archiving electronic records. 2. Why did you choose to use PDF? Two characteristics of PDF were behind the choice:
VERS, however, does not just accept PDF. Version 2 allows text and TIFF records as well. Other formats will be added in the future. 3. PDF, XML and TIFF could be out of date in few years time. What happens to VERS then? We expect to continue to use all three standards until it is no longer possible to easily obtain viewers for those formats. With the widespread adoption of these standards and the new archival version of PDF (PDF-A) we expect that this will be a long time in the future. We can then chose between implementing our own viewers for these formats, or migrating our collection to a new format. The key here is that we know we will have this choice: the published specifications mean that (in the worst case) we can implement our own software. Further, because the collection will be in a small number of formats, migration or software development will be a far simpler and cheaper prospect than if we accepted a wide range of formats. 4. What is VERS trying to solve? VERS is designed to allow the cost effective long-term preservation of digital records. Both 'cost effective' and 'long term preservation' are important aspects of VERS; a solution is not useful if it gives perfect long term preservation, but is too expensive for either record creators or archives to implement. VERS also gives priority to the need to capture consistent and adequate metadata, which provides a context for records, so that any user looking at any record, now or in the future, can properly understand the context and meaning of a given record. VERS focuses on ensuring that access to those digital records is continuously available to the government and the public. VERS is a key consideration for any system implementation project, where the system that will be implemented is a source of digital records. There are very few systems used in government, which are not a source of digital records. It is very important if you are going to tender for a system, that you include your need for VERS compliance in the Request for Tender (RFT) requirements, and apply a relevant weight to your VERS requirements. It is also important that if the vendor or product you select is not yet VERS compliant, but is proposing to become compliant during the project, that you build mutually agreeable milestones for the attainment of VERS compliance into your contract. The key areas to focus on in implementing a VERS compliant system of any type are (in priority order):
6. What products are VERS compliant? For an up to date list of VERS compliant products, together with a list of products working towards VERS compliance, visit the VERS Compliance in this web site http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/vers/compliance/certified.htm VERS was implemented first at DOI (the Victorian Department of Infrastructure). The VERS@DOI Project was funded in 1999 as a Whole of Victorian Government project and as such it has served as a model for other Victorian government agencies. The Department of Justice Electronic Document Management system (EDMS) implementation was completed in March 2004, and has been specifically designed to be a VERS compliant EDMS. Many other Victorian government agencies and departments are beginning to consider to fully implementing VERS. Among these are the Departments of Primary Industry and Sustainability and Environment, the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development and the Department of Human Services. A VEO (VERS Encapsulated Object) is a single object that represents a record. It consists of four components:
9. What are the benefits of VERS?
VERS is not a system. VERS is a strategy, a framework of advice and guidelines and a vital component of information management. 11. When is a system or a product considered to be fully VERS compliant? A system or a product is considered fully VERS Compliant when it has been certified against all five specifications. Until certification for all five specifications has been achieved then the system or product can only be considered partially VERS Compliant. 12. My digital certificate has expired. Am I still VERS compliant? Yes you are. Digital Certificates are used in a different manner within VEOs to the conventional web server model. For web servers the digital certificate is used to verify authenticity of a website and so supports secure web services. In these circumstances the certificate needs to be kept current by renewing it with a Certification Authority, to continue to ensure that the source organisation/system is who it claims to be: a kind of "checking back" periodically. Certificates usually expire after 2 years. This verification is not simply done at one level - from an end user to a Certification Authority. An additional level provides delegation of responsibility for issuing certificates, to streamline the process. It works like this: The Root Certification Authority (CA) is a highly trusted organisation that verifies other organisations - usually called Certification Authorities - and issues them with certificates. An example of this is Verisign. A Certification Authority has delegated authority from the Root CA to generate 'end user' certificates, such as the one you will have loaded into your VEO creation tool/application. When you look into a VEO you will see this entire "certificate chain" (as it is commonly referred to): • Root CA certificate • CA certificate • End User certificate So long as the entire chain of certificates is encapsulated in a VEO, it will pass VERS compliance checks. If the certificate expires, or the source system changes and so a different certificate is used, then the original VEOs sent to PROV will contain certificates that eventually expire. It doesn't matter though, because the certificate chain within the VEO is still valid, i.e. it was used at the point of creation of the VEO to sign the VEO and was valid at that time. The essential capability is to be able to verify that it has not been tampered with. This can happen irrespective of currency of the certificate. 13. How do I get further information on VERS? Browse VERS website http://www.prov.vic.gov.au/vers/ Check the "Contact Us" section to help you know who's who in VERS. | |||||
 |
 |
|