is incremental CD/DVD burning still a thing ?

i have a use-case where i need to be able to add files to a medium, but ideally, modification/removal of files would be protected against in hardware

(could use a new disk every time, but seems so wasteful)

@orionwl Could you expand on that use-case?
I'm pretty sure multi-session disks still works, but it also feels that doesn't solve your issue.

@FreePietje ah yes, multi-session was the term, thanks

one example is software releases; once the binaries for a version are gitian-built and verified, the data should be set in stone
(yes, i also use signatures and hashes to verify this)

but looking for something better than a USB flash drive (which might have more issues like a malicious firmware) for taking files over an airgap as well as to act as archive

@orionwl Interesting issue.
Sounds like you're looking for a blockchain, but then in hardware 😂

I don't have an answer as it looks like pretty much everything is read-write. Maybe the relevant terms in ISO9660/UDF may lead you to appropriate solutions.
I was also thinking of overlays as that is used to add persistence to LiveCDs. Both the 'LiveCD' part and the overlay part(ion) can be on the same device. But it's all software enforced afaik. Kernel enforced is still software too.

@FreePietje omg lol yes … i've invented,… a hardware block chain 😂 😱

the old EPROM's come to mind too, they could be written multiple times but there was a physical action (exposure to UV light) needed to clear them; of course, they don't have closely enough capacity for what i need

thanks for the suggestions anyhow !

@orionwl @FreePietje you could jam up the rewind mechanism on a magnetic tape writer for a multi-TB append only medium. (You probably want to get a separate reader that doesn't support writing to ensure read-only access.) I've actually thought about doing this for my regular backups after I learned about encryption ransomware.

@harding @FreePietje don't know how practical it is with modern tech that does all kinds of weird stuff in the firmware instead of allowing direct control, but i really like this idea

as you say, would need two devices, one that writes at current position and a separate device to read back and check the backups then and put the tape back in the right spot

@orionwl That's just multi-session isn't it? Pretty sure that's just a function of the burning software. Dunno when the last time I tried to burn a multi-session though. Long time.

@orionwl I think you're looking for a WORM (Write-Once Read-Many) drive. I'm not aware of a portable format for them though so you may need an external enclosure for your use case.

@Chrozayis is this "WORM drive" a specific technology? i thought it was simply the general name for mediums such as CD-RW

@orionwl It's an umbrella term for optical, magnetic and flash media that cannot be rewritten. The wikipedia page says magnetic drives go up to 3TB.

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