Persistence of the access to data in case the referent location or ownership changes or in case the referent is no longer available

Through the DOI name resolution concept, DOI names resolve to information (DOI record) which may change over time (URL, object ownership, etc.) while the mapping of the DOI name to the entity persists. It is the responsibility of the registrant to maintain the data of the DOI record.

In case the object identified by a DOI name is no longer available, the DOI name registrant can at minimum have the DOI name resolve to a response screen indicating that the object is no longer available.

Persistence of the access to data in case a Registration Agency (RA) is defaulting

RA membership imposes certain obligations on an RA to ensure transfer of appropriate records and enable continuity of DOI resolution in case the RA is defaulting. Membership of the DOI Foundation is predicated on the assumption that communities wish to work together to ensure long term persistence, beyond the interests of their own current applications. Should this assumption be false, the DOI agreements provide a fall-back position enabling persistence of resolution of the assigned DOI names.

Note: Added-value services available through DOI resolution which are provided by a Registration Agency cannot be guaranteed to be maintained by the DOI Foundation in the event of the Registration Agency ceasing to exist. Such services may require additional material (for example, access to metadata look-up or workflow procedures). However, the DOI Foundation will make best efforts to transfer such services to another agency, or maintain such services itself, or encourage that services are transferred to a third party able to provide continuity where required. The aim will be to provide least disturbance to the community of users of those DOI records.

Persistence of the DOI System in case the DOI Foundation ceases to exist or the current technical implementation is unable to sustain its activities

In the event of the DOI Foundation ceasing to exist, agreements are in place to transfer the system to other parties.

The DOI Foundation's agreement with technical support partners allows for reversion of all DOI System data, licenses, rights etc. to the DOI Foundation in the unlikely event of the current technical implementation closing or being unable to sustain its activities.

Persistence of the technical infrastructure technology

The DOI system uses a globally distributed multiple site network of servers and service sites overlain on the Handle System, which itself has similar distributed sites. These sites are at individual RA member locations, professional co-location hosting sites, and virtual (cloud computing) facilities, with resources to ensure 24x7 cover, mirroring machines to ensure against power outages, etc. The DOI Foundation also ensures that the doi.org domain is part of the persistent technical infrastructure, including mirroring and load balancing to ensure optimal availability for HTTPS requests to the DOI Proxy.

The Handle System is governed by the DONA Foundation which is committed to ensure the system continuity. The Handle System is an open standard, so anyone can build/use a Handle service. Both source code and APIs are public.