Overview
Data Archiving is used to move 'cold' data out of primary, high-performance storage systems to lower-cost, long-term storage. Unlike backups, which are copies of active data used for recovery, archives are the primary (and often only) copy of historical data that must be preserved for compliance or occasional reference.
Benefits
- Reduced Costs: Using cheaper storage tiers (e.g., tape or cloud archive storage).
- Improved Performance: Smaller active databases lead to faster queries and backups.
- Compliance: Meeting legal requirements for long-term data preservation.
Key Considerations
- Searchability: Ensuring archived data can be found when needed.
- Integrity: Protecting archived data from corruption over decades.
- Media Obsolescence: Ensuring data can still be read as storage technology changes.