Data archiving refers to the process of moving data that is no longer actively used to a separate storage system for long-term retention. This archived data remains accessible and can be restored if needed. Data archiving is an essential practice for businesses to reduce primary storage costs, maintain regulatory compliance, and preserve the integrity of data for future use or analysis.

Benefits of Data Archiving:

  1. Cost Reduction: Archiving moves data off of primary storage systems, reducing costs associated with more expensive primary storage.
  2. Performance Improvement: By decluttering primary storage, system performance can improve, especially in databases and file systems.
  3. Data Preservation: Ensures historical data remains intact and accessible for future reference.
  4. Regulatory Compliance: Many industries have regulations mandating the preservation of certain data for a specified period.
  5. Backup Efficiency: With less data residing on primary storage, backup processes are faster and more efficient.

Characteristics of Archived Data:

  1. Infrequently Accessed: Data that is not accessed regularly but still needs to be retained.
  2. Immutable: Once archived, data often becomes read-only to ensure its integrity.
  3. Retained for Long Periods: Data may be archived for years or even decades.
  4. Indexed: Archived data is indexed so it can be searched and retrieved when necessary.

Data Archiving Strategies:

  1. Data Assessment: Not all data needs to be archived. Companies should assess what data to archive based on its age, importance, and access frequency.
  2. De-duplication: Before archiving, data should be de-duplicated to store only unique data items.
  3. Compression: Data can be compressed to save storage space.
  4. Encryption: Archived data, especially sensitive data, should be encrypted for security.
  5. Retention Policies: Establish policies for how long data should be retained and when it should be deleted or moved to even more long-term storage.

Archiving vs. Backup:

  • Purpose: Archiving is for long-term data retention, while backups are for short-term data recovery.
  • Access Frequency: Archived data is infrequently accessed, whereas backup data may be accessed more frequently in case of data loss or corruption.
  • Data Duplication: Archiving often involves de-duplication, whereas backups might have multiple redundant copies of the same data.

Popular Data Archiving Solutions:

  1. Tape Libraries: Although considered old-fashioned by some, magnetic tapes remain a cost-effective medium for archiving large volumes of data.
  2. Cloud Archiving: Services like Amazon Glacier or Google Cloud Storage Coldline provide cost-effective, long-term data storage with varying retrieval times.
  3. Optical Storage: Includes methods like DVDs or Blu-ray discs, especially for smaller volumes of data.
  4. Archiving Software: Solutions such as Veritas Enterprise Vault or Commvault can help manage and automate the archiving process.

In conclusion, data archiving is a necessary practice for businesses of all sizes. It provides a structured and efficient way to manage the ever-growing volumes of data, ensuring that valuable information is preserved for future use while optimizing current storage and system performance.