RESOURCES - Whitepapers - Archive Automation

Most companies are aware of the need to back-up their data but not all are conscious of the benefits of having a digital archive. Therefore it is essential to understand the difference between these different concepts.

Back-up is the process where an additional copy of files is made for a short period of time, intended to cope with (incidental) loss of the original data. Archiving is the process where a permanent copy of data is made. The copied data is intended to be used in the future as a reference and/or the primary source of that data. In many cases the original data is being deleted from the primary storage.

Archiving should form an essential part of your Storage & Retrieval processes as it offers short and long term costs savings as well as instant efficiency improvements. The key issue is that archiving needs to take place in an automated and user-friendly manner, requiring no extra efforts from the users and also enabling future data growth.

80-20%: Tests prove that 80% of historical data is accessed infrequently but regularly. This means in most companies that 80% of primary storage, back-up and disaster recovery requirements could be substantially relieved.

How? DAX Archiving Applications integrate the archiving process into your network by simply adding a third tier to your current storage capacity.  Tiered archival storage is the single solution for unstructured data growth as no particular archival storage technology can completely address all of the internal and external compliance requirements that organizations face today. 

Complete (software and/or hardware) solutions in tier 3 ensure virtually unlimited terabytes of archival storage space while providing the optimum combination of open standard RAID and Removable Storage Media Technologies such as Blu-ray Disc, DVD, Tape, etc. 

Tier 1: Recent data is retained on-line on hard disk for rapid access while at the same time this data is copied to low-cost and removable media in tier 3.
Tier 2: Only recent data of tier 1 has to be backed-up in tier 2.
Tier 3: In the permanent archive all your data will be stored safely and preserved for future usage. WORM (write once, read many) technology fulfills compliance requirements and protects against data losses caused by viruses, hack attacks and human error. 

DAX Archiving Applications offer a sector-specific, user-friendly software interface and open standard solutions which allow network administrators to centrally manage their archival storage applications.