A RAID Inc. Guide to Data Backup Versus Data Archiving

Having the capability to access and recover data is essential for organizations big and small. Backing up and archiving data are the only two ways one accomplishes this. Nevertheless, how does one know which method is best for their organization to use? This guide from our experts here at RAID Inc. will take a look at the variances between data backups and data archives.

For more in-depth information on this subject or a better understanding, please click this link in order to talk to one of our RAID Inc. experts about data backups and archiving.

Backup Storage Defined

Backup data is a copy of the original data used to recover the original in the unfortunate event that said data is lost or damaged. If an organization encounters data loss due to human error, a security breach, hardware failure, or even a natural disaster, backups quickly and effortlessly restore that lost data. This could mean the difference between losing an untold amount of money, customers, or other highly valuable data-based assets. Failing to backup data is not a gamble any organization should ever take, no matter what their size.

Archive Storage Defined

Archived data is a set of historical records saved for long-term retention and utilized for future reference. Usually, archives include data that is not actively used. Furthermore, while a backup is a copy of a set of data, an archive preserves original pieces of data.

Keeping a Backup Versus an Archive: Which One Is Better for Your Organization?

A majority of organizations and companies know they need to preserve their data in case of a crisis, keeping all employees’ and clients’ information secure. As stated before, backups and archives are both crucial subsequent to a major data loss event, as it allows one’s clients to immediately recover lost or damaged data to its original state. Nevertheless, backing up vast amounts of data causes the backup infrastructure to run sluggishly at best.

On the other hand, file archiving operates with data backups to diminish backup costs and reduce the strain large volumes of data place on storage infrastructures. The purpose of file archiving is not to restore lost data swiftly, but to store data while organizing it in a manner that allows for one to easily search through it to find particular information.

Data backup and data archiving should not be pitted against one another; instead, one should utilize both of them collectively to more efficiently store and recover while decreasing backup time and cost.

Some Backup and Archiving Solutions

There are several backup and archival solutions out there. For example, Lustre affords the ability to have various storage tiers inside an individual filesystem namespace. It allows conventional hardware security modules (HSM) to copy (or archive) files from the principal filesystem to a secondary archive storage layer. The archive tier is usually a tape-based system, oftentimes fronted by a disk cache.

Once files are archived, they can be cleared from the principal filesystem, leaving just a stub that points towards the archive copy. If one attempts to open a released file, the Coordinator blocks the opening of the said file, transmits a restore demand to a copytool, and then executes the opening once the copytool has completed recovering the file. Click here to learn more about RAID Inc. Lustre products and how it can better improve your organizational data archiving.

When it comes to backing up data, the ARI series has become a popular solution as well. For example, the RAID Inc. ARI-400 offers up to 7Gbps on reads and 5.5Gbps on writes for those organizations with very demanding workloads. The ARI-400 storage system employs patent cache technology that immediately and concurrently mirrors cache between RAID controllers, driving vital performance advancements over conventional implementations.

Since there is a lot more to the subject of backup and archiving data, it’s a good idea to contact us here at RAID Inc. today and to talk with an expert about various data backup and archiving solutions available.