DATA PROTECTION
The Big Three: Archive Joins
Backup and Disaster Recovery
By CHRISTOPHER MARSH
Data growth, data access, and data protection have become inter- mingled to a degree that makes it difficult to understand manage- ment processes that historically
were pretty straightforward. Specifically,
backup and disaster recovery (DR) have
been widely understood and implemented.
Due to the enormous growth of data,
archive has entered the larger IT discussion, playing an important role in organizing, accessing, and protecting data as it
compounds over time, alongside standard
backup and DR processes.
By analyzing how large quantities of
data may be used and accessed, the roles of
each process are much easier to understand.
Historically, backup and disaster recovery have been sufficient for most organizations. To recover from a brief interruption
caused by accidentally deleted files, server
outages, or power outages, properly implemented data backups let you easily restore
data. If a catastrophe strikes, involving a
longer-term or more severe interruption,
then you implement and test the effectiveness of your disaster recovery plan. These
strategies make intuitive sense; they help
ensure you can get your data back. The
role of archival storage is less obvious.
center practices. Protecting against the
unexpected is one of the significant roles
of any IT group – and key to keeping your
job and organization intact.
As a result of the evolution of computing, available methods have been adapted
to address new needs. Tape initially served
as a primary storage medium – storing data
that mainframes then accessed, manipulated, and then wrote to tape. As computer
memory and disk became more affordable,
data and computations were completed
online, with tape storing data that was not
kept in memory. This spawned the back-up practices of making copies of data in
case of an interruption and potential data
loss. As computer systems evolved and
were more widely used, larger threats
were taken into account through disaster
recovery planning.
We are now at a point where we have so
much data, with the majority of it unstructured, that an additional data management
strategy is required: archive.
Archive/Backup Terminology
Active Archive;–;Relatively;static;data;that;is;online
and;available;to;any;user;without;requiring;a;restore
process.;The;archive;application’s;policy;defines;how
data;is;tracked;and;when;it;is;moved,;and;how;copies
of;the;data;are;to;be;maintained.
Archive;–;Relatively;static;data;that;is;stored;for;ready
access.
Backup;–;The;creation;of;data;copies;to;ensure
against;lost;copies;of;data;and;brief;interruptions;in
operations.
Data Access Terminology
Archive;–;Retrieve;the;data;that;can;be;accessed
using;the;appropriate;application;;no;extra;restore;step
is;required;(assuming;application;required;to;read;data
is;available)
Back up;–;retrieve;a;back-up;copy,;then;restore
(retrieve;simply;means;having;the;digital;data
available;;no;readability;is;implied;in;this;definition;of
retrieve)
raw research data, and more specifically
to meet e-discovery requirements and to
comply with governmental and organizational regulations. And that’s just the tip of
the iceberg.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
Beyond Standard Operation
and Crisis Management
Archive Steps In
Data is accessed for reasons beyond
daily operations and crisis management.
These reasons span the gamut, from
accessing huge data sets that are made
up of original video and imaging data,
intellectual property, older data for business analytics, and enormous caches of
