DataTerminology.comNEW
Relocating infrequently accessed data to durable, low-cost storage for long-term retention and compliance.
DESCRIPTION
Data archival moves data that is rarely accessed to storage optimized for durability and low cost. It preserves records for regulatory, legal, or historical purposes while reducing primary storage expenses. Archival systems often offer immutability (WORM), tamper-evidence, and verified integrity. Retrieval latency is higher, so archival targets non-operational workloads. Policies should define eligibility, retention, and retrieval processes with detailed audit trails.
ALTERNATIVE DEFINITIONS
Amazon Web Services
Amazon S3 Glacier storage classes are purpose-built for data archiving, providing the lowest-cost storage for long-lived data that is rarely accessed.
Emphasizes low-cost, long-term storage optimized for infrequent access.
Microsoft Learn
The Archive access tier has the lowest storage cost and higher data retrieval costs.
Contrasts storage price with retrieval latency for archival tiering.
RELATED TERMS
Cold Storage Data Retention Data Lifecycle Management Records Management Tiered Storage WORM Storage eDiscovery Compression Data Retrieval
COMPETING TERMS
KNOWLEDGE AREAS
Data Storage & Operations Data Management Data Architecture Data Governance
TARGET AUDIENCE
Data Engineer Data Architect Cloud Architect Chief Information Officer Data Steward Data Governance Manager
EXTERNAL SOURCES
- Wikipedia - Archival storage
- AWS - Overview of S3 Glacier archival classes
- Google Cloud - Archive storage class description
TOP QUESTIONS
How does Data Archival differ from Backup?
Backup creates short-term, recoverable copies for operational recovery. Archival stores long-term, rarely accessed records with higher retrieval latency and stricter integrity controls.
Category: Comparison
What data belongs in a Data Archival tier?
Infrequently accessed, high-value records like logs, historical transactions, contracts, and compliance evidence. Active operational datasets generally do not belong.
Category: Scope
What risks exist in Data Archival?
Poor indexing and metadata make retrieval difficult. Inadequate immutability and integrity checks jeopardize compliance and evidentiary value.
Category: Risks
How does WORM storage relate to Data Archival?
Write-Once-Read-Many enforces immutability, protecting archives from tampering or ransomware and supporting regulatory requirements.
Category: Concept
Which metrics matter for Data Archival?
Retrieval times, storage cost per TB, data integrity verification rate, and policy adherence coverage are key metrics.
Category: Measurement
What is a common mistake in Data Archival?
Treating archives like backups, leading to unmet RTO/RPO expectations and unexpected retrieval costs.
Category: Mistakes
How do legal holds affect Data Archival?
Legal holds suspend deletion of archived data until matters conclude, requiring explicit tracking and overrides.
Category: Compliance
How to plan retrieval from archived data?
Define retrieval SLAs, prefetch strategies, and cost alerts. Maintain metadata to locate items quickly.
Category: Planning
Can compressed or deduplicated data be archived?
Yes, compression and deduplication reduce cost, but ensure compatibility with integrity checks and future readability.
Category: Practice