Archiving provides a method of saving disk space by saving infrequently
used objects to media, then removing them from the disk. During the archive
operation, the disk storage on the system is freed, thus allowing you to store
more vital data in that disk space.
You have the benefit of retaining this data, but without an impact to the
storage capacity of your primary disk space. BRMS tracks the information associated
with the objects that you archive.
Note: To use archive capabilities within BRMS, you must install the Advanced
feature to BRMS (5722-BR1 Option 2).
There are two concepts related to archiving: storage freed objects and
dynamic retrieval of those objects.
- Storage freed objects
- Archiving saves objects, then deletes those objects or just the content
of that object. When you archive objects that can be storage
freed, you archive the data associated with the object to alternate media,
but the object's description remains on the system. This description uses
very little space and acts as a placeholder in the event that the object data
needs to be retrieved. Only certain objects can have their data storage freed.
They include: Database files, source files, stream files, and document library
objects (DLOs).
- Dynamic retrieval of storage freed objects
- Dynamic retrieval of storage freed objects provides a way to access archived
objects. When you need to use a storage freed object, such as a database file,
BRMS locates and restores that object's data dynamically, using the description
stored on the system. See Set dynamic retrieval of storage freed objects for
details on how to use dynamic retrieval.
With BRMS, you can manage archives by creating an
archive policy.
Unlike backup policies, archive policies save objects that are used infrequently,
but may need to be accessed for later use if needed. The saved objects are
removed from the system. For example, you may have legacy customer information
stored in a database and you want to free disk space by archiving this data
to media. Another difference between backup and archive is the difference
between restore and retrieve. In general, objects saved as part of a backup
policy are recovered from the save media. Archived objects are retrieved from
the media and then after they are used can be re-archived back to the media.
Note: Objects
that are saved using an archive policy are not included in the system disaster
recovery report.