Chapter 17 — Backup, Archive, and Retention

17.1 The Difference Between Backup and Archive, as Seen in Chapter 2

In Chapter 2, we already organized the difference between Backup and Archive.

Whereas Backup's purpose is "returning to the original state when needed," Archive's main purpose is retaining something for a long period so that it can be referenced and used when needed in the future.

Also, Backup and Archive can use the same storage technology or the same form of copy. For that reason, it can be hard to tell them apart by appearance alone. But if the purpose and the way it is managed differ, it needs to be treated as a different thing. This, too, is exactly as we already saw in Chapter 2.

This chapter digs further into this difference, organizing the substance of the idea of Archive and the idea of Retention.

In Chapter 2, we said: "The relationship between Archive and long-term retention required by law or regulation is not covered in this chapter. It is taken up again in a later chapter." This chapter, too, does not go into content related to law or regulation. That is covered again in Chapter 18.

17.2 Keeping Something Long Does Not Make It an Archive

In Chapter 2, we organized the following:

Just because something has been stored for a long time does not automatically make it an Archive.

This idea does not change in this chapter.

Judging "it's data from years ago, so it's an Archive" is not sufficient on its own. The length of the storage period alone does not determine the distinction between Backup and Archive.

What determines the distinction is the purpose for which it is stored, and the approach taken to managing that data. Even data that has been stored for a similarly long period may still be treated as part of Backup, if it is being managed as "a reserve for recovery." Conversely, if the purpose is clearly "for future reference or record-keeping" and it is managed accordingly, it may be treated as an Archive.

In other words, what is asked is not the length of the period, but for what purpose, and how, it is being retained and managed.

17.3 Archive and Lifecycle Management

So what, concretely, does it mean to manage something as an Archive?

Archiving involves not just long-term retention, but can also support the lifecycle management of information. This is the idea of managing, as one continuous flow, everything from a piece of data's creation to how it is ultimately handled.

Within this flow, Archive can support elements such as record search, data discovery, and retention and disposition, according to an organization's requirements.

There is a point to note here, however. Not every Archive necessarily has the same search capability. Also, being treated as an Archive does not, by itself, mean it automatically satisfies legal requirements, has the character of evidence, or is in an unalterable state. These are each properties that need to be confirmed separately.

17.4 What Search / Discovery Is For

Let's think a little further about record search and data discovery, which came up in the discussion of Archive supporting lifecycle management.

For information retained over a long period to actually be referenced and used in the future, whether the needed information can later be searched for and found is also an important perspective.

For that reason, in the context of Archive, being able to later search for and find needed information can be treated as an important consideration.

However, this does not mean "an Archive always comes with search capability." How easy something is to search for and find depends on the actual mechanism used to manage it. Simply being stored in searchable storage does not, by itself, mean it can automatically be called an Archive. Whether the storage destination is searchable, and whether it is treated as an Archive with the purpose of long-term retention and management, are separate matters.

17.5 Considering Disposition as Well as Retention

Archive is sometimes given the image of "something you keep no matter what."

However, an Archive's lifecycle management can include not only retention, but also disposition.

Archive should not be taught as "something that keeps everything forever." How disposition is handled can also be part of lifecycle management.

The retention discussed in Chapters 1 and 3, in the context of Backup / Recovery Window, and the Archive retention/disposition covered here, are related but are not the same perspective.

Here, this chapter does not cover concrete retention periods based on law or regulation, or disposal obligations. Content such as retention periods required by specific statutes, legal retention obligations (legal hold), privacy-related deletion requirements, and contractual deletion conditions are covered again in Chapter 18. What we want to hold onto in this chapter is the point that an Archive's lifecycle management can include not just retention, but also disposition.

17.6 Using the Same Storage Does Not Make It the Same Thing

As we also saw in Chapter 2, Backup and Archive can use the same storage technology or the same form of copy.

Let's confirm this point again in this chapter.

The storage used for Backup and the storage used for Archive can, technically, use the same underlying mechanism. The same media, or the same form of copy, can be used for both Backup and Archive.

However, the implementations overlapping does not mean that the purpose or management model of Backup and Archive is the same.

Even where the technical implementation is similar, if what they are retained for and how they are managed differ, they need to be treated as separate things.

Let's also confirm one point here regarding the Immutable (unalterable) protection we saw in Chapter 8. Simply being stored in Immutable storage does not automatically make something an Archive. The property of being Immutable concerns protection against change or deletion, and is a separate perspective from the purpose or management model of being an Archive.

17.7 Not Treating a Vendor's Archive Label as a General Definition

Finally, there is one more point worth noting.

A particular product or service may have a feature with a name such as "Archive tier," "Archive mode," or "cold/archive storage."

As also touched on in Chapter 2, the mere fact that a particular product has something named an "archive mode" or "archive storage" does not make that the general definition of Archive itself. A product-specific feature name and the concept of Archive itself need to be considered separately.

Just because you are using a feature named "Archive" in a given product does not necessarily mean, by itself, that it satisfies all of the general properties of Archive covered in this chapter (lifecycle management, search/discovery, retention/disposition, and so on).

Confirm again that a product name or a storage tier name is a label representing that product's specific feature, not something that defines the whole concept of Archive.

17.8 Summary

This chapter dug further into the difference between Backup and Archive covered in Chapter 2, and organized Archive's lifecycle management and the idea of Retention.

The important points are these:

• Just because something has been stored for a long time does not automatically make it an Archive. What matters is for what purpose, and how, it is retained and managed.
• Archive can support information lifecycle management, record search/data discovery, and retention/disposition, according to an organization's requirements. However, these properties are not automatically present in every Archive.
• Archive should not be thought of as "something that keeps everything forever." Disposition, as well as retention, can be part of lifecycle management.
• Backup and Archive using the same storage technology or media does not, by itself, mean their purpose or management model is the same. Immutable protection is also a separate perspective from Archive's purpose or management model.
• A product's "Archive" feature name or storage tier name is not a general definition of the whole concept of Archive.
• Concrete retention periods based on law or regulation, legal hold, privacy-related deletion, and contractual deletion conditions are not covered in this chapter. They are covered in Chapter 18.

Representative Perspectives to Confirm in This Chapter

Let's organize what we've covered so far into a simple table.

This table is one guide from this book, organizing the difference in what is emphasized between Backup and Archive; it does not show a universal property that necessarily applies to one or the other. Which properties actually apply depends on the implementation and the organization's management approach.

Questions to Consider After Reading Chapter 17

Thinking about the systems or data you are responsible for, can you answer the following questions?

1. Why can something not be called an Archive simply because "it has been stored for a long time"?
2. Besides retention, what else can be included in an Archive's lifecycle management?
3. Why are being stored in searchable storage and being an Archive not the same thing?
4. Why doesn't a product's name such as "Archive tier" or "Archive mode" constitute a general definition of Archive?
5. Why did this chapter not cover retention periods based on law or regulation?

If there is an item you get stuck on, revisit it by looking not just at the retention period, but at the difference in purpose and management model.