Data lifecycle management (DLM) is the process of managing the creation, storage, usage, and disposal of data in an organization. One of the key aspects of DLM is ensuring the availability and integrity of data through backup and archive strategies. In this article, you will learn how to backup and archive data in DLM, what are the benefits and challenges, and what are some best practices to follow.
Backup and archive are often used interchangeably, but they have different purposes and characteristics. Backup is the process of creating a copy of data that can be used to restore the original data in case of loss, corruption, or disaster. Archive is the process of moving data that is no longer needed for operational purposes to a separate storage location for long-term retention and compliance. Backup data is usually stored on faster and more expensive media, such as disks or tapes, while archive data is usually stored on slower and cheaper media, such as cloud or optical disks.
Identify the data that needs to be backed up and archived. This includes data that is critical to your business operations, as well as data that needs to be retained for compliance or other reasons. Choose the right backup and archive solutions. There are a variety of backup and archive solutions available, including on-premises, cloud-based, and hybrid solutions. Consider your specific needs and budget when choosing a solution. Implement your backup and archive strategy. This includes setting up backup schedules, configuring retention policies, and testing your backups regularly.
Backup and archive methods vary in terms of frequency, scope, and performance. Full backups are complete copies of all data in a system or dataset, while incremental backups are copies of only the data that has changed since the last backup. Differential backups are copies of only the data that has changed since the last full backup. Manual archives are user-initiated processes of moving data from primary storage to archive storage, based on criteria or policies. Automatic archives are system-initiated processes of moving data from primary storage to archive storage, based on rules or schedules. Hybrid archives combine manual and automatic archive, allowing users to override or modify the system's decisions.
Archive also have different types: offline and online. Desired type depends on the purpose of archive i.e online archive just moves the files to cheaper and deeper media basis of defined policy in terms of age or file type,however, file system remains intact or in other words files are still online from end user perspective and they can access anytime without knowing its location. While on the other hand offline archive just moves the files to another media and files are no more accessible by end users unless they ask storage or backup admins to restore those files to original location to make it accessible. Type of archive also affects the cost of solution and one should carefully determine the use case before choosing b/w two methods.
Backup and archive offer several advantages for DLM, including enhanced data security and recovery, optimized data storage and performance, and compliance with data regulations and standards. Backup and archive provide protection against data loss, corruption, or theft, while reducing the amount of data on the primary storage. This improves storage efficiency and performance, as well as lowers storage costs. Furthermore, backup and archive help to meet the legal and ethical requirements for data retention and disposal, such as GDPR, HIPAA, or ISO.
Backup and archive present some challenges for DLM, such as managing data growth and complexity. This requires more storage space, bandwidth, and processing power. Additionally, there is a need to balance data accessibility and availability while ensuring the data is secure and protected from unauthorized access or modification. Furthermore, backup and archive need to support the interoperability and compatibility of data across different platforms and systems, such as cloud, on-premise, or hybrid.
To overcome the challenges and maximize the benefits of backup and archive, it's important to define clear policies and procedures with established goals, objectives, and scope. Additionally, you should select the appropriate methods and tools that suit the data characteristics, needs, and expectations. Furthermore, regular testing and verification of the backup and archive data should be conducted to guarantee accuracy, completeness, consistency, and successful restoration or retrieval when needed.