All Archive Data is Not Alike: Page 2 of 3

Since users are accessing this data transparently the
archive system has to be fast enough to retrieve data without the user noticing
a substantial delay. While the archive
doesn't need to be as fast as the primary storage, notice there's no random I/O
to files on the archive; it does have to be able to retrieve this kind of data
with response times in the one second range.

After some additional time -- SEC 17a-4, for example, says data
must be easily retrievable for 2 years but retained for 7 -- transparent access
becomes less important and archive solutions may delete the stubs leaving the
archive's UI and indexing system as the primary access method. Since we've moved from real time access to a
query/response model, the archive solution can take some tens of seconds to
minutes to return the objects requested without serious impact on user
productivity. This second tier of
archive storage also fits the needs of data retained for potential
e-discovery.

Then there's the deep archive that's kept not 7 years but 70
or 700. All footage shot for a TV show
or movie, the as-built blueprints for each plane Boeing builds, the designs an architectural firm or a buildings
department keeps on file, digital X-rays for patients that have been discharged
from the hospital and all the other data that's traditionally stored in
warehouses. Add in scanned images of
historical documents and such that fill miles of shelves in real, as opposed to
business record, archives. This data can be stored on a system that literally
takes minutes (for those digital X-Rays) to hours to retrieve.