What is long-term archiving?
Long-term archiving – methods and risks
When discussing data storage, a distinction must be made between the following two aspects: whereas data backup describes a state in which data is stored for a short- to medium-length period, archiving refers to long-term, secure maintenance on separate data carriers. This process also demands that various rules are observed and complied with – public laws as they apply to the industry as well as in-house corporate guidelines.
Certain conventional archiving methods are associated with serious drawbacks. The provision of suitable hardware, software and personnel as well as suitable areas consume incalculable sums of money for long periods. Besides these costs, compatibility problems with existing archives can give cause for concern during generation changes and entail labour-intensive data consistency checks. Conversion and migration processes must also be carried out regularly.
Data loss = Bankruptcy?
Every year, more than 6% of computers lose data.
Almost a third of all computer users lose ALL of their data at least once.
93% of companies which are not able to access their data for ten or more days after they lose their data go bankrupt within a year. Half of the companies that have to function without their data for this period of time go bankrupt immediately.
The data volume trend – cost of data backup
The volume of data that must be backed up is increasing astronomically, in line with the accelerating pace of digitisation: The need for storage capacity worldwide is growing exponentially. In 2005, this need was satisfied with 130 exabytes (1 exabyte = 1 million terabytes), but by 2010 this volume had grown tenfold. It is expected that by 2015, about 8,500 exabytes will be needed. Forecasts suggest that by 2020, this figure will be close to 40,000 exabytes.
Despite the falling costs of storage per MB, as data carriers become less and less expensive, businesses are finding that their expenses for data backup continue to rise significantly every year.
Popular hardware systems for data backup
The most popular hardware systems can be divided into three storage categories:
Offline systems, which include not only media such as microfilm or microfiche, but also various kinds of tape, do not afford the user direct access to data from his workstation. On the other hand, they do offer cost advantages.
Data on online systems, such as magnetic hard disks or SSDs, is available to the user immediately. It also features very rapid access times. However, costs are considerably higher than with the offline systems.
Nearline systems are storage systems that combine the advantages of the two previous systems. The data is stored on offline data carriers, but is also available to the user directly at any time via an access management system. This storage system has significant cost advantages over online systems, but ultimately offers comparable convenience during operation.
These systems therefore make it possible to archive and retrieve even large data volumes inexpensively. However, in this case it is important to choose the right system.
Data storage on tape
For long-term archiving, tape storage offers tangible advantages over storage on online systems.
Price: It is ten times cheaper to store a gigabyte of data on tape than on HDD or SSD.
Security: The service life of tape media is considerably longer, there are little or no hysteresis losses, and multiple error correction mechanisms can be used.
Environmental protection: Storage does not entail any energy consumption, and the high packing density means that only small quantities of material are required.
Popular tape types
A variety of tape types may be used depending on the requirements profile. The Linear Tape Open (LTO) standard was originally developed as a joint project by IBM, HP and Seagate. Nowadays, all seven generations of the standard are in use by multiple manufacturers. At present, the IBM 3592 series and the Oracle T10000 system are also available on the market as the current product line for mainframe systems.
Current software systems
Most of the software systems on the market are designed for classic data backup, not archiving. Accordingly, they only offer limited functions for restoring data. Moreover, many of the providers are bound to particular manufacturer, so their software can only be used on certain hardware systems.
The solution: Long-term archiving with FUJIFILM Archive Services
In view of all the above, the decision for an efficient, secure archiving strategy is not simple.
With FUJIFILM Archive Services, FUJIFILM has created a solution that is equal to the challenges of the modern world, capable of addressing the various technical and operational problems associated with long-term data archiving:
FUJIFILM Archive Services are the optimum solution for long-term archiving of your corporate data. Key technologies enable access to practically all backup software systems and media in any format – with the following advantages:
FUJIFILM Archive Services are inexpensive!
FUJIFILM Archive Services introduce a streamlined, plannable cost structure into corporate processes. Costs for hardware, software, licence fees, human resources, storage areas, the administrative effort and the scarcely calculable costs of data conversion no longer apply.
FUJIFILM Archive Services are secure!
FUJIFILM Archive Services offer an exceptionally high level of security - from the proven multilevel security concept through to the high security computing centre. FUJIFILM Archive Services are certified to ISO 27001, the leading standard for information security management systems!
FUJIFILM Archive Services are simple!
FUJIFILM Archive Services operate independently of industry and format. Thanks to decades of experience gained within the FUJIFILM group of companies, standardised processing of everything is possible, from 9-track tapes to the 3582 Enterprise tapes and T10000.
Subsequent lengthy conversions and/or migrations and the periodic data security checks that were previously essential are no longer needed. The data can be provided at any time, regardless of the required storage medium, backup software version or format.
The solution is called: FUJIFILM Archive Services!
FUJIFILM Archive Services not only offer significant cost reductions, but also a legally compliant, flexible, future-proof long-term solution for corporate data.
All archive data is reproduced in a clearly organised web portal, where archive data can be consolidated or data recall processes initiated.