Re: Archiving Data Strategies.

Ian,

I've put of replying to this for a couple of weeks now. I see that no one else has replied either, at least to the list.

Archiving data is a rather complex subject.

When data is taken offline and archived, there are a number of things to consider.

• algorithms for archiving.

Your application may already have this built in. If not, you will need to build it yourself. Archiving data with it's dependence on other data is not a simple task. There are 3rd party tools to aid in this. ( don't ask me which, I've never used one. I just know they're available )

• media life

How long will the archive media survive? Nothing lasts forever. CDROM's have a useful life of about 20 years. ( don't throw away those vinyl LP's! )

Tape lasts 10-15 years.

But that's only part of the problem. Will you have the hardware needed to read the format stored on tape or disk?

Will the hardware still work? What if it breaks? You may not be able to fix it.

• binaries

You better keep versions of the binaries that are current with the archived data. Programs change over time. You won't be able to read 10 year old data with your current software.

• data structures

These are static. Do you think that you'll be able to load 10 year old data into your current data structures? Probably not.

• legal requirements

Are you legally required to keep records for a period of time? Accounting data for the last 7 years ( at least ) is usually needed for audits. Medical records must often be available for 15 years.

• cost

It's probably less expensive to leave your data online.

---

As for as I'm concerned, data that has been archived is lost.

Even if you do due diligence in all of the requisite areas,  the 
chances of every seeing data are greatly reduced with time
once it's archived and deleted from an online system.

I just bought a very interesting book yesterday, "DARK AGES II - When
The Digital Data Die"

It's theme is the longevity of digital data.  I'll post more when I've 
read it.

Jared








"Biddell, Ian" <Ian.Biddell_at_COMPAQ.com>
Sent by: root_at_fatcity.com
03/27/02 01:53 AM
Please respond to ORACLE-L

 
        To:     Multiple recipients of list ORACLE-L <ORACLE-L_at_fatcity.com>
        cc: 
        Subject:        Archiving Data Strategies.


Hi All,

I previously posted this question to the Lazydba List and got a couple
of replies, but thought I would also send it to this list as well to see
if I can just get a couple more (so excuses to those people that have
already seen it)

I am currently discussing with a customer their requirements for
archiving data as their system is 4 years old and billing data is piling
up which obviously is affecting performance. I am pushing for an Oracle
upgrade, they are currently on 7.3.4 and I am trying to get them to go
to 9i. The main reason for this is so they can use partitioning.

My question to the List is to try and find out other people's
experiences in archiving complex and integral data and whether most have
gone the partitioning path or some other path (ie. Something like
separate tables and data migration).

So I would appreciate anyones comments, the path they chose, database
size etc. 

With Thanks
Ian Biddell
-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
-- 
Author: Biddell, Ian
  INET: Ian.Biddell_at_COMPAQ.com

Fat City Network Services    -- (858) 538-5051  FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California        -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from).  You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).



-- 
Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com
-- 
Author: 
  INET: Jared.Still_at_radisys.com

Fat City Network Services    -- (858) 538-5051  FAX: (858) 538-5051
San Diego, California        -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists
--------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from).  You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).