Justifying database archiving
Database archiving vendors find that the justification for their products depends on the problems users want to solve. Although database archiving vendors often present their software as a means of lowering storage costs and starting the information lifecycle management (ILM) process, Adam Gwosdof, CTO at Applimation Inc., finds this message doesn't resonate well with users.
"Users are focused on applications and solving problems related to them," observes Gwosdof. "They could care less about ILM." Instead, he cites improved performance and compliance concerns as the primary motivators driving the implementation of database archiving software.
Lois Hughes, senior business application systems manager at Tektronix Inc., cites performance as the primary driver behind her implementation of OuterBay Technologies Inc.'s LiveArchive product. (OuterBay was acquired by Hewlett-Packard earlier this year. The LiveArchive product is now called Relocater and is part of HP's Reference Information Manager [RIM] for Databases product suite.) The two Oracle databases she managed were 35GB and 85GB. She saw initial space reductions of 48% and 56%, respectively, with corresponding performance improvements of 40% and 52% on the two Sun servers hosting the databases.
Jim Lee, vice president of business and product line management at Princeton Softech Inc., says there are signs that may indicate the need for archiving software. Regularly executed processes that take longer to run each time are a key indicator a database needs attention. Long-running processes may include:
- Daily, weekly or monthly batch jobs
- Monthly or quarterly closing statements
- Backups
- Disaster recovery tests
Another infrequent but problematic process that may indicate a need for database archiving software is the upgrade of a large database from one version release to another. Apps that contain hundreds of gigabytes, or even terabytes, of data can rarely be down for extended periods for admins to perform database upgrades. There's also often precious little time to roll back should the database upgrade go awry. Database archiving software lets admins slim down the database prior to the upgrade, thereby reducing the amount of time needed for the app update.
Removing data from the production database and archiving it to a different set of media also lets organizations meet new compliance requirements such as Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA and SEC 17a. Archiving the data to WORM disk media such as EMC Corp.'s Centera or Network Appliance Inc.'s SnapLock gives users relatively fast retrieval access (10 seconds to 60 seconds) to the data, and stores it in an unalterable format that meets most regulatory requirements. For longer term or offsite requirements, archiving software can be used to store the data on WORM tape or optical media; retrieval times will depend on the type of media and whether it's stored onsite or offsite.
