You might have heard the terms "backup" and "archive" thrown around in the data storage world, but what exactly do they mean? These terms can be confusing, especially for those who are new to data management. In this post, we'll explain the differences between backup and archive and which one is best for each scenario.
Backup
Backup refers to the process of creating a copy of your data to protect against data loss. Backups can be done on a regular schedule, such as daily or weekly, and can be stored on external hard drives or in the cloud.
One of the key features of backup is the ability to restore data quickly in case of data loss due to hardware failure, malware, or accidental deletion. Since backup focuses on protecting the most recent version of your data, older versions are often overwritten by the newer ones unless you have multiple versions of backups.
Archive
Archiving, on the other hand, is the process of moving data that is no longer actively used but still needs to be retained for legal or regulatory reasons, such as tax records, contracts, or intellectual property. Archived data can be compressed and stored on lower-cost storage media, such as tape or optical disks.
Archived data is typically organized and indexed for easy retrieval. Unlike backup, archived data does not get updated regularly and its priority is to maintain it for a long time rather than restoring it quickly in case of data loss.
Which One Do You Need?
Now that you know the difference between backup and archive, you might wonder which one is best for your needs. The following table summarizes the key differences between backup and archive.
| Backup | Archive | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Protect against data loss | Retain data for long term storage |
| Frequency | Regularly scheduled | Infrequently |
| Storage | External or cloud | Tape or optical disks |
| Modification | Overwrites older versions with newer ones | Retains original version |
| Priority | Restore quickly in case of data loss | Maintain for long term retention |
| Retrieval | Fast retrieval of most recent version | Organized and indexed slow retrieval |
If your goal is to protect your data against loss, then you need a backup solution. However, if you must retain the data for a long time without modifying it and need to be able to easily retrieve it later, then archiving might be the better solution.
Keep in mind that backup and archive can compliment each other too. You might have data active enough to be backed up regularly, but also a few years old versions that you want to retain but only for legal and regulatory purposes. In this case, you should have a backup solution for the recent data and an archive solution for the older data.
We hope this post helped you understand the differences between backup and archive. By knowing which solution is best suited for each scenario, you can better protect and retain your important data in the most efficient way possible.