“We’ve got a backup of the database … that’s all we need as an archive”
Err, no. A backup of a database is without doubt a complete and accurate copy of an application’s data. However:
- It has a limited shelf life. There will come a time when the database version is no longer supported for security reasons. Restoring to higher versions of the database may not be 100% accurate.
- Don’t assume the database vendor will still exist – there may not be a current version of the database to restore to.
- Reporting isn’t possible without first restoring the database.
Conclusion
Yay! Finally a short post!!!
Keeping database backups rather than following an archiving process is a quick and cheap method of data storage. If your retention periods are short it can be a cost effective method of storing data if you don’t expect to report against it, but for longer retention periods (3+ years) the increasing risks of issues when restoring the data means it is not recommended.
