Data Backup Vs. Data Archiving – Know the Key Differences

Ok, so here we have the two most important terms which are commonly used within the data storage industry. But many people do not know the basic difference between the two.

Difference between Data Backup and Data Archiving — Difference between **Data Backup** and **Data Archiving**

Therefore, after having gone through the article key differences between data backup and data archiving, I have made this table to sum up the key differences between the two concepts and to aid the readers in having a holistic view of both.

	Data Backup	Data Archiving
Definition	Data stored on storage media for recovery purposes in case the original data is lost	Data is stored on storage media along with meta data for long time retention
Data Storage	Stores both active and inactive data	Stores inactive data only
Storage Media	Backup Tapes, Hard Drives, Cloud etc	Backup Tapes, Hard Drives
Data Duplication	Production data is usually stored on two locations; 1) the original location 2) Backup location	Data is stored on only one location which is data archiving location e.g. it’s like shifting your inactive data to other storage media
Data Recovery	If production data is lost, it can be recovered from the backup location	If the archived data is lost then it’s gone forever
Data Access	Data is stored in big blocks so larger data can be recovered when backup is triggered. However, the access is bit slower i.e. volume data recovery means a server or computer system recovery along with all the applications	Enterprise based individual data is stored and it is rather easier to access data from archives because the data being archived is very simple e.g. files, databases, emails
Disaster Recovery Protection	Once data is backed up then IT people makes another copy of the backed up data and send it offsite to enhance the protection – It’s a common practice	DR strategy is very different from the traditional one under this. Many customers use replication function embedded in the archive system in order to protect the archive data for DR. But this tend to be a costly approach compared to the tradition DRs in backup system

Recapitulating, it is very important to know the jargon and terminologies of your respective industry in order to make sound decisions. Data backup and data archiving though stores data on the storage media but due to the difference in their respective natures; our decision making can be substantially affected. Therefore, knowing the basic and key differences between the two is very important.

Lastly, you can get the best of backup tapes and hard drives from ODSI UK at cost effective rates to serve the both, data backup and archiving, purposes.