Archival
Definition
Long-term, cost-optimized storage for data that is rarely accessed but must be retained — typically for compliance, legal, or historical purposes.
Use Cases
- Netflix: Long-term storage of media assets — Netflix uses AWS S3 Glacier to store older video content that is not frequently accessed but must be retained for future use. (Reduced storage costs significantly while maintaining compliance with data retention policies.)
Provider Equivalents
- AWS: Amazon S3 Glacier
- Azure: Azure Blob Storage Archive Tier
- GCP: Google Cloud Storage Archive
- OCI: OCI Archive Storage
Frequently Asked Questions
- What's the difference between Archival and Backup?
- Archival is for long-term storage of data that is rarely accessed, while Backup is for creating copies of data to protect against data loss.
- When should I use Archival?
- Use Archival for data that you need to retain for compliance or historical reasons but do not need to access frequently.
- How much does Archival cost?
- Archival costs are generally lower than standard storage due to reduced access frequency. Costs depend on data size, retrieval frequency, and provider pricing.
Category: storage
Difficulty: basic
Related Terms
See Also