The Big Picture of Archiving and Purging

As time passes, the amount of data stored in the production database grows. Some tables can become very large and retain seldom-accessed data in the production database. Extremely large volumes of data may impede system performance.

In order to reduce the amount of raw data stored in the production database, a subset of records in the production database can be moved to an archive database, or a purged from the system.

Archiving and purging keeps the volume of data in the production database at a manageable level without compromising the system's ability to perform normal operations.

Note: Production Environment. This document makes many references to the production environment. It is quite possible to archive and purge non-production data, but for the sake of clarity, this document refers to "production" in place of any source environment for archive or purge.

CAUTION:

There are currently no sample processes for restoring archived data. Please make sure you are very familiar with the Archive Engine and sample archive procedures before attempting to archive production data.