Near-Line Storage Keeps Static Data Available – SAP NetWeaver Magazine
By Michael Hahne
Near-line components allow the data warehouse to scale cost-effectively to hold many TB — even petabytes (PB) — of accessible data. However, near-line data storage doesn’t necessarily replace archival storage. For one thing, it may not qualify as a compliance-certified “point of record” creation for original data (see “Meeting Compliance Regulations” below). In some cases, the data stored in near-line storage is not in its original form, but is a representation or transformation of the original data. You still need archival, certified storage to keep the originals and to guarantee the retention of old data that you’re unlikely to ever require for reporting or analysis again. In these cases, it’s appropriate — and may be less expensive — to use archival storage instead of near-line storage.