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AskSQLTeam
Ask SQLTeam Question
0 Posts |
 Posted - 2002-04-12 : 09:06:36
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| Debbie writes "When a sql server database gets to a certain size we need to be able to offload the data to a cd/dvd in a format that we can still use in 30 years. The data may need to be called back occasionally. At which time we would like to dump it into the current database architecture (Sql Server at this time). We are talking about huge amounts of data (up to 9 gig). Has anyone done this, any suggestions on what format to use?" |
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robvolk
Most Valuable Yak
15732 Posts |
Posted - 2002-04-12 : 09:17:28
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| If you really need to maintain data for that long, you should contract with an archiving service. I know that CD's are expected to last about 30 years or so, but it's not worth taking the chance. The archiving service will maintain the data for you, and will ensure the storage media is sound, and properly refreshed when needed. They will probably also have disaster recovery backups made as well. |
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dcschne
Starting Member
3 Posts |
Posted - 2002-04-15 : 10:32:56
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| [quote]If you really need to maintain data for that long, you should contract with an archiving service. I know that CD's are expected to last about 30 years or so, but it's not worth taking the chance. The archiving service will maintain the data for you, and will ensure the storage media is sound, and properly refreshed when needed. They will probably also have disaster recovery backups made as well.Thanks for the info about archiving services.What file format would you recommend dumping the data into so that it can be quickly/easily retrieved now or in the future? |
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robvolk
Most Valuable Yak
15732 Posts |
Posted - 2002-04-15 : 11:33:36
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| I imagine that tab-delimited text will never go out of style, it's been used for at least 20 years now. Comma-separated text is OK too, unless you have commas in your data.You could also try storing the data in XML, but considering how much XML has changed in the 3 years or so it's existed, who knows what it will look like in 30 years? Plus XML will take up more space than a plain text format. The one major advantage that XML has is that you can specify the data type definitions for the file; in case the table definitions are lost, the XML data is self-describing. |
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dcschne
Starting Member
3 Posts |
Posted - 2002-04-15 : 13:57:20
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| Do you know if there is any limit to the size of a csv file or if there is a limit where the size of the CSV file becomes unmanageable?Thanks for your help. |
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Archiving Data from SQL to CD/DVD & Retrieving it