HP Storage Mirroring V5.1 Software - Manual (Page 100)

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Archiving
Storage Mirroring Archiving Option is an add-on feature of Storage
Mirroring that allows you to archive files on your source. By
archiving files, you can move the contents of a file from the source
to the target leaving only a placeholder file, called a link, on the
source. This link file on the source is a pointer to the full contents of the file located on the target.
When a file is accessed on the source, the full contents are recalled from the target. Archiving files
helps save space on the source. Additionally, in the event of a source failure, archiving files can
minimize the time required to recover from the target back to the source by minimizing the amount
of data to restore (because links can be restored instead of full file contents).
Your Storage Mirroring connections can archive files in your Storage Mirroring replication set based
on the age of files. You can also exclude files from archiving based on size, which is useful for
excluding small files where the archiving benefit would be minimal.
When a file has been archived, the link file is still accessible on the source. The link file has an offline
file attribute associated with it. When an end-user attempts to access the link file, the contents of the
file are recalled from the target back to the source. The file opens to the end-user as if it had always
been fully on the source.
To help you plan archiving and fine-tune your archive settings, you can generate a preview report.
The archiving preview report does not actually archive any data but reports how much data would be
archived based on the settings you select. This preview report is also available for Storage Mirroring
users who do not have an Archiving Option license, to help you see the benefits of Archiving Option.
When restoring a Storage Mirroring connection that has archived files, you can choose to restore the
full content of all files, only link files, or a combination of full and link files The more link files that are
restored, the faster the restoration process will be. The more full files that are restored, the slower
the restoration process will be. This flexibility lets you choose what is best for your situation and
environment.
Source Target
Creates links and
stores full files
Recalls full files when
Mirrors and
replicates full files
In addition to standard mirroring and replication, Storage Mirroring Archiving Option archives
files by creating links to files on the source and storing the full file contents on the target.
a link is accessed
When a link is accessed on the source, the full contents are restored from the target.