General
What is Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Archive Storage?
Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Archive Storage is a storage tier ideal for storing long living data that is accessed infrequently. Data stored in Oracle Archive Storage can be accessed using the same interfaces as the Oracle Object Storage (API, SDK, CLI), however unlike Oracle Object Storage, data retrieval is not instantaneous. You need to restore data from the archive storage before it can be read. From the time a restore request is made, it takes at most an hour to read the data. This time is measured as Time To First Byte (TTFB). You can achieve WORM compliance with Oracle Archive Storage by leveraging Retention Rules to manage data access.
What use cases does the Oracle Archive Storage address?
Oracle Archive Storage addresses the following use cases:
Backup/Archive:
Backup/archive data often needs to be stored for a extended duration to adhere to various compliance mandates. Once created, this backup/archive data is rarely accessed. Archive Storage is the appropriate tier to store this data.
Log Data:
You may need to preserve your application log data to retroactively analyze this data to determine usage pattern and/or debug issues. Because log data is typically not accessed unless required, the Archive Storage tier provides a cost efficient way to preserve and store this data.
Content Preservation:
Preserving a large amount of rich media content (images, videos, etc.) on traditional storage can get expensive quickly. If you have content that you need to preserve, but do not access that content frequently, Archive Storage is the perfect tier to store this data.
Very Large Data Sets:
If your applications generate a large amount of data (genome data, pharmaceutical trials data, IOT data, etc.) that needs to be preserved for future use, Archive Storage is the appropriate tier to store this data. The inherent cost efficiency of Archive Storage offsets the long lead time required to access the data.
How are the Oracle Object Storage and Archive Storage tiers differentiated?
*If you delete data from Archive Storage before the minimum retention requirements are met, you are charged a deletion penalty. The deletion penalty is the prorated cost of storing the data for the full 90 days.
Object Storage
Archive Storage
Minimum Duration to Store Objects
N/A
90 Days
Storage Cost
US$0.0255 / GB (First 10 GB/month free)
US$0.0026 / GB* (First 10 GB/month free)
Request Cost
US$0.0034 / 10K Requests
US$0.0034 / 10K Requests
Bandwidth Cost
US$0.0085 / GB (First 10 TB/month free)
US$0.0085 / GB (First 10 TB/month free)
How do I choose the storage tier I want to store my data on?
The storage tier is expressed as a property of the bucket when the bucket is created. By default, all new objects inherit the storage property of the bucket. Once set, the bucket storage property cannot be modified. An existing standard Object Storage bucket cannot be downgraded to Archive Storage tier and an Archive Storage bucket cannot be upgraded to the standard Object Storage tier.
an I apply the storage tier property to specific objects in a bucket instead of the entire bucket?
No, the storage tier property cannot be applied to a specific object or an object group. Storage tiers can only be expressed as a property of the bucket. All objects automatically inherit the storage tier property of the bucket to which they belong.
Which APIs can I use to manage Archive Storage data?
You use the existing Oracle Object Storage APIs to manage Archive Storage data. In addition, Oracle Archive Storage supports a 'Restore' API to restore the archived data, so that it can be read.
How do I retrieve data from Archive Storage?
To retrieve data from the Archive Storage tier, you first need restore the data to Object Storage. After the data is restored, you have a window of time to download the data.
By default you have 24 hours to download data once it's restored, but you can alternatively specify a download time of from 1 to 240 hours. After the download time expires, the data automatically returns to its previously archived state.
How long does it take to restore data from Archive Storage after a restore request is made?
From the time a restore request is made, it takes at most an hour to read the data. This time is measured as Time To First Byte (TTFB).
Can I customize the duration time for which the restored data is accessible for download on the Object Storage tier?
You can specify a duration time from 1 to 240 hours that the restored data is accessible for download on the Object Storage tier. If you do not explicitly set a duration time, data is available for download for 24 hours by default.
Can I restore archived data, by specifying object prefixes?
No, you cannot restore data by selecting object prefixes.
Can I access archived object's metadata when the object is in its archived state?
Yes, you can always access archived object's metadata, regardless of whether the object is in an archived or restored state.
Is there a minimum size requirement for storing data in the Archive Storage tier?
No, there are no minimum size requirements to store data in the Archive Storage.
Is the Archive Storage tier WORM compliant?
Yes, Oracle Archive Storage is WORM compliant. This is achieved by leveraging Retention Rules to prevent data from being deleted or overwritten. Retention Rules can be locked to prevent rule modification and data deletion or modification even by administrators.
Will the Archive Storage tier match the durability and availability characteristics of the standard Object Storage tier?
Yes, Archive Storage matches the durability and availability characteristics of standard Object Storage.