Data archive overview
The archive feature of BMC Helix Innovation Suite provides a convenient way to periodically store data, excluding definitions, from a form to an archive form. Archiving applies to all types of forms except Display-only forms, Vendor forms, and Join forms.
In BMC Helix Innovation Suite, as a developer, you can periodically archive obsolete records from your production database.
The following video gives you an overview of data archiving:
Archiving provides the following benefits:
- Makes searching quicker by reducing the amount of data accessed during searches on the main form.
- Improves system performance and enables data retention.
- Helps manage the production system efficiently and utilize the available infrastructure and resources optimally.
- Reduces the database size by periodically extracting archived data.
Archive is enabled on the main form and data is read from this form. The archive form is the form to which data is copied. When you archive the main form, you must also archive the related forms. To provide the ability for archiving related data, you can create explicit associations between forms in the Developer Studio. For more information, see Configuring-data-archiving-associations-for-related-forms.
Related topics
The following image displays the concept of archiving in AR System:
AR System does not support archiving if you have a read-only database. For more information about using read-only databases, see Using a read-only database.
The following table describes the key features of archiving in AR System:
Features/capability of archiving | Description |
|---|---|
AR System Archive Policy form | Forms manage archive definitions. For information about the characteristics of an archive form, see Archive form characteristics. |
AR System Archive Manager console | Displays the values from the archive definition, so the user can override or accept those values. You can also export and delete your archived data directly from your application using the AR System Archive Manager console. For more information, see Managing-the-archiving-process. |
Archive eligibility | The Age Qualification parameter in the archive definition specifies that the records should be archived when they have reached a specific age. Changing this value enables you to control how long each record type remains in the production database based on the needs of your organization. The definition includes the field on the form that is used to determine the record’s age, and the age in number of days after which records should be archived. You can set this definition on the archive panel for each form. For more information, see Configuring-data-archiving-for-a-form. |
Archiving associated records | The form definition includes a list of associations that is followed when an entry on the form is archived. The associated records in other forms are archived with the original entry in a single transaction so that a parent and all of its related child records can be archived together. For more information about understanding associations, see Associations-overview. Indirect associations with Many-to-Many cardinality cannot be followed for archiving. Even if you select those associations, they will be ignored during the archiving process. |
Include in archive policy | The Include In Archive Policy flag indicates that an archive should be exposed in the Archive Manager console and its records are examined at the scheduled interval. Set the flag for definitions that describe the entries that will not be archived through associations from other entries. If a form contains some records that are archived because they are associated with other records, the form definition should include a qualifier that applies only to the other unassociated records in the form. If records in a form are archived only because they are associated with other records, do not set the Include In Archive Policy flag. When records in the form are archived because they are associated with other records, the qualification in the form’s archive definition is ignored. |
Archive interval | This value determines the frequency of archiving the data. The archive interval value is a global setting and is applied to all records. Archive interval value cannot be configured for individual forms. For information about configuring an archive schedule, see Setting-a-global-archive-interval-for-forms. |
Performing data operations with an AR_ARCHIVER user | The AR System has a special user called AR_ARCHIVER to perform data operations such as copying data to the Archive form and deleting data from the source form. If you run a filter log file, you can see this entry in the log file. The AR System also reserves an internal thread for archiving. |