About Copies

A copy is a storage volume that receives data (reports or documents) when it is archived in the system. Each volume in the Monarch Server system is either a First Copy or a Second Copy volume. When you assign a storage volume to a storage group, you must specify the copy number of the volume (either 1 or 2).

The first volume you add to the Monarch Server system should be designated a First Copy volume. This First Copy volume, which should reside on a mass storage device, is where the compressed report files that are archived in the system are initially written to. Subsequent volumes (that is, Second Copy volumes) may reside on any kind of storage medium, and can be used for data redundancy and long-term archival purposes. When performing document retrievals, the data on a First Copy volume will be accessed before the data on a Second Copy volume.

First Copy Volume

If the data is to be accessed frequently, you may choose to continue to retain the First Copy volume until data retrieval requirements subside. As reports are filed to this location, they are maintained in sub-volumes according to the specified sub-volume size. You may specify more than one First Copy volume. The first First Copy volume in the list will be used until it is full. Then the second First Copy volume will be used, etc.

NOTE: Data should not be moved or copied to a Second Copy volume until you are sure it is "error-free", as data in a Second Copy volume cannot be removed from the system.

Second Copy Volume

A Second Copy volume is a storage location where reports are archived for long-term storage. Typically, this is an optical storage device (for example, CD-ROMs, CD-ROM drive, etc.). If you don't specify a Second Copy volume, data remains in a First Copy volume indefinitely.

In practice, the way it works is this: A report is filed into a First Copy volume for temporary storage. If there was an error in a report or the archive process, the data can be deleted from the First Copy volume. Once the data has been determined to be correct (and/or once the retrieval demand for it decreases enough), it can be copied or moved to a Second Copy volume.

 

NOTE: Once data has been moved or copied to a Second Copy volume, it cannot be deleted from the system.

There are two ways, via maintenance tasks, to permanently archive data in a Second Copy volume:

  1. Copy 1 to 2 maintenance task: Copies the data to a Second Copy volume, but retains it in a First Copy volume.

  2. Move maintenance task: Moves the data from a First Copy volume to a Second Copy volume. After that it is possible to delete the First Copy volume (First Copy volumes can only be deleted if they are empty, that is, if they contain no data). The Second Copy volume will be used for all subsequent retrievals.

 

NOTE: If data that has been moved to a Second Copy volume needs to be accessed frequently again, the data could be copied back to mass storage for faster retrievals.


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