Plan Archive Strategy

Plan your Archive strategy to determine what content to archive, when to archive it, and how to manage the process effectively. This planning phase is critical for successful Archive implementation.

Decide what to archive

1. Identify candidate content for archiving:

   • Old versions: Files beyond a retention threshold (e.g., keep last 2-3 versions active)
   • Completed projects: Released or Obsolete designs older than specified months or years
   • Large binaries: Visualization and simulation outputs after project closeout
   • Inactive data: Files that have not been accessed for extended periods

2. Define content exclusions:

   • Current or latest versions under active development
   • Files under change in Work in Progress states
   • Content with legal holds, export controls, or project SLAs requiring hot storage
   • Files needed for ongoing operations or compliance

Plan space management and impact

1. Estimate reclaimable space:

   • Analyze version counts and file sizes in your vault
   • Calculate potential storage savings from archiving
   • Plan for cumulative growth on archive storage over time

2. Schedule archive processing:

   • Target off-peak windows for archive processing
   • Minimize user impact during archive operations
   • Consider network bandwidth requirements for batch moves

3. Prepare user communication:

   • Educate users on the archive indicator in the Vault interface
   • Explain what happens when files are archived
   • Provide training on accessing archived content

Create archive policy templates

1. Policy A: Released Parts - Archive after 24 months:

   • Scope: File category = Part; Lifecycle = Released; Last modified > 24 months
   • Retention: 7 years; Deletion on expiry = No (manual review)
   • Schedule: Weekly, Sunday 01:00–05:00

2. Policy B: Obsolete Assemblies - Immediate archive:

   • Scope: Category = Assembly; Lifecycle = Obsolete
   • Retention: 10 years; Deletion on expiry = Yes (if no legal hold)
   • Schedule: Nightly

3. Policy C: Simulation Results - Post-project:

   • Scope: Category = Analysis/Sim; Property Project Status = Closed
   • Retention: 2 years; Deletion on expiry = Yes
   • Schedule: On-demand after project closeout

Complete decision checklist

1. Content qualification:

   • What content qualifies by category, lifecycle, age, and properties?
   • What retention applies and who approves it?
   • Which storage target(s) and capacity plan?

2. Operational planning:

   • When does the server task run, and who monitors it?
   • What metrics define success (storage reclaimed, SLA, recovery time)?
   • How are backups and DR for archive storage handled?

3. Risk management:

   • What are the risks of archiving specific content?
   • How will you handle requests to restore archived content?
   • What happens if archive storage becomes unavailable?

Document your strategy

1. Create comprehensive documentation that includes:

   • Archive policies and criteria
   • Storage targets and capacity planning
   • User communication and training plans
   • Monitoring and maintenance procedures
   • Disaster recovery considerations

2. Review and approve the strategy with stakeholders:

   • IT administrators
   • Project managers
   • Legal and compliance teams
   • End users who will be affected

3. Establish regular review cycles to update the strategy as your organization's needs change