Archiving data

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Date:

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Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Which best describes archiving data?

A Moving data no longer in everyday use to long-term storage so it can be retrieved later

B Making a copy of current data so it can be restored after a failure

2. A school finishes a project and moves its survey files to long-term storage. The files are no longer used day to day. What is this?

A A differential backup

B Archiving

3. Which is the main purpose of a backup, compared with an archive?

A A backup lets you recover current data after loss or corruption

B A backup stores old data you no longer need for years

4. What is a retention period?

A The time it takes to copy data onto a storage device

B The length of time archived data must be kept before it can be disposed of

5. A company must keep financial records for 7 years. After 7 years the archive should be:

A Reviewed and securely disposed of if no longer needed

B Kept forever in case it is useful one day

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1archive		AThe set length of time archived data must be kept before it can be securely destroyed
2retention period		BThis describes a backup, not an archive. An archive moves data no longer in everyday use to long-term storage.
3An archive moves old data off the live system, while a backup keeps a copy of current data for recovery		CMoving data no longer in everyday use to long-term storage so it can be kept safely and retrieved later
4An archive should be labelled with its contents, date archived and retention period so it can be found later		Darchive = move; backup = copy
5Archive = a second copy of today's live data, kept in case the system fails		EThe archive is not labelled with its contents, date or retention period, so it cannot be found or safely destroyed later.
6Archive_final_NEW (no date, no retention period, stored in an unmarked box)		FSales_2019_archived2024_keep7yrs

Definitions

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

______ INTO ordersArchive SELECT * FROM orders WHERE orderDate < '2026-01-01';

______ FROM orders WHERE orderDate < '2026-01-01';

__ dataInUse = FALSE THEN archive(data) ENDIF

deleteDate = archiveDate _ retentionYears

archive._____ = "Sales2022" archive.location = "Offsite vault"

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A IF age < 2 years THEN

B MOVE file TO archive

C SET retention ← 7 years

D END IF

Question 2

A SET type ← archive

B SET original ← kept live

C SET purpose ← long-term keep

Question 3

A SET keepFor ← 0 years

B SET archived ← 2025-06-30

C SET end ← archived + keepFor

Question 4

A SET label.name ← 'Sales2020'

B SET label.date ← 2025-06-30

C SET label.until ← 2020-06-30

D STORE archive WITH label

Question 5

A MOVE oldFiles TO archiveDrive

B LEAVE archiveDrive on desk

C STORE safe offsite

Answer Key

Archiving data

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Moving data no longer in everyday use to long-term storage so it can be retrieved later

B — Archiving

A — A backup lets you recover current data after loss or corruption

B — The length of time archived data must be kept before it can be disposed of

A — Reviewed and securely disposed of if no longer needed

Section B: Match the Pairs

archive → Moving data no longer in everyday use to long-term storage so it can be kept safely and retrieved later

retention period → The set length of time archived data must be kept before it can be securely destroyed

An archive moves old data off the live system, while a backup keeps a copy of current data for recovery → archive = move; backup = copy

An archive should be labelled with its contents, date archived and retention period so it can be found later → Sales_2019_archived2024_keep7yrs

Archive = a second copy of today's live data, kept in case the system fails → This describes a backup, not an archive. An archive moves data no longer in everyday use to long-term storage.

Archive_final_NEW (no date, no retention period, stored in an unmarked box) → The archive is not labelled with its contents, date or retention period, so it cannot be found or safely destroyed later.

Section C: Definitions

archive — Moving data no longer in everyday use to long-term storage so it is kept safely for a set retention period and can be retrieved later. It is not the same as a backup copy.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

INSERT INTO ordersArchive
SELECT * FROM orders
WHERE orderDate < '2026-01-01';

DELETE FROM orders
WHERE orderDate < '2026-01-01';

IF dataInUse = FALSE THEN
  archive(data)
ENDIF

deleteDate = archiveDate + retentionYears

archive.label = "Sales2022"
archive.location = "Offsite vault"

Section E: Spot the Error

A — Archiving is for data no longer in everyday use, which means older data. The test should be age > 2 years. Using < would archive recent files that people still use.

B — Archiving moves data out of the live system to long-term storage. The original is removed, not left in use. A backup is the one that keeps the original in place.

A — An archive is kept for a set retention period. A retention period of 0 years means there is no retention, so the end date would be the same as the archive date. It should be a real period such as 7 years.

C — The label records how long to keep the archive. The keep-until date must come after the archive date of 2025-06-30. With a 7-year retention period it should be 2032-06-30.

B — Archives must be stored securely so they are kept safely for the whole retention period. Leaving the drive on a desk risks theft or damage. It should be locked in a safe.