S 4.171 Protection of the integrity of the archive system index database

Initiation responsibility: Head of IT

Implementation responsibility: Administrator, Head of IT

The index database is particularly important in order for the archive system to work properly. It contains the references to all archived documents. Missing or damaged entries in the index database may mean that archived documents cannot be found and assigned to business processes at all or only with great effort.

Therefore, the integrity of the index database must be ensured and verifiable in order to properly operate the archive. The following recommendations must be taken into consideration in order to secure the integrity:

Redundant storage of the index entries

Depending on the size of the archive, the following grading must be designed:

For small archives with low data volumes and low requirements regarding the response times, it is sufficient to backup the data of the index database at daily intervals. Data backup should be performed according to module S 1.4 Data backup policy.

For archives with high data volumes and high requirements regarding the response time, the index database itself should be designed redundantly, i.e. mirrored. Daily data backup must be performed additionally here as well. The mirrored sub-databases should be located in different fire zones.

Regular integrity checking

The index data should be checked regularly (at least weekly; for larger archives, daily) for consistency and integrity. All documents referenced in the index database must be found on the archiving media. Integrity violations must be documented and remedied promptly.

Furthermore, it should be checked at regular intervals (e.g. monthly) whether the data backups of the index database can be read and re-used. In the event of redundant databases, it should be checked whether the transfer of functions works properly when one part fails.

All results of the regular integrity check should also be archived so that changes to the data can be comprehended at a later point in time.

Review questions:

• Is the integrity of the index database of archive systems ensured and can it be verified?
• Are regular data backups of the index database of the archive system performed?
• Are there regular checks as to whether the data backups of the index database can be restored?
• Is the index database designed redundantly for medium and large archives?
• Are the mirrored database shares located in different fire zones for archives with high data volumes?