Simple definition
Archive storage retains infrequently accessed data at lower cost, with retrieval speed and charges depending on the storage class.
Purpose and use
Archive storage retains rarely accessed data according to retention, protection and cost objectives.
How does it work?
Some offerings require retrieval before reading; archive classes do not all have the same access latency.
Example and verification
Test retrieval of a representative dataset with its metadata and measure actual elapsed time.
Points to watch
Long retention does not guarantee immutability, independent backup or immediate access.
In short
An archive’s value depends on both preservation and successful retrieval.