Description
Archive Restore Service
To keep long-term storage affordable, backups held beyond our standard retention window are moved into AWS archive storage, a deeply discounted cold tier built for durable, long-term retention. The trade-off is access time. Data in the archive tier cannot be read on demand and must first be retrieved before it can be restored. This service covers that retrieval and the hands-on restoration work that follows, performed and verified by one of our engineers from start to finish.
What’s Included
Archive Retrieval Handled For You
We initiate and manage the retrieval of your data out of the AWS archive tier and monitor the thaw through to completion, so you never have to touch a console or wait on a queue yourself.
Fully Hand-Held Restoration
There is no self-service button for cold storage. Every archive restore is performed manually by a senior engineer who handles the extraction, staging and restoration end to end.
Integrity Verified Before Handover
Retrieved data is checked and validated before it is returned to you, confirming the restore is complete and usable rather than simply present.
Flexible Restore Target
Have the data restored straight back into your live site or server, dropped into a staging location for review, or supplied to you as a downloadable archive, whichever suits the situation.
Why Your Data Lives in Archive Storage
Lower Ongoing Cost
Cold archive storage is a fraction of the cost of hot backup storage, which is how we are able to hold your historical backups for the long term without inflating your hosting fees.
Extended Retention
Archiving lets us retain backups far beyond the standard window, so older versions of your site and data remain recoverable long after a typical provider would have purged them.
Exceptional Durability
The archive tier is engineered for very high durability across multiple facilities, giving your long-term backups a level of protection that local or single-location storage cannot match.
Isolated From Live Systems
Because archived backups sit well away from your live environment, they are insulated from ransomware, accidental overwrites and other events that can compromise online copies.
Important Information
- ! Retrieval Takes 1 to 3 Days: Data must be thawed out of the archive tier before it can be restored. This typically takes between 1 and 3 business days from the time we lodge the request. The wait is a function of the AWS archive tier itself and cannot be shortened below the available retrieval options.
- ! Confirm the Scope: Please tell us exactly what needs restoring, including the domain, database, file path and the approximate date you need recovered. The more precise the detail, the more likely we retrieve the correct archive set on the first attempt and avoid a second retrieval cycle.
- ! Link Your Ticket: If this relates to an existing conversation, enter your ticket number (e.g. BLHxxxxx) so we can connect the retrieval to your original request.
When to Use This Service
- ✓ Recovering a file, database or full site that is older than our standard backup retention window
- ✓ Restoring a historical version of content that is no longer held in your live backups
- ✓ Producing archived data to satisfy a compliance, audit or legal request
- ✓ Reversing a deletion or change only discovered after the standard retention period had lapsed
Note: This fee covers the archive retrieval and one hand-held restore, including the first 30 minutes of restoration work. AWS retrieval charges for larger datasets and any restoration time beyond the first 30 minutes are calculated in 15-minute increments and confirmed with you before we proceed. Standard backup restores that fall within our normal retention window do not require this service and can be lodged as a regular support request.
