Data Archiving - Analysis

During the analysis phase you must first identify the size of the database and analyze the growth of the database tables. This will help you recognize which data you need to archive from which tables. Based on this information, you select the archiving objects with which the contents of the most critical tables can be archived.

There are several tools you can use to help you during the analysis phase. It is however necessary for you to be familiar with these tools and how to interpret the data they produce.

·        Database Monitor

You can use the database monitor (transaction DB02) to determine the size of different tables and display their growth in the past. Using the transaction you can view important statistics about the database. The display of the database monitor depends on the database system you are using. For an Oracle database, for example, the amount of free table space or the size and growth of individual tables and indexes.

In addition to the database monitor you can also use SAPDBA and the Performance Monitor (ST03), for other indicators in the context of data archiving. The function Tables and Archiving Objects (see below), which can be reached via the Disc Space (Statistics) push button, also provides information on disk space.

·        Table Analysis

You can use this function (transaction TAANA) to analyze database tables based on specific fields or a field value combination. This is done using analysis variants that contain corresponding field lists. The analyses help you determine which archiving objects you should use and can indicate which selection criteria would produce the best results during archiving.  It helps you avoid, for example, examining archiving objects or organizational units that would contribute little to the data volume in your system.

·        Tables and Archiving Objects

After you have identified the critical tables, you need to identify which archiving objects are responsible for these tables. You can do this with the help of the Tables and Archiving Objects function (transaction DB15).

This function shows which tables are assigned to which archiving objects and vice versa. This allows you to identify a specific archiving object for archiving the data from the tables that were identified in the first analysis phase.