Why Archiving Matters

How to Manage Your Enterprise Content with

OpenText Archive Server

January 2010

Abstract

Faced with today’s climate of strict compliance and demands for maximizing ROI,
archiving matters to your organization more than ever. Using a purpose-built solution
such as OpenText Archive Server, part of the OpenText ECM Suite, allows for quick and
easy retrieval, sharing, forwarding, and reuse of content. With OpenText Archive Server,
your organization can electronically archive its content in ways that meet regulatory
requirements. Large volumes of fixed content can be stored and retrieved efficiently, and
users have access to the content they need in the correct business context.

This whitepaper explains why, with the need for greater efficiency and compliance,
archiving really does matter to your business. It introduces OpenText Archive Server, and
it describes the features that make Archive Server a world-class archiving solution.

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Contents
Why Archiving Matters ............................................................................................... 3
Strategic archiving .................................................................................................. 4
How archiving is different from backup .................................................................. 4
The three cornerstones of modern archiving ......................................................... 5
Customer examples ............................................................................................... 6

Why Should You Use OpenText Archive Server?.................................................... 7

Connect: Enable efficient standard processes....................................................... 8
Comply: Control all content and reduce risks ...................................................... 11
Cut costs: Low TCO at highest document volumes ............................................. 17
Functionality Deep Dive ........................................................................................... 21
What is OpenText Archive Server? ...................................................................... 21
Why is an archive server important in an ECM environment? ............................. 22
Architectural overview of Archive Server ............................................................. 23
Document Pipeline: The conveyor belt into the archive system .......................... 25
Usage in heterogeneous environments ............................................................... 28
Simple to integrate and connect .......................................................................... 29
Archiving from customer solutions ....................................................................... 36
High-volume management ................................................................................... 36
Document lifecycle management services .......................................................... 38
Authorization and authentication.......................................................................... 40
Secure data transport........................................................................................... 41
Digital signatures .................................................................................................. 42
Secure, long-term archiving and data integrity .................................................... 42
Timestamps .......................................................................................................... 42
ArchiSig: Signature renewal for long-term digital signature ................................. 43
Auditing: Long-term traceability ........................................................................... 43
Encryption of the stored data ............................................................................... 43
Always available through various backup scenarios ........................................... 44
Storage and resources ......................................................................................... 46

Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 53

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 Why Archiving Matters
Faced with today’s climate of strict compliance and demands for maximizing ROI,
archiving matters to your organization more than ever. Companies inundated with
content—scanned documents, email, files from file systems or Web pages, data files from
host, SAP®, Microsoft®, and other applications—must deal with it every day in ways that
meet all regulatory requirements and instill organizational trust amongst shareholders and
customers. The solution lies in Enterprise Content Management (ECM), a system for
effectively managing information across the enterprise so that all employees and selected
partners globally can access what they need depending on when and how they need it. A
key component of ECM is archiving, which plays a central role in preserving content in a
cost effective way so that it’s available when needed.

OpenText Archive Server, which is included as part of the OpenText ECM Suite, allows for
quick and easy retrieval, sharing, forwarding, and reuse of content. With OpenText
Archive Server, your organization can electronically archive its collective memory
permanently and in auditable form. And your content is put into context—linking the
documents with your unique business processes. Large volumes of fixed content for
international applications such as call centers, and for external customer-facing
applications such as Web-enabled bill presentment, are stored and retrieved using
OpenText Archive Server.

Figure 1:
ECM Services Architecture

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Strategic archiving
Archiving has become strategic and mission critical to organizations because it can help
achieve the following goals:

• Archiving speeds up business processes, such as accounts payable, claims

processing, self-service scenarios, or supply chain processes, even those involving
external partners.

• Archiving supports your company’s compliance efforts. It supports the discovery of

information for litigation, and allows you to abide by new regulations designed to
ensure the integrity of financial control and reporting.

• Archiving forms the basis for records management (automating the management of
record archiving and retention policies).

• Archiving saves costs in the IT department, such as for archiving transactional data
from business applications, legacy system decommissioning, consolidation of
archiving landscape, and file system archiving.

• Archiving preserves your company’s knowledge and makes accessible such vital
items as construction drawings and drug development documents. Archiving also
enables review of previous work when starting new projects.

• Archiving enables your company to handle the challenges of modern communication

(e.g., email archiving, email retention, access to historical messages).

How archiving is different from backup

An overview of content archiving is not complete without a brief explanation of the
difference between archiving and backup. A common misperception is that archiving is
just another word for backup, when in fact they serve different purposes:

• Backup: The function of backup is to create a duplicate copy of primary data in order
to protect that data against loss due to hardware failures, user errors, or data
corruption. With backup, a copy of production data is stored in a low-cost format such
as tape and often warehoused offsite. Retrieval of historical data from tape backup is
a slow, tedious process. Typically backup covers only a limited period of time, for
example, one to three years.

• Archiving: By contrast, archiving is a systematic, intentionally designed process of

securely storing valuable content in an unalterable and tamperproof form over a long

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 period of time. Long-term storage can be just 7 to 10 years but might well extend to
30 or 90 years and more. The archiving solution secures the accessibility and
readability of content during the entire lifecycle and, through replication and
distribution, protects it from loss in the event of disaster. The archiving is done in such
a way that data can be searched and specific content found and accessed quickly
when needed. One reason for retrieving archived data is to meet audit requests or a
legal discovery request in the event of pending litigation or the threat of litigation.

The three cornerstones of modern archiving

Connect: Enable efficient standard processes
Archiving has never been just a matter of storing data without creating access to it. Back
in the days of the paper trail, organizations received invoices and other hardcopy
documents, manually transported them along the process, and then archived them at the
end of the journey.

However, in today’s digital world, that workflow is reversed—and vastly improved

because of it. Paper documents get archived right from the beginning and are
immediately brought back to the process as electronic documents. The result is
significant savings in time and money. For example, the verification of a manual invoice
can take a company three to four weeks to process. With an electronic archive, that
process is shortened to three to four days! Organizations reduce 50 percent of their costs
per transaction and benefit from vendor cash discounts.

The benefit of geographically independent access pushes efficiency as well. Electronic

access to documents is critical for setting up shared-service centers. These centers
centralize business administration functions, such as vendor invoice management or HR
functions, and lead to productivity improvements and cost reductions.

Comply: Control all content and reduce risks

Archive Server can reduce risks in many ways. It protects content from disasters (such as
flooding and fire) that can bring a business to its knees. For example, Hurricane Floyd
destroyed all the paper files of a leading company in precious metals and materials
technology with 9,000 employees. Fortunately, every one of their technical drawings was
available in OpenText Archive Server, so the natural catastrophe never interrupted
production. Archive Server also reduces the corporate risks of being non-compliant with
regulations such as SOX, SEC 17a, or CFR 11 compliance. And the solution can be used
to implement records management and handle document retention cycles.

Records management legislation governs the content of information in question but not
how it is stored, communicated, or conveyed. That means all forms of electronic
communication, such as email and instant messaging, are covered. However, due to the

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sheer volume of email, and the unprecedented rate at which it’s being adopted by
organizations, email represents a leading information and risk management problem.

Failing to archive email information can lead to major losses. For example, a major
tobacco manufacturer was fined $2.75 million U.S. in August 2004 because key
executives there did not comply with a court order to retain emails relevant to pending
litigation.

Retention management is another aspect of compliance. Deleting information has

become as important as archiving information. Applications such as SAP or OpenText
Records Management add retention schedules to archived information. Together with
these applications, OpenText Archive Server ensures that information is archived as long
as needed, as well as controlled, deleted, and physically destroyed where permitted by
legal regulations.

Cut Costs: Low TCO at highest document volumes

Archive Server also stores historic transactional data coming from enterprise applications
such as legacy systems or SAP systems. With SAP best practice for data archiving, you
can manage the growth of your SAP database while securely storing the archived data on
the Archive Server. This means that companies can reduce their Total Cost of Ownership
(TCO) by reducing the size of the SAP database and thus, administration effort and
hardware consumption. TCO can also be reduced through the consolidation of legacy
systems into a leading application like SAP. Archive Server is also embedded in the
OpenText ECM Suite, making it versatile to use at the lowest TCO.

Customer examples
Here are just a few of the high-volume document management customers of OpenText
who have benefited from using Archive Server:

Customer Highlights

Large • Scans 120,000 documents a day

international • Archives up to 1 million emails a day
bank
• Manages more than 160 TB of data
International • 250.000 invoices a day from over 100 countries
Logistics • Archives 25 GB a day
Provider

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 Customer Highlights

Large German • 25 millionen SD documents per year

Retailer • 32 TB archive growth growth per year
• Manages more than 120 TB of data
Large German • 3.1 million incoming invoices each year, 12,000 per day
automotive • 150 million pages archived in the HR department
supplier
• 250,000 pages of pay slips every month

Why Should You Use OpenText Archive Server?

Archive Server is a scalable and integrated service for archiving all of your enterprise
content. That content is archived on a secure document repository, giving you the peace

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of mind that all documents are safely stored for years, yet are still instantly available when
needed.

Connect: Enable efficient standard processes

The work on standard processes, such as those found within administration departments,
requires precision along a fixed business process, as well as across functional
departments or regional sites. Legal regulations may also require that processes within
such departments are fully traceable and auditable.

Many employees involved in standard processes spend 80 percent of their time

retrieving, inputting, and sending information, then waiting for follow-up information.
Working on standardized business processes is characterized by excess paperwork that
mirrors inefficiencies-- errors caused by processing bottlenecks, media interruptions,
delays, duplications, and inaccuracies.

Typical scenarios for such standard business processes include the following:

• Accounts Payable processing means dealing with the inevitable volume of related
paperwork. Because manual processes are resource and time-intensive, they
increase costs, create employee inaccuracies, and decrease efficiency.

• Accounts Receivable processing revolves around payment collection. The longer a

payment remains outstanding, the less likely it will be paid in full. Employees in
Accounts Receivable departments need supporting information from multiple sources
to reconcile differences between customers and invoices. They must review account
information generated throughout the organization before they can effectively field
customer questions, troubleshoot problems, and facilitate timely collection. Lacking
instant access to customer documents translates into inefficient and delayed
collection, increased bad debt, and erosion of bottom-line revenue.

• Human Resources departments need to store employee records for many years for
active and retired employees. Paper-based records require huge efforts for manual
processing, and many employee records are incomplete or faulty. Paper-based
storage, access, and manual routing result in high costs, long processing times, and
decisions based on incomplete or faulty information. The average annual cost of
manually handling one employee record is $15 to $30 US; retrieving a misfiled
document can cost as much as $120 US.

• Order processing requires fast and standardized reaction on incoming orders. A

market differentiator for companies is the speed of the order-to-delivery process.
Manually handling order documents, such as incoming faxes, reduces the speed for
this critical process.

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• Key functions within the insurance industry include claims processing, underwriting
and sales, all of which are standard processes accompanied by a huge volume of
documents. Manually managing these documents translates into inefficient core
processes.

• During the sales process, failing to have the complete customer folder available leads
to fewer opportunities to leverage cross-selling.

• Self-service scenarios could save the company much of the cost of sales if customers
were provided access to such information as complete delivery and invoice history. In
the case of a pharmaceutical wholesale company, the use of self service reduced
customer inquiries substantially.

• Other standard business processes that inherently deal with manual paper
processing include Contract Management, Quality Management, Customer
Complaint Management, and Product Lifecycle Management.

The Solution
Archive Server, a core component of the OpenText ECM Suite, provides services for
effectively taking in content, integrating content into leading applications, and
functionalities for securing and auditing content and its access. All these basic services
are mandatory for making business processes faster. Handling paper documents
electronically speeds up processes by giving users a way to instantly access any
business document—no matter how, where, or when!

For example, Archive Server is integrated in leading applications like SAP or Groupware
(Microsoft Exchange®, Lotus Notes), stand-alone or other applications—ideal for back-
office processes. Archive Server also allows for geographically independent access, in
the case of larger companies. And distributed companies benefit since Archive Server
enables online, parallel access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Standard business processes with a high throughput of documents profit the most
from Archive Server. Faster Accounts Payable processing ensures vendor discounts
and good vendor relations. Automatic invoice capturing reduces transaction costs by
half (typically $4.50 US per transaction).

• Faster payment collection in Accounts Receivable means that invoice disputes can be
clarified faster. This reduces Days Sales Outstanding and decreases bad debts, so
the need for bank credits is decreased.

• Employee records in HR are stored securely, completely, and without the need of a
physical storage place. Administration processes like applicant processing runs faster

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 and nearly eliminates the manual workload for HR employees. Self-service scenarios
for employees reduce costs and administration efforts (such as SAP ESS).

• Incoming order processing works quickly and along a standardized workflow. This
guarantees fast and standardized reaction on incoming orders, such as ensuring
same-day delivery.

• Manual paper processing in claims processing can be automated with a high-volume

document management system. Employees get the complete customer file in
seconds instead of days.

• Because of implementing a complete electronic customer folder, it’s simple to set up

self-service scenarios where customers can look into their own documents for
resolving simple enquiries.

Functionalities
Integrated into standard processes

Many standard processes are covered by Enterprise Applications like SAP. OpenText
ECM solutions integrate into these applications and speed up processing through instant
access to all relevant documents in the context of the business transaction in the leading
ERP/CRM system. Details on how Archive Server integrates with leading business
applications are described in the last section of this white paper, covering the following:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Integration with OpenText ECM Suite Integration with business applications

Integration with groupware systems Archiving from Customer Solutions

Enterprise-wide deployments

Standard processes do not stop at the border of a company’s site; they run across the
whole enterprise globally or involve partners. Many companies set up shared service
centers, such as for Accounts Payable processing. Such centers require that the
underlying business document technology can be accessed across many business sites
and even countries. Also 24-hour access is mandatory when business takes place
worldwide.

Details on how Archive Server can be deployed globally are described in the last section
of this white paper:

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See Functionality Deep Dive

Build for enterprise-wise deployments Scalability and ability to distribute

Based on defined standards Vendor with a complete solution

Strong focus on compliance and Always available through various

security backup scenarios

High-volume management

The fastest ROI results from using ECM in mission-critical business processes, which is
also where masses of transactions take place. Archive Server is prepared for this by
supporting priority document volumes.

For example, the core processes of a retail company are buying and selling. Some
customers receive as many as 60,000 invoices per day and generate over 8 TB of data
every quarter. In the insurance industry, millions of documents need to be stored for many
years and still be instantly accessible, such as during claims processing.

Details on how Archive Server supports high-volume management are described in the
last section of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

High-volume management Access speed optimization

Optimized data handling Caching

Comply: Control all content and reduce risks

Today’s business environment is more complex and regulated than ever and for good
reason. Corporate issues involving fraudulent accounting, misconduct, and data quality
issues frequently dominate news headlines.

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CEOs and Boards of Directors are under public scrutiny and, as a result, regulatory
requirements have emerged to address these issues using commonly accepted principals
of corporate governance.

Compliance may be defined as conforming to a rule. Types of compliance rules include

the following:

• Government legislation and regulations

• Industry standards

• Internal company policy and procedures

Typical regulatory bodies include government agencies created to enforce legislation,

industry standard bodies, and corporate directives. Compliance with the rules can be
required or voluntary.

As a result of these rules, companies across all industries face an increasing need to
make compliance an integrated part of their document management processes.

Consider the following questions:

• Does your organization store regulated documents, such as accounting documents,

policies, standard operating procedures, and even email communications, in a
document management system?

• Are you appropriately storing electronic documents that may contain evidence for a
future dispute?

• Can you be certain that electronic documents will meet admissibility standards and
requirements in the event of litigation or a regulatory audit?

• Are you following established and proven best practices for electronic documents
retention?

Accepted guidelines and best practices on electronic document handling define how
electronic documents should be handled to ensure evidential weight both in court and
when under regulatory audit.

The Solution
Archive Server provides a host of functionalities to address compliance requirements
associated with electronic document retention for many regulations, including SEC,
Sarbanes-Oxley, FDA, GOB, and GDPdU. Most regulations place strict requirements on
corporations to manage content not only through its active lifecycle but also to retain it for

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many years or decades after its use. Archive Server thoroughly addresses these
regulations.

Functionalities
Long-term readability and accessibility

Archive Server stores content on a medium that will be accessible throughout the
required retention period. Archive Server can store content in any format. (Nevertheless,
we recommend archiving standard formats, such as TIFF or PDF, rather than proprietary
formats). Archive Server also supports the transfer to alternate storage media if required.

Details on how Archive Server ensures long-term readability and accessibility are
described in the last part of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Retention management Storage reorganization

Archive Server mainly stores content on a medium that is unalterable. Not only is tamper-
proof storage ensured, but several functions prove that content has not been changed.
Details on how OpenText Archive Server addresses long-term readability and accessibility
are described in the last part of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Secure, long-term archiving and data Secure data transport

integrity

Digital signatures Timestamps

Retention handling

Retention handling defines and handles retention of documents and data on the basis of
a corporate-wide policy. Archive Server provides retention handling functionality that
allows a leading application, such as SAP Applications or OpenText Email Archiving for
Microsoft® Exchange, to define and manage the lifecycle of archived documents and
data.

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Retention handling must address a complex environment. Data can be actively
referenced by different sources, and it may be archived for governance reasons. Data
should be disposed of intelligently once it has lost its business value.

Retention handling must address this complex environment to ensure that business
values and business risks are managed concurrently. Once a document’s active
processing phase is complete, its classification determines the rest of its lifecycle. At this
point, the technologies that automate records retention and destruction come into play.

How long should the records be saved, and when can they be safely destroyed?
Companies often have written policies on document retention. They should define and
document policies for records management and ensure that the policies are implemented
and maintained at all levels in the organization.

One would think that since almost all documents are now electronic, control and access
would be a snap. Sadly, that is not the case. Electronic records exist in many different
locations, both on-site and remotely. Employees are accessing and storing records
electronically at home and even on handheld computers. Document retention policies are
difficult to create and even more difficult to enforce.

For example, when one of the largest US software vendors was fighting its anti-trust case
with the US Department of Justice, the prosecution was able to bring forth emails that had
been circulated between employees as evidence of anti-competitive business methods.
Had the company been more diligent in enforcing its records retention policies, those
emails might have been legally destroyed.

Details on how Archive Server handles retentions are described in the last section of this
white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Retention management

Controlled deletion

Each type of document has its retention periods. After expiration of the retention period,
content must be deleted. Combining Archive Server with the optional Records
Management module ensures that content is deleted. In addition, associated content,
such as meta data and indexes, is securely deleted. Details about how Archive Server
integrates with Records Management are described in the last section of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

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 Integration into OpenText Records
Management

Prevention from unauthorized access

Another aspect of security is protection from unauthorized access. For example, when
Archive Server is used for offering hosting services, it’s necessary that the hosting
company (or its customers) cannot access any foreign content. Data encryption helps
protect privacy and content.

Archive Server ensures that content is not accessed by unauthorized or inappropriate

individuals.

Other security issues involve protection from unauthorized access during transmission of
content via networks and protection against re-usage of URLs. The technologies secKey
and SSL help to protect from these risks.

Details on how Archive Server prevents unauthorized access are described in the last
section of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Authorization and authentication Encryption of the stored data

Secure data transport

Audit of all activities

Archive Server can retain detailed records of all activities performed on content stored in
the archive, including the date and time. Details on how Archive Server facilitates audits
are described in the last section of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Logging Auditing- long-term traceability

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Long-term storage

Long-term storage surely is the basis for compliance of ECM systems. However,
companies also benefit from long-term storage from the standpoint of process efficiency.
Insurance contracts, technical drawings or outgoing customer correspondence (such as
utility invoices), often need to be accessed during customer complaint management or
repairs. Fast access to archived documents helps in solving business problems or repairs
faster.

Details on how Archive Server provides long-term storage are described in the last
section of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Secure, long-term archiving and data Storage resource management

integrity

Powerful management services Volume migration

Digital signatures and timestamps

Digital signatures have two aspects of usage: fulfilling compliance (authenticity of content,
securing evidence) and speeding up standard business processes by emulating personal
signatures.

In some industries, it is necessary that documents are signed in order to complete a

process step. If such processes have a high document throughput, it makes sense to
replace manual paper processing with electronic document processing. Archive Server
can store personal signatures together with business documents.

Details on how Archive Server addresses the compliance issue of digital signatures are
described in the last section of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Digital signatures ArchiSig- Signature renewal for long-

term digital signature

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Cut costs: Low TCO at highest document volumes
When companies choose a document solution, the driver is usually a specific problem to
solve. We call it “point solution.” In many cases, it is the accounts payable process. Over
time, when such a document solution proved its value, other departments get interested
in this technology as well—for example the Sales department to create a central
customer folder with all incoming and outgoing customer and project documents. Legal
regulations also force companies to store critical content, such as emails with relevance
to business transactions. In other words, one customer could run several point solutions
from different vendors.

Each of the point solutions needs to be implemented, connected, and administrated.

Hardware needs to be purchased to support all the different applications. Know-how must
be maintained for all the point solutions. If companies added up all the costs for their point
solutions, they’d discover that it makes sense to reduce TCO. Many different point
solutions cost more than a single, scalable ECM. As successful ECM implementations
grow rapidly, some factors to consider are:

• The system must be highly scalable in volume and regional presence.

• Flexibility in changing hardware technology or vendor is required in order to adapt to

most recent reliable technology.

• An ECM system integrates into a heterogeneous environment (e.g., databases,

operating systems, business applications, scanning-, storage-hardware).

• Accounting: Who uses the system to what extend—especially when the ECM
services are running centralized at an IT service provider?

The Solution
Archive Server is a part of the OpenText ECM suite, which allows companies to be
flexible in using this infrastructure—either for a point solution for a specific department or
as the basis for many solutions running on the ECM backbone. Existing point solutions
from other vendors are simple to migrate to Archive Server.

This reduces TCO because of reduced administration, know-how, and hardware costs.

Part of a whole ECM Suite

Archive Server is part of the OpenText ECM Suite. All OpenText solutions are based on
this repository when it comes to the archiving of content. Customers profit from an
integrated solutions suite that fits to all ECM-relevant needs.

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Functionalities
The needs for archiving can differ. Details on reasons can be found in the last part of this
white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Simple to integrate and connect Document Lifecycle Management

Services

Strong focus on compliance and

security

Scalability

Archive Server provides archiving and storage management capabilities for all
applications that plug into the OpenText ECM Suite framework. This large-scale
integration enables you to save costs by using the same archiving framework and
capabilities for all of your enterprise content. Even if you originally deploy an OpenText
ECM Suite-based solution for the purpose of archiving email and attachments, you can
seamlessly extend that solution to quickly and cost effectively archive SAP content and
any other type of enterprise content.

True enterprise scalability means that organizations can extend a system in any
dimension—whether by geographic distribution, number of users, or volume of content.
Archive Server scales in each of these dimensions.

Details on how Archive Server provides true enterprise scalability are described in the last
part of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Usage in heterogeneous environments Scalability and ability to distribute

Caching Access speed optimization

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Accounting

If Archive Server runs at an IT service provider, powerful accounting functionalities make

sure that the usage of the system can be billed to the right departments in a transparent
and fair manner.

Accounting is required and used to reflect the usage of documents and scenarios.
Application Server providers, as well as outsourced IT departments of large companies,
need statistics about accessed content and billing. Through this, document storage and
document retrieval can be charged.

In addition to the accounting data, usage statistics related to performance monitoring can
be gathered and used to optimize the system performance.

Details on how Archive Server provides powerful accounting functionalities are described
in the last part of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Built-in Accounting functionality

Optimized storage management

Archive Server virtualizes storage and accessibility, which increases flexibility in storage
management by using your choice and combination of storage hardware. Typically, the
lifetime of business documents exceeds the lifetime of storage hardware. Compatibility
with all major storage providers ensures that companies can seamlessly migrate content
to alternate storage media in the future.

Details on how Archive Server optimizes storage management are described in the last
part of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Hardware abstraction Storage reorganization

Optimized data handling Logical archives

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Content protection and availability

If highly critical or worldwide processes rely on content provided by the Archive Server, it
is essential to provide access to the content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For these
requirements, the Archive Server supports high-availability deployments.

Archive Server supports replication and distribution scenarios, so that data sets can be
kept redundantly for additional safekeeping. For example, to help safeguard against the
risks of physical disasters and environmental instability, redundant data sets can be
stored in multiple physical locations.

Archive Server doesn’t just archive content: it also affects how that content is organized.
By retaining information about the hierarchy of data, Archive Server can rebuild not just
the content itself but also the structure of the information store. The administration
interface facilitates disaster recovery processes where administrators can reconstruct
Archive Server from storage media.

Details on how Archive Server provides content protection and availability are described
in the last part of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

High availability Remote standby

Disaster recovery Backup

IT landscape and know-how

Archive Server solution was designed for use in heterogeneous IT landscapes. It

supports a wide range of operating systems, databases, and storage hardware, including
the following:

Operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows Server, Sun Solaris, HP HP-UX, IBM AIX, Novel SUSE Linux, Red
Hat Linux

Database systems:

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• Oracle, Oracle RAC, Microsoft SQL Server

Storage hardware:

• Hard disk Write Once media (NAS, CAS)

• HSM Systems

• Cloud Storage

• Optical media in jukeboxes

Administration and monitoring

Central administration and monitoring of the server and storage functionalities simplifies
the lives of administrators. The Administration Server of Archive Server is used to
manage and configure the system components. The entire archiving system can be
managed locally or remotely via the user-friendly administration client.

The Server Monitor checks the availability of system resources and monitors the activity
of the individual archive components. It is used proactively to quickly detect problems and
pinpoint the source of any errors. The Server Monitor client can also be used remotely via
a Web-based client.

Details on how Archive Server simplifies the work of administrators are described in the
last part of this white paper:

See Functionality Deep Dive

Administration server Server monitoring

Functionality Deep Dive

What is OpenText Archive Server?
OpenText Archive Server is a core component of the OpenText ECM Suite and
constitutes the foundation for enterprise-wide ECM solutions.

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Archive Server enables storage, management, and retrieval of archived data and
documents.

OpenText offers customers several connectors to expand the functionality of Archive

Server. These connectors allow you to manage business documents in different
applications and to link them to the business processes. For example, with OpenText
Suite for SAP Solutions, users can access all data and documents they need to process a
business transaction in the SAP business suite. Furthermore, Archive Server provides
general server interfaces for integrating new or customer-specific applications.

Why is an archive server important in an ECM

environment?
Information technology and its environment are prone to change in storage technology,
organizational structures, consolidated applications, compliance rules, etc.

If we look back 10 years at how archive systems have been structured, and compare that
with an up-to-date ECM system, we realize that the complexity has increased, especially
in terms of applications using archive systems and available storage systems. Some
storage technologies are not used anymore for long-term archiving, such as Microfiche
and CD.

Archive Server provides extensive functionality for data migration and hardware
abstraction in order to give corporations the required flexibility in their hardware strategy
for decades.

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In parallel, together with the increasing significance of electronic documents, new legal
requirements have emerged and compliance rules need to be enforced. Archive Server
offers technology for implementing retention management and electronic signatures.

A leading application is one that generates archived documents (such as print lists in
SAP) or with whose business objects the archived documents are linked (e.g., inbound
documents in SAP). SAP, OpenText Content Server, Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Notes,
and Microsoft SharePoint can be linked as leading applications.

Companies are increasingly aware that leading applications change. However, the
documents referenced by those leading applications may have to be kept over long
periods of time—sometimes even 20 years. In order to stay independent from leading
applications, customers choose to archive sufficient metadata with the documents. In
case that a leading application is being discontinued, the metadata ensures an easy
migration path.

Architectural overview of Archive Server

Archive Server is the central unit, providing much of the document management system
functionality, the storage capability for documents and data, and the central archiving
functionality.

Archive Server comprises multiple services and processes, amongst which the Storage
Manager, the Document Service, and the Administration Server are the most important
ones. The Storage Manager is responsible for storing documents and data, whereas the
document management functionality, the storage of metadata and other properties, and
the entire communication is done by the Document Service. Client applications “talk” to
the Document Service. (In the following, these two sub-services are referred to as Archive
Server.)

Depending on the business process, the document type and the storage media, Archive
Server uses different techniques to store and access documents. This guarantees optimal
data and storage resource management. Mass data, which is not changed anymore, can
be stored as ISO images. The Storage Manager provides access to ISO images within a
physical or virtual jukebox. Content that is prone to change and has an individual lifecycle
will be stored as single file.

More complex OpenText ECM Suite implementations may consist of several Archive
Servers, for example, to reduce access time in large—possibly worldwide—networks or to
improve reliability by mirroring an entire Archive Server. If an Archive Server acts as a
mirroring system of another server, it is called a Replication Server. Additional Cache
Servers complement these servers to a complete, worldwide storage landscape.

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 Archive Server incorporates the following components for storing, managing, and
retrieving your data and documents:

• Document Service - Controls the storage and retrieval of the individual components.

• Storage Manager (STORM) - Controls the storage devices.

• Document Pipeline - Used to transport and process the data and documents to be
archived. (The Document Pipeline is optional.)

• Cache Server - Speeds up the access to the archived documents. The Cache Server
is optional and used in ECM environments, mostly with worldwide, distributed
departments, and low network bandwidth. The Document Service itself contains a
service to cache content from slow media like WORMs.

• Administration Server - Allows the Administrator to create and maintain logical

archives, physical devices, etc.

In addition, Archive Server supports COLD (Computer Output on Laser Disks) and
archives COLD and spool data from host systems. The Document Pipeline controls data
processing and archiving.

Figure 5: OpenText Archive

Server Architecture

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 Document Pipeline: The conveyor belt into the archive
system
A Document Pipeline is the basic component in almost all document processing software.
It is used to transfer documents to a storage system or another application while
performing certain additional tasks. Speaking figuratively, a Document Pipeline is the
conveyor belt that transfers the documents through the software.

Individual tools (called DocTools) retrieve the documents from the conveyer belt, process
them one by one, and then return them to be processed by the next tool. The last tool in
the pipeline generally removes the document from the conveyor belt. Depending on the
configuration, Document Pipelines can contain various different DocTools to implement all
different kinds of document processing, and further tools can be added as required.

An application called “Document Pipeline Info” displays the status of all document
pipelines and their DocTools. In the picture below, you see the status of the document
pipeline “Import content and attributes into DocuLink, which adds documents to the
Content Server application known as OpenText DocuLink for Content Server”. Currently
no documents are being processed and none are in the Error queue, indicated by the
zero in the columns on the right-hand side.

Figure 6: See the status of

everything in the Document
Pipeline

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 A scenario in which the document pipeline plays a central role is “batch import of print
lists or document lists with form overlay and attribute extraction.” On its way through the
specifically configured document pipeline, each document has its attributes extracted. In
the next step, a form is assigned to document lists. After the form has been stored by
Archive Server, the document list is stored together with a link to the form. Finally,
attributes are stored with the leading application. When users retrieve a document from a
document list, it will be displayed together with the assigned form and dramatically
improve usability.

Document Pipelines are available for all major target systems: SAP, TCP, Content Server,
Enterprise Library, and File System Archiving.

Figure 7:
Document Pipeline
for batch import with
attribute extraction

High-volume filing
An important principle for all Document Pipelines is that processing is always
transactional. That means the processing status of the document is always defined: either
it has been processed by a specific DocTool or not, and no documents can get lost. If for
any reason the Document Pipeline is aborted, or processing is cancelled at any time, the
document is considered to be unprocessed by the last active DocTool. The current status
is retained at all times. Therefore, when the Document Pipeline is started again,
processing can continue at precisely the same step the document was at when the
program was aborted. This re-entrance provides the security required for high-volume
filing.

Some customers archive as many as one million documents within 10 hours. The high-
volume filing capability of Archive Server allows such large migration projects to be
conducted. At a large German bank, the migration of a decommissioned archive system
included 160 million documents, 1,000 online and 1,800 offline partitions, which make a
total of 2.8 TB online data and 1.8 TB offline data.

Based on defined standards

Archive Server uses established standards to help protect your investment, running on
various Windows Server versions and all major Unix versions (including Linux). The
archive database can use an Oracle database or Microsoft’s SQL Server. It also supports

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hardware platforms from the leading storage vendors (e.g., NetApp, EMC, HDS, SUN,
HP, etc.).

Archive Server stores any content, regardless of its format. Storage of some forms of
content is trimmed to optimize the use of storage space or document access. For
example, outgoing invoices that may be numerous but very small. OpenText Content
Server based applications come with a set of clients for imaging and displaying
documents.

These clients support existing imaging standards such as TIFF, JPEG, and PDF, as well
as SAP formats such as OTF, ALF, and ADK. All the desktop applications and the different
Windows clients use the Open Document Management API (ODMA) to communicate with
the archive system. The ODMA interface allows for seamlessly integrating most
applications with the business document system.

Vendor with a complete solution

Leading analysts say that maximum-access protection is achieved when the protection
mechanisms of the archive system, the Document Management application and the
viewer, are configured to work together. In a complete solution from one vendor, this
integrity is already built in from the beginning.

One vendor, OpenText, offers a complete ECM suite that is integrated in all components.
This reduces TCO and enhances stability and security of the system.

Build for enterprise-wide deployments

Archive Server is built for enterprise-wide deployments. This, in turn, means Archive
Server has:

• Strong capabilities in the sense of scalability in document volumes.

• Strong capabilities in the ability to distribute the system to all business regions.

• Flexibility to run the system on existing databases and operation systems.

• Flexibility to connect the system to existing or new storage hardware.

Scalability and ability to distribute

Archive Server client/server architecture provides versatile options for configuring,
scaling, and distributing the archive system. For example, it is equally possible to install
multiple Archive Servers to form a large, distributed archive system as it is to manage
multiple logical archives on a single Archive Server. In addition, no matter how large the
distribution, it is possible to centralize system administration and management.

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A logical archive may represent an individual content lifecycle with individual storing
properties like compression, single-instance archiving, and the possibility to purge the
content after retention has expired. The pools attached to a logical archive may represent
different storage media that accommodate the storage requirements of individual content.
This allows for implementing customer-specific storage hierarchies and content lifecycle
management.

For instance, two logical archives are created, one to store contracts and another one for
personal signatures. Personal signatures need to be accessed very fast, and therefore
the logical archive should be attached to an HD. Contracts need to be stored on a save
medium, which ensures they cannot be manipulated. Thus, the logical archive for
contracts may be attached to a device with WORM support. Furthermore, retention
periods may be different for individual document types. By assigning and explicitly
naming logical archives or pools to individual fiscal years, the administrator is given an
immediate overview on retentions.

Archive Server can adapt to changing business needs flexibly and cost effectively.
Archive Server scales both vertically by adding additional worker processes and
horizontally by load balancing. As the number of users grows, it is possible to connect
new clients to Archive Server or to install additional Archive Servers or Cache Servers.

Usage in heterogeneous environments

Support of operating systems and database systems
Archive Server is designed for use in heterogeneous IT landscapes and runs under
Windows Server operating systems, all major Unix versions, and hybrid Windows Server /
Unix environments.

Support of storage systems

Archive Server virtualizes the storage layer and, because of this, Archive Server was
designed to support a wide range of different storage technologies and storage vendors.
Archive Server supports the following:

• Hard disk Write Once media with WORM feature and retention handling

• HSM systems

• Optical media in jukeboxes

• Cloud storage

For details, please see the Archive Server Storage Platform Release Notes.

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Simple to integrate and connect
Integration into the OpenText ECM Suite
Integration into OpenText Content Server

OpenText Content Server is the leading collaboration and content management software
for global organizations that brings together people, processes, and content. The
information managed within the Content Server can be safely stored with Archive Server.
For this purpose, a software option called OpenText Archiving for Content Server has
been developed.

OpenText Archiving for Content Server adds the full capabilities of Archive Server—
including compliance—to the Content Server. Organizations can deploy a robust solution
for managing content throughout the entire ECM lifecycle—from creation through
publication to archival and eventual deletion.

The process is completely transparent to end users. The user creates document versions
within the Content Server. The document itself is stored on Archive Server, from where it
is quickly and reliably accessible. No user interaction is required to store documents on
Archive Server. Based on rules, configured by an administrator, the system decides which
storage provider is used upon document creation. Multiple logical storage providers can
be configured, each related to a logical archive. The logical archives in turn refer to
specific storage locations. While storing documents with Archive Server, they are
automatically full-text indexed.

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 Figure 10:
Integration of Archive Server
into OpenText
Content Server

Integration into OpenText Transactional Content Processing

OpenText Transactional Content Processing is a document management system that

supports structured and transactional DMS and workflow requirements such as the
following functions in a high-volume, often business-critical environment:

• Capture (high-volume imaging, indexing, reports and print lists, faxes, office
documents)

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• Process (file/search/retrieve folders and documents quickly and easily in a specific
business context or as part of a structured business process with BPM)

• Preserve (manage document lifecycle and retention periods)

• Archive (long-term secure storage on multiple hardware)

Documents are managed based on a strong and flexible metadata model.

Transactional Content Processing provides the tools to quickly and easily build customer-
specific business applications such as customer folders in insurance, banking, utility, or a
patient folder in healthcare. Production Document Management solutions quite often work
closely together with leading applications such as SAP, CRM, or host systems. The
various interfaces allow customers to build the integrations and thereby support the end
user’s daily business. The tight integration with Transactional Content Processing allows
building document-centric process solutions to improve business efficiency and achieve
faster response times. It leverages Archive Server as a highly scalable and secure
repository for business critical data and documents and is designed for the complete
range of business content and its lifecycle management.

Integration with Enterprise Library and Records Management

Records management is the practice of both retaining and destroying records, enabling
organizations to:

• Ensure that all information is retained for at least as long as it must be retained,

• Ensure that discovery requests and audits can be performed in an efficient and cost-
effective manner (i.e., information can be reliably retrieved), and

• Ensure that information is destroyed on a consistent basis.

In managing the lifecycle of email, hard-copy documents, file boxes, and more, a
company can provide litigation support, identify vital records, automate, and administer its
corporate retention program efficiently. The organization can also apply descriptive
metadata, ensuring integrity of business-critical knowledge and reducing risk due to audit,
regulatory compliance, and litigation. By integrating Archive Server, you can ensure
compliance and implement your corporate retention program through all layers of the
application down to the hardware components.

The lifecycle of records can be managed transparently by Enterprise Library. It offers a

holistic approach to manage the document lifecycle determined by the Records
Management Classification and associated Record Series Identifier(s). Storage Rules and
Storage Tiers propagate the associated retention period down to the Archive Server.

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General Desktop API
The ODMA enables the integration of standard document applications with Archive
Server. Files can be archived in their original format from any ODMA-compatible
application—such as Office. The “Save” menu item lets users save documents directly to
the archive, without requiring special macros. In addition, users can print files via ODMA
from any desktop application and store them in the archive in the long-term TIFF format.

The Imaging DesktopLink module, which is part of the Imaging package, can archive
documents from any ODMA-compatible desktop application and integrate them, like with
SAP business transactions, for example.

Integration into business applications

Integration into SAP NetWeaver

The integration between Archive Server and SAP is based on and certified for various
standard SAP interfaces:

• SAP ArchiveLink™ Interface

• SAP HTTP Content Server Interface

• SAP ILM WebDAV Interface (together with other components of Enterprise Library)

• SAP Solution Manager Ready

The SAP ArchiveLink interface—developed in 1992 by SAP and IXOS, an OpenText

company—is the most important communication interface between SAP and an external
archive system. This standard SAP component allows for linking documents that Archive
Server manages with SAP business processes and provides retrieval through SAP
transactions.

The SAP HTTP Content Server Interface is the successor of the ArchiveLink interface
and allows for connection to the SAP Knowledge Provider, which is used for SAP PLM
and SAP DMS, for example.

The SAP ILM WebDAV interface is the successor of the SAP WebDAV XML Data
Archiving Interface. The ILM WebDAV interface is used to manage the complete lifecycle
of archived SAP data. Together with the Archive Server, Enterprise Library enforces the
retention periods and holds, which are transmitted by SAP for the data archiving files and
also for the attached documents.

The Archive Server is certified to be Solution Manager Ready. Even more so, it integrates
in the SAP support infrastructures at a customer, which is based on Solution Manager.

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The Archive Server allows monitoring and root cause analysis via SAP Solution Manager
Diagnostics. The Archive Server as well as the entire OpenText Enterprise Library can be
deployed on SAP NetWeaver CE as Web Application Server.

All these integrations into standard SAP interfaces allow customers to leverage the
document functionality of SAP in each and every SAP module. Also, through the usage of
these standard interfaces, Archive Server can be rapidly connected to SAP.

The add-on product, OpenText ECM Suite for SAP® Solutions, uses these interfaces to
manage and archive all kinds of SAP documents, such as ArchiveLink and SAP
Knowledge Provider (KPro) and including the following:

• Outgoing SAP documents (documents that were created by the SAP system, such as
purchase orders, invoices, reminder letters, delivery notes)

• Incoming documents of all types (scanned paper documents, faxes, electronic

documents of various formats)

• Print lists (generated by SAP system reports)

• SAP data archiving objects.

• Other SAP ArchiveLink and SAP KPro documents created by the SAP system or
users in different SAP modules and applications.

OpenText also provides a comprehensive product portfolio for all document archiving and
document management needs in an SAP environment:

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 Figure 11:
Overview: OpenText ECM
Suite for SAP® Solutions

Integration into groupware systems

Integration into Microsoft Exchange

Email traffic becomes more and more complex in the daily business, which has led to a
high volume of documents that must be stored in the email systems. Some of these
documents even need to be stored for several years because of legal requirements, so
deleting documents is not always a solution to save disk space. Furthermore, deleting
emails can be time consuming and tedious.

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 Figure 12:
Integration into
Microsoft Exchange

An archiving solution helps save disk space on email systems, and integration into
Microsoft Exchange speeds up operations. Integrating Archive Server into Microsoft
Exchange considerably reduces the amount of data stored on the MS Exchange servers,
enabling them to perform better. Significantly less hard disk capacity is required, resulting
in additional savings. Backup and data storage activities are reduced, as well as the
amount of administration time, by archiving emails, attachments, PST files, and public
folders.

Your archiving environment can be customized: you may archive your emails
automatically or interactively. Interactive archiving and the display of archived objects are
based on MS Exchange custom forms. No extra software is necessary on MS Outlook®
clients, whether for automatic or manual archiving.

To save even more disk space, we provide Single Instance Archiving. An attachment that
several users want to archive is archived once only and is referenced with the individual
emails.

Integration into Lotus Notes

With the add-on product, OpenText Email Archiving for Lotus Notes, it‘s easy to archive
Lotus Notes emails simply by selecting them and using the respective menu option or the
Archiving Toolbar options.

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It is also possible to automatically archive emails using predefined criteria such as time
stamps, size limits, or Lotus Notes formulas. A single Lotus Notes email can either be
archived completely or only the attachments. For multiple emails, OpenText Email
Archiving for Lotus Notes offers the possibility to archive the emails separately or together
as a structure of documents.

Via a Lotus Notes client or Domino Web Access, the emails can later be retrieved for
viewing, restored to their original condition, or copied back to the Lotus Notes database. It
is also possible to delete archived documents from the archive and to retrieve archived
documents into a local replica.

Archiving from customer solutions

OpenText provides a general Archive Server API that enables customers to develop their
own archiving solutions. The Server API is available for all supported server platforms in
C and Java.

High-volume management
The value of ECM is strategic. It’s an important factor in the organization’s overall
financial performance and a competitive advantage. An ECM system must be planned
very carefully in order to meet performance requirements—especially, when the daily
created volume of documents or the number of users is very large.

Storage needs are growing exponentially. Archive Server is specifically designed to

handle an ever increasing amount of documents, content lifecycle, and large numbers of
users.

Archive Server provides long-term storage for high volumes of data. Since storage
technology has a lifecycle, Archive Server takes responsibility for the reliable, seamless,
and transparent migration of content from outdated storage to recent storage technology.
Archive Server helps you to adopt your content and storage strategy to changing
requirements and new technology in a cost-effective way.

OpenText customers already manage high volumes of data, as these figures show:

• Current document stock up to 15 TB, expected in the next three years up to 150 TB

• Current document volume up to 200 million, expected within the next three years up
to two billion

• Current daily document filing up to 1 million

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Access speed optimization
Archive Server grants fast (within seconds) and efficient access to very large document
volumes—as much as billions of business documents handled by one Archive Server.

The scalability of Archive Server—horizontal as well as vertical—guarantees fast access

to documents for large numbers of users. Load balancing horizontally scales the system.
Vertical scalability is implemented by a configurable number of threads and connections.
In addition, various caching mechanisms, designed to suit different business scenarios
and system configurations, provide speedy access to documents—such as network and
media caching, SSL session caching, and attribute caching. However, speed of access
depends on the underlying storage medium. It also depends on the access technology
used. The archive system provides a metadata layer that is used by leading applications
to efficiently retrieve documents. The metadata layer is also used to organize the storage
location by logical information (document lifecycle class) rather than only technical
information (such as file size or last accessed date, like HSM systems).

Fast access is among the tasks of Archive Server, which require high performance.
Archive Server fulfills performance requirements for filing (store), backup, replication,
migration, deletion, and administration.

Optimized data handling

Container files

The size of business documents may vary from a few kilobytes up to several gigabytes,
and both sizes challenge storage systems. Very small documents may waste much space
due to big block size of storage media and decrease filing performance. Very large
documents may exceed physical partition limits.

Furthermore, high-end storage systems and modern file systems cannot handle an
unlimited number of files. Limitations are the number of files within one directory up to a
total number of entries within the index of a storage system. Archive Server addresses
these limitations with a special container file technology. Depending on the document
type, the business scenario and the storage media, Archive Server supports several types
of container files:

• Archive Server uses ISO9660-Images as container files. A container file may contain
several thousands of documents but occupies just one index entry. This technique
dramatically relieves the index of a storage system and increases write performance.
ISO-images are best suited for mass data that will not change after it has been
archived.

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• MTA documents: The document pipeline may deliver thousands of records within one
so-called MTA document. The retrieval of one record is transparent for the clients.
This has been done to save both disk space and index database space and to
dramatically increase write performance. MTA documents not only save index space
on the storage system but also in Archive Server’s database. They are best suited for
large document lists that will not alter.

• To overcome partition limitations Archive Server stores big documents, up to 100 GB

(tested), in several chunks.

Single instance archiving

Especially in groupware scenarios, identical documents may be at risk of being stored

several times, if emails with attachments are sent to hundreds of recipients and all of
them want to archive this email. Archive Server enables single instance archiving (SIA),
keeping the same document only once in the connected storage devices. Dependent on
the amount of expected redundancy of email attachments, SIA may reduce required
storage space significantly.

Compression

In order to save storage space, you can activate data compression for each individual
logical archive or content type. All important formats including email and office formats are
compressed by default. Compression rates depend on file format and content and
correspond roughly to gzip level 6.

Document lifecycle management services

The main focus of a content store used to be trusted storage—i.e., never lose a
document. Deletion of documents was only an exception. Today, SOX and other
regulatory acts bring new requirements to content storage and document management.

Content storage exponentially increases. Document lifecycle management, including

retention management, becomes essential for an ECM system. When the retention period
of a document expires, it occupies not only wasted space in a company’s content store,
but also its value may invert. Before a document expires, it is important not to lose it.
However, after a document expires, it is important to delete it since it may give negative
evidence.

Retentions handling
As physical storage may not allow immediate physical deletion or even physical
destruction of documents,Archive Server provides policies (depending on capabilities of

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physical storage) to logically delete a document immediately on request and to do the
physical deletion or destruction asynchronous within a committed time frame.

Archive Server implements retention handling, not retention management. Retention

handling enables a leading application to implement retention management. A retention
period of a document defines a time frame, in which it has to be impossible to delete or
modify this document. For compliance reasons, it’s not enough to set a flag that enables
the software to reject any deletion request against the document. The content of the
document needs to be physically protected instead (or protected by a system supporting
the WORM capability). So for a storage manager fulfilling regulatory compliance, this
means that it is not sufficient to store the components with a specified retention period on
a simple hard disk. Storage systems with a WORM capability have to be used.

After the retention period has expired, the document can be deleted. This has two
aspects. The first is if an administrator wants to delete documents to get rid of old
volumes. In this scenario, it is sufficient to delete sooner or later. The other aspect is that
the content of a document could compromise someone. In this case, the document must
be deleted immediately after the retention period has been expired.

Retention handling in Archive Server is designed as a top-down concept: a leading

application sets the retention period in Archive Server. Archive Server, in turn, sets the
retention period on the storage system. After the retention expired, the leading application
has to trigger the purge of the content. Then, Archive Server triggers the purge of the files
on the storage system.

A leading application may specify a retention period (and a retention behavior) during the
creation and migration of a document. If nothing is specified, a default period and
behavior is used, configured per logical archive within the administration client.

Retention management
Retention management is performed by the leading application that accesses Archive
Server’s Retention Handling functionality. For instance, Records Management requires
classification, retention management, audit trails, and deletion of documents. Though
most of these requirements have to be met by a records management application,
Archive Server handles retention periods and keeps track of all changes on document
content.

Furthermore, Archive Server provides logical archives and monitoring functionality for
retention management. For example, all invoices from the current year are grouped
together into a logical archive so they can be deleted after the retention period has
expired.

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Volume migration
Volume Migration is a very important function needed for a long-term ECM strategy and
to assure compliance. Compliance requires not only the storage of documents in a safe
place but also the need to purge them once the retention period has been expired.
Therefore, Volume Migration is important to retention handling if documents are stored on
WORM media.

For this purpose, Archive Server administration compiles a list with all volumes containing
mostly expired documents. Numerous volumes with mainly expired documents can be
reduced to a handful via automatic migration. When the migration is completed, the
expired volumes can be removed or purged, thus saving jukebox slots or storage space,
depending on the media.

Volume Migration also provides the flexibility to adjust the storage strategy or to move
from outdated storage media/devices to recent technology with more capacity (e.g.,
WORM toNetApp SnapLock).

Strong focus on compliance and security

Various laws and regulations require document and data retention to prove services
rendered, orders placed, and so on. Moreover, many documents and forms are crucial to
the company’s success, so it’s vital to protect and secure these documents against
unauthorized access and alteration throughout creation, transmission, long-term
archiving, and retrieval. The following sections contain information on how Archive Server
handles security issues.

Authorization and authentication

Secure user authorization
It is essential to protect business documents against unauthorized access. But that’s not
always easy or efficient when managing billions of documents over decades. Access
control to documents via users, groups, and access control lists (ACL), can create high
administrative efforts as users leave the company, move, and others join.

Business documents are always accessed by business applications (and are mostly
worthless without their business context), but Archive Server follows a different concept.
The business application itself (SAP, Content Server, Transactional Content
Management)—and not single users—authenticates at Archive Server (signed URL resp.,
secKey, certificates). Archive Server expects that the business application has authorized
the user of the corresponding request and grants access to documents.

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User authorization in Content Server applications
OpenText Content Server applications (for instance, OpenText Transactional Content
Processing) use their own refined security concept. It is possible to configure different
access privileges for specific user groups and individual users. For security reasons, only
the working memory contains the configuration files for the archive client. No local files
are displayed in the process. Access to Archive Server is required before an end user can
display or modify the configuration files.

Authentication with secKey

A very effective mechanism in identifying unknown and unauthorized requests is using
access with signed URLs. In this case, Archive Server accepts only those requests that
were signed by a trusted source (e.g., a special application server). The signature from
this trusted source guarantees that the request was initiated by an authorized user.

When a client sends a request to the application server, the trusted source checks the
access rights, and if they exist, signs the URL and sends it to the client. The client can
then access Archive Server with this URL. The signed URL contains an expiry time (e.g.,
two hours), after which it is no longer valid.

Within Archive Server, the URL signature is called secKey, which is part of the Server API
and used by all leading applications, such as Exchange Archive and Production
Document Management. Archive Server can be configured so that unsigned requests are
rejected; i.e. only requests from the explicitly authorized SAP application server are
accepted. Thus, even if an attacker obtains a document ID, unauthorized access to the
document will be denied.

Secure data transport

SSL “Secure Sockets Layer” Communication
By enforcing SSL, authorized and encrypted access to all or individual logical archives
can be ensured.

Client-server transport secured with checksums

Checksums are used to recognize and reveal unwanted modifications to the documents
on their way to and through the archive. When clients archive or display documents,
checksums are used to identify whether transmission was complete and error free. The
checksums are not signed, as the methods used to reveal modifications are directed
towards technical failures and not malicious attacks.

OpenText Imaging Enterprise Scan generates checksums for all scanned documents and
passes them on to the Document Service. The Document Service verifies the checksums

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and reports errors. On the way from the Document Service to the storage, the documents
are provided with checksums as well, in order to recognize errors when writing to the
media.

Server-client transport secured with timestamps

How does the client know that a document is authentic and has been sent by the Archive
Server? Clients can check the document’s timestamp in order to prove data integrity and
authenticity of the document.

Digital signatures
We distinguish two types of digital signatures: personal signatures to handle
authentication and timestamp signatures to ensure data integrity. Although personal
signatures are stored with Archive Server, the handling is controlled by the leading
application. Timestamp signatures provided by Archive Server are described below.

Secure, long-term archiving and data integrity

Generally, Archive Server archives documents on unalterable media. These can only be
written once, providing excellent security against accidental as well as intentional deletion
or alteration. However, to ensure document integrity, timestamp signatures are required.

Timestamps
In order to avoid any unnoticed data loss, even the transmission of a document is
secured on its way with the help of checksums. From there, the integrity is secured with
the help of timestamps. Timestamps ensure that document components cannot be
modified unnoticed after they have been archived. Timestamps guarantee the authenticity
of archived business documents. When tax auditors examine a document several years
later, the company can prove that it was saved at a certain time and hasn’t been changed
since.

A timestamp is a signed datagram containing the document's hash value, the current time
and date, and additional information. The Archive Server supports interfaces to external,
certified timestamp service providers like timeproof and Authentidate.

To put a timestamp on every document, Archive Server needs a service to request

timestamps for a document. This can be a special hardware device or a Timestamp
Service.

A timestamp is valid for about eight years. After a certain time, it loses its security
because it’s based on a hash algorithm, which may be identified by hackers. Thus, after a
certain period of time, signature renewal must be performed.

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ArchiSig: Signature renewal for long-term digital signature
In contrast to paper-based documents, the value of digitally signed documents as legal
evidence decreases over the course of time. This is particularly due to the following
reasons: the employed cryptographic algorithms and the keys lose their security
qualification over time. It also cannot be guaranteed that the directories and documents
needed for the verification of certificates are available for 30 years or more. In addition,
the use of digital signing procedures is often insecure, and information for the subsequent
evaluation of the actual security is missing. Concepts to solve these problems have only
been developed to a certain extent.

The solution to meet these shortcomings is the ArchiSig concept. Archive Server supports
the ArchiSig concept. An ArchiSig-generated timestamp is valid for an unlimited period of
time.

An example scenario for ArchiSig can be found in the public services area. Masses of
historical and new documents have to be handled and stored. Some communities switch
to electronic processing of these documents. That also means a huge capturing effort for
historical documents. The digital signature during the capturing process keeps the legal
integrity of these documents. ArchiSig keeps the integrity of the digital signature. The
paper-to-electronic transformation is a secure process, and the electronic documents are
having the same legal force as their corresponding paper documents. Electronic
documents can now be integrated in such processes as SAP. By this, SAP users have the
full information overview for every transaction.

Auditing: Long-term traceability

All actions of the Archive Server are monitored in audit trails. Audits on document actions
can be enforced for compliant retention classes. Typical actions to be audited are create,
copy, migrate, timestamp, and delete. Administrative changes will always be audited. To
access audit information, Archive Server provides a tool to extract audit information from
the database, as well as http-based calls for leading applications to display audit
information documents.

Encryption of the stored data

By encrypting the document data on the storage medium, critical data such as salary
tables can additionally be stored in an encrypted manner. Thus the documents cannot be
read without an archive system. A symmetric key (system key) is used for document
encryption. The system key is encrypted on Archive Server with Archive Server's public
key and can then be read only with the help of Archive Server's private key. SSL is used
to exchange the system key between Archive Server and the backup server.

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Always available through various backup scenarios
Backup
Power outages, physical damage, outdated media, hardware faults, or usage errors can
unexpectedly shut down IT operations at any time. Archive Server provides a variety of
options to optimize the availability of the business documents.

Archive Server backup concept provides maximum reliability. This includes backing up all
the hard disk partitions that contain archived documents before they are stored in the
optical archive, as well as the operating system and the application software. The system
can also generate backups of all the entries in the archive database and duplicate the
optical media, largely as automated functions. Furthermore, Archive Server can create
copies of volumes as backups.

To avoid losing data in the event of a hard-disk failure and resume using Archive Server
immediately, we recommend using Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID)
technology as an additional data backup mechanism.

In addition to document content, administrative information is synchronized between

original and backup systems.

High availability
To eliminate long downtimes, Archive Server offers high availability via “hot standby
server.”

The hot standby server is a cluster solution, in which a fully-equipped secondary Archive
Server monitors the current production system. If a server fails, the secondary server
automatically assumes all activities, with full transparency for end users. Archive Server
clusters run through a fast LAN and respond to end users in the same way as a single,
high-availability Archive Server.

If the production system fails, users can continue to work normally on the secondary
archive system. In contrast to the remote standby server scenario, both read (retrieval)
and write (archiving) access to documents is possible in this configuration.

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 Figure 13:
High availability scenario

Remote standby
With a remote standby server, all the documents in an archive are duplicated on a second
Archive Server—the backup server—via a WAN connection for geographic separation.
The remote standby server’s configuration is identical to that of the original Archive
Server. The archives and hard disk buffers of the original server are replicated
asynchronously.

The remote archive system generates backups of the original optical media. If the
production Archive Server fails, the backup server continues to provide read-access to all
the documents. Physically separating the two servers also provides optimal protection
against fire and other catastrophic loss.

Disaster recovery
The Archive Server stores the available meta data together with content on the storage
media (e.g. DocId, aid, timestamp). This allows Archive Server to completely restore
access to archived documents in case the Archive Server hardware has a major
breakdown or has been destroyed. Technically, the entire database can be restored from

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the information that is stored on the media. Consistency checks are supplied to check
database versus volumes and volumes versus database. Also, support for a fast delta
import after a server crash is provided.

Storage and resources

Logical archives
A logical archive is an area on Archive Server in which documents can be stored. Archive
Server may contain many logical archives. Each logical archive may be configured to
represent a different archiving strategy appropriate to the types of documents archived
exclusively there. A logical archive may contain one or more storage pools. Each logical
archive is assigned its own exclusive set of partitions, which make up the actual storage
capacity of that archive.

Documents are related to a business process that is handled by a leading application. For
example:

• All invoices from the current year are grouped together so that they can be easily
deleted after the retention period has expired.

• HR documents have to be kept separate from financial documents, and special

treatment such as encryption may apply.

Logical archives make it possible to store documents in a structured way. You can
organize archived documents in different logical archives according to the following
criteria:

• The leading application and the module to which it belongs

• The contents of the document

• The retention period

• The archiving and cache strategy

• Storage media types

• Customer relations (for ASPs)

• Text versus productive context

• Protection of documents (authentication certificates per archive)

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Storage resource management
Hardware abstraction

Key tasks of Archive Server include hiding specific hardware characteristics to leading
applications, providing transparent access, and optimizing storage resources.

The Archive Server looks like a “Janus”—on the one side, it can handle complex
hardware; on the other side, it provides hardware abstraction by offering a unified
storage. If a hardware vendor’s storage API changes or if new versions come up, it’s not
necessary to change all the leading applications using the hardware—only the storage
manager’s interface needs to be changed.

Storage reorganization
Content lifecycle may be different depending on the document type, thus imposing
different requirements on the storage sub-system. For example, many working copies will
be created until a conceptual document (such as a product specification or contractual
work) is finalized. Often, it is not necessary to store working copies in a long-term archive;
sometimes they even may be deleted once the content has been finalized. The finalized
version, however, needs to be stored on a save, non-alterable, long-term storage
medium.

Another example is incoming invoices. They must be immediately filed on a non-alterable

medium. Only during invoice processing, the documents are cached on high-speed
storage in order to guarantee very fast access. If retention periods change for existing
archived documents in regulated scenarios, storage needs to be reorganized. Other
causes for storage reorganizations are changes in storage strategy (e.g., move on to hard
disk system from opticals), organizational changes, or legacy decommissioning.

Supported storage media

Archive Server supports a wide range of different storage media and devices. Supported
storage media are hard disk write-once or optical media or media. Archive Server
connects to Hard Disk Write-Once media devices from different vendors. Furthermore,
Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) systems and cloud storage are also supported.
(For the most recent information, see the Storage Platform Release Information of the
Archive Server.)

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 Figure 14:
Supported Storage Media

Caching and Cache Server

Local cache scenarios on the Archive Server
On the Archive Server, cache areas can be assigned to logical archives. These caches
can be filled upon purging Disk Buffer and by read requests following the First In/ First
Out (FIFO) rule. Old documents are removed from cache as the cache area becomes full.
Disk Buffers are also used as read cache as long as document copies are in Disk Buffer.

Cache Server
Archive Server supports caching via the Cache Server. It gives users fast access to
archived documents. This is especially important in distributed network environments
(such as WAN) because it greatly reduces the network load. It stores all the recently read
documents locally and displays them on the client on request. When displaying
documents, the Cache Server ensures that the document in the cache is the most current
archived original. If several Cache Servers are used, even the logical archives and
subnets of the network can be individually configured.

The Cache Server normally operates in a write-through mode, where all documents that
are created locally are stored on the Cache Server and at the same time directly written
through to the Archive Server. The Cache Server can be switched into a write-back mode.
In this mode all the documents are cached in the local store of the Archive Cache Server
only. An administrative job will later transfer these documents to the central Archive

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 Server. This mode is intended for architectures with low network bandwidth.
.

Figure 16:
Cache Server Scenario

The cache of the Cache Server is filled upon reading and writing documents (e.g., when
scanning with Enterprise Scan or importing documents via the Document Pipeline). Also
all applications using the Archive Server API will make use of the Cache Server
scenarios.

Built-in accounting functionality

It may be more profitable for smaller firms to lease an archive from a provider rather than
buy it. In this case, the provider must be able to make a list of all data concerning the
costs of using the archive so that a precise invoice can be created. Thus, Archive Server
has a built-in accounting system.

Administration and monitoring

Administration server

The Administration server of Archive Server is used to manage and configure the
following system components:

• The logical archive, which can be used to group the documents by department,
physical location, document type, etc. A retention period can be specified for each
logical archive.

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 • Archive Server-Cluster, in which several Archive Servers (possibly in different
locations) are combined to function as one system for high-availability scenarios.

• The optical media and media pools (e.g., automatic WORM finalization)

• Archive Server users

• The timestamp certificate

• The definition and scheduling of the archive jobs.

The entire archiving system can be managed either locally or remotely using the
Administration Client of the Enterprise Library.

Figure 17:
Enterprise Library
Administration

Server monitoring
Monitoring ongoing processes helps maintain optimal system performance. For this
reason, Archive Server includes various monitoring systems that help control the overall
system—from the resources for the storage hardware to the individual archiving
components’ processes.

The Monitor Server helps administrators locate and correct potential problems by using
remote procedure calls, SQL queries, and operating system calls to collect and monitor
data from the individual components. It continuously saves data about the components’
status and the available storage space.

The Monitor Server has a Web-based monitor client that enables the administrator to
monitor the Archive Server processes and ressources. The processes of the individual

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 components’ appear in an intuitive graphical user interface. System resource status and
availability appear as symbols.

Moreover, log files offer another powerful method for diagnosing Archive Server. All the
archive components generate log files, which record the activities of the different
processes. The log levels’ default setting records a minimum of information. If the
administrator suspects a problem with a certain component, however, he/she can
increase the log level for that component.

Figure 18:
Archive Server
Web Monitor

Active monitoring with the Notification Server

The Notification Server sends notifications, via mail or message, when certain server
events (errors, access violations, etc.) occur. You can define these notifications in the
Archive Administration.

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 Figure 19:
Events and Notifications

Logging
For long-term monitoring, you can have performance data written to log files. Logging for
each component of Archive Server can be individually switched on or off within the Server
Administration.

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Conclusion
Sophisticated infrastructure and methodology are vital when it comes to archiving as they
provide key capabilities such as seamless integration with your existing business
applications and secure long-term archiving of your business information.

Archiving enables you to address business requirements by means of compliance and

governance—with internal, industry, and legal regulations and standards—reducing risk.
Last but not least, and certainly most dominant, it drives down the cost of business
operations on both levels processes (operational efficiencies) and assets (TCO of real
estate, IT legacy systems, paper, etc).

It’s a catalyst for your business’ sustainability—that is why archiving matters.

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 About OpenText
OpenText is the world’s largest independent provider of Enterprise Content Management
(ECM) software. The Company's solutions manage information for all types of business,
compliance and industry requirements in the world's largest companies, government
agencies and professional service firms. OpenText supports approximately 46,000
customers and millions of users in 114 countries and 12 languages. For more information
about OpenText, visit www.opentext.com.

TOGETHER, WE ARE THE CONTENT EXPERTS WHITEPAPER 54

Visit online.opentext.com for more information about OpenText solutions. OpenText is a publicly traded company on both NASDAQ (OTEX) and the TSX (OTC) Copyright © 2010 by OpenText Corporation. Trademarks or registered
trademarks of OpenText Corporation. This list is not exhaustive. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All rights reserved. SKU_11COMS0025EN