Always-Hot Storage

Always-Hot Storage, in the backup and recovery context, is storage whose backed-up data can be accessed without prior rehydration or lengthy retrieval from an archive tier. The term is not a uniformly standardized storage type, but primarily describes the property of immediate or directly available access to the backed-up data.

For recovery processes, this approach can be relevant when short restart times are required. With cold or archive storage, additional retrieval times and possibly transfer steps can arise, whereas always-hot storage enables the restore directly from the available backup set. Nevertheless, bandwidth, data volume, API limits and target systems also determine the actual recovery duration.

Always-hot storage should therefore be regarded as a building block within comprehensive Business Continuity Management. For a meaningful assessment, costs, retention, isolation and protection against manipulation are decisive in addition to access speed.