46 Chapter3·BridgingtheGapsbetweenInformationManagementandE-discovery Storing, Managing, and Discovering Information The e-mail archiving process can best be described through three stages: store, manage, and discover. Each stage is described in this section. Storing Archiving solutions automatically migrate files from online to near-line storage media according to a business policy. The resulting archives provide a long-term indexed repository for the storage of electronic information. Typically, these technologies employ a variety of storage management features, including the following: Compression, which reduces the size of files Single-instance storage, which replaces the references to identical files in a computer file system with references to a single store copy of the file Deduplication, which compares electronic records based on their characteristics and removes or marks duplicate records within the data set Tools & Traps... Elements of Storage Management Systems Compression, single instance storage, and data deduplication are frequently used by storage management systems to reduce the volume of stored data. Each technology uses a unique method for reducing data volume. Compression algorithms such as zip and Run Length Encoded (RLE) reduce the size of files, saving both storage space and reducing bandwidth required for access and transmission. Data compression is widely used in backup utilities, spreadsheet applications, and database management systems. Compression generally eliminates redundant information and/or predicts where changes will occur. "Lossless" compression techniques such as zip and RLE preserve the integrity of the input. Coding standards such as Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) and Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) employ "lossy" methods that do not preserve all of the original information and are most commonly used for photographs, audio, and video. Continued