Segments

A segment is a time-limited data record unit that contains all value changes or alert information of archived data point elements that are assigned to a specific archive group for a specific time period (i.e. between the start and end time of the segment).

Segments do not overlap in time and contain all information specific to that time period (i.e. raw data, indices, ...).

Segments can be

• created by a segment switch
• removed from the database
• copied to a backup location
• restored from a backup.

Some of these operations are triggered automatically by the backend, depending on the settings (see subchapter Storage settings. These include segment switch, backup and deletion. Some of these operations can also be performed manually by the operator. Restoring must always be carried out manually.

For the state transition model, see subchapter Data/segment management.