nearline

Nearline storage is a data storage tier designed for data that is not accessed frequently but must remain readily retrievable when needed. It sits between online (hot) storage, optimized for fast access, and offline (cold) storage, which offers minimal costs but long retrieval times. Nearline is commonly used for backups, disaster recovery data, compliance archives, and other data retained for regulatory or business-continuity purposes that do not require constant access.

Typically, nearline storage offers lower ongoing costs than online storage but incurs higher retrieval costs and greater latency when data is accessed. The exact performance and pricing vary by provider, but nearline is designed to balance cost with accessibility: data can be retrieved faster than from offline media but slower and more expensively than from online storage.

Implementation methods include traditional nearline media such as magnetic tape libraries or optical media, as well as cloud storage classes branded as nearline by various providers. In cloud environments, nearline storage is often a distinct storage class with tiered pricing and data retrieval fees, optimized for archival-like workloads that may still require occasional access.

Operational considerations include data lifecycle management, access patterns, and compliance requirements. Organizations should assess total cost of ownership, including storage, retrieval, and data egress charges, when deciding whether nearline is appropriate for a given dataset.

See also: storage hierarchy, online storage, offline storage, archival storage, tiered storage, cloud storage class.