Patent ID: 8452730

Claim:
A method of archiving a source table in a database system, the source table having a plurality of base rows, the method comprising the steps of: establishing, with a processor, a starting consistency point for the source table, wherein the starting consistency point is a starting point in time of an archive process; after the starting consistency point, copying, with the processor, substantially all base rows from the source table to an archive table; permitting, with the processor, the source table to have more than one change effected to each respective base row during the archive process; creating, with the processor, a log record for each respective change effected to a base row of the source table after the starting consistency point; and copying, with the processor, at least some of the log records from the source table to the archive table that were created after the starting consistency point such that the resulting archive table includes a plurality of base rows and the at least some of the log records, wherein the copying of the at least some of the log records is limited to copying no more than one log record for each base row having more than one respective change, and wherein completion of the copying of the at least some of the log records defines an end of the archive process.