Is Archiving required for the Utility Network?

[CristinHolmgren2]

I've scoured the internet for the answer to this question.  AI says yes, but I can't find any supporting documentation.  Maybe I just missed it? 

Is Archiving required for running a Utility Network?  What negative impacts could occur if disabling the initially auto-enabled archiving?

[RobertKrisher · Accepted solution]

It is required because of branch versioning.

When working with a utility network in an enterprise geodatabase you must enable branch versioning on the utility network dataset. When you enable branch versioning, we automatically enable archiving because the tables that are registered as branch versioned are storing all the historical edits in the tables themselves. You cannot disable archiving on branch versioned data.

In addition to the online help, it is also discussed in this article: To Branch or Not to Branch - An Introduction to Branch Versioning

[CristinHolmgren2]

Thanks Robert!