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+pr: 86261
+summary: Snapshots as simple archives
+area: Search
+type: feature
+issues:
+  - 81210
+highlight:
+  title: Reading indices from older Elasticsearch versions
+  body: |-
+    Elasticsearch has full query and write support for indices created in the previous major
+    version. If you have indices created in Elasticsearch versions 5 or 6, you can now use
+    the archive functionality to import and query these indices as well.
+
+    The archive functionality provides slower read-only access to older data,
+    for compliance or regulatory reasons, the occasional lookback or investigation,
+    or to rehydrate parts of it. Access to the data is expected to be infrequent,
+    and can therefore happen with limited performance and query capabilities.
+  notable: true