Configuring a retention rule

After a retention rule is configured, it can be assigned to a backup. When you enforce a retention rule on a backup, the DS-Client determines what data to retain in the DS-System online storage. If data qualifies for at least one of the keep-data options, it is retained even if it qualifies for deletion in another option. If data does not qualify for any keep-data options, it is considered obsolete data.

NOTE: The Archive old data to BLM and Move obsolete data to BLM options require configuration of the BLM Archiver. For more information, see “Backup Lifecycle Management (BLM)”.

• To modify a retention rule, select the retention rule, on the Retention menu, click Edit Retention Rule.

NOTE: To delete a retention rule, select the retention rule, on the Retention menu, click Delete Retention Rule.

a) Under Online and Local-Only retention, select the type of retention rule you want to configure for data that is stored online in DS-System and data that is stored locally for Local-only backups. The options are as follows:

• Deletion of files removed from source / HSMed data – Applies only to files that have been deleted from the source and data that has been moved by a third-party HSM/ILM solution to a remote location. This is the first rule that is applied when a retention rule is enforced.

• Time-based retention – Applies time-based rules to determine what data to keep online. All other data is considered obsolete. For Online backups, this deletes data from the DS-System online storage. For Local-only backups, this deletes data from local storage.

• Archive old data to BLM (ignored for local-only backups) – Sends a copy of the generations that are about to be deleted to the BLM Archiver. If this option is used with other retention rule types, it is applied last and only to the files that remain online after the other options have been applied.

b) To store the same number of generations of a backup file in the local storage directory that are stored in the DS-System online storage, under Local Storage retention, select the Enable Local Storage retention (multiple generations) check box.

NOTE: This option applies only to Online backups configured with the Use Local Storage option. When disabled, only the latest generation of a backup file is kept in the local storage directory.

c) If you are using component-based VSS-aware backups on a Windows DS-Client, under Component data integration options for VSS-aware backup sets, do the following:

• To delete files that are not referenced by any component, select the Delete unreferenced files check box.

• To delete incomplete components that are missing referenced files, select the Delete incomplete components check box.

NOTE: Unreferenced files and incomplete components are typically useless and should be removed. However, individual files can still be restored as pure files for troubleshooting purposes.

3. If you selected the Deletion of files removed from source / HSMed data option, do the following:

a) To delete files from the backup source, select the If files are removed from source check box. In the After box, enter the amount of time that must pass before the file is deleted. In the Keep generations box, enter the number of generations of the file that you want to retain online.

b) If you are using a third-party storage management (HSM) solution that migrates infrequently used files from the backup source and leaves a small placeholder or stub in its place, select the If a placeholder/stub is detected on the source check box, and the do one of the following:

• To delete all file generations backed up prior to the placeholder or stub, select Delete generations prior to the stub. The latest placeholder or stub will be retained on the DS-System.

• To delete all generations that were backed up in an earlier session and are not a placeholder or stub, select Delete non-stub generations prior to the stub. This retains all generations that are placeholders or stubs.

NOTE: If the DS-Client detects that a placeholder or stub is created on the source, it assumes the file is already protected by the third-party solution and does not need to be stored online. Only the backup of the placeholder or stub will remain online.

a) In the Keep most recent generations box, enter the number of generations that you want to retain in the DS-System online storage. Any generations over this number will be deleted unless they qualify for another retention option.

NOTE: For Microsoft SQL Server database backups based on the Transaction Log Only database backup policy, you must specify a value of 0. For all other backup types, you can specify a value of 1 or higher.

b) To retain all generations that fall within a specific time period, select the Keep all generation for the last check box, and then enter the time period. Any generations outside the specified time period will be deleted unless they qualify for another retention option.

NOTE: For Microsoft SQL Server database backups based on the Transaction Log Only database backup policy, you must specify a time period.

1. Under Keep one generation, select the interval for which you want to retain a generation. When this rule is enforced, the most recent generation from the interval is kept for as many intervals that can fit into the retention period. If you can specify the start date for a retention option, it will count backwards from that date by the specified interval.

2. In the Retention option valid for last box, enter the length of the retention period. At least one generation interval must fit into this retention period. If you select a retention option that spans a longer period, you should extend this value to at least match that period.

5. If you selected the Archive old data to BLM (ignored for local-only backups) option, do the following:

1. In the Archive files older than box, enter the time period after which you want to archive files. Online files older than the specified number of days will be pushed to the BLM Archiver.

3. To archive specific files, select Specific files defined by the filtering rule. To configure the file filtering rule, click Add.

b) To use only the backup time of a file to determine if it qualifies as old data, select the Compare backup time only check box. This means files that have not been modified for a long time will remain online until their last backup time qualifies them as old data.

c) To archive special files, such as System State or the Services Databases, select the Archive special files (i.e. System State files) check box.

d) To retain the latest generation of all special files (e.g. System State) online, select the Do not archive latest generation of special files check box. Select this option if the retention rule is being applied to any backup that is used for a Bare Metal Restore (BMR).

NOTE: When files are archived they cannot be restored from the DS-System. The files are moved to the BLM Archiver and can only be written to a BLM restorable image if they need to be restored. If the last generation of a file is pushed, an archive stub (a small file containing only metadata) will be left in the DS-System online storage. This prevents the file from being backed up again by the DS-Client unless the source file is changed.

6. If you selected the Enable Local Storage retention (multiple generations) option, do the following:

a) In the Keep all generations for box, enter the time period for which you want to retain all generations in local storage.

b) To delete files removed from the source, select the If files removed from source check box. In the After box, enter the time period after which files that have been removed from the source will be deleted. In the Keep generations box, enter the number of generations you want to retain.

NOTE: Generations of a file that meet the criteria are kept in local storage. Everything else will be deleted from local storage.

• To delete all obsolete data when enforcing the retention rule, select Delete obsolete data.

NOTE: If the Move obsolete data to BLM option is not selected, obsolete data is permanently deleted and cannot be recovered.

c) To have the BLM Archiver create a new archive package every time data is sent, under BLM Option, select the New Archive Package check box.

NOTE: If you don’t select this option, the archive request is added to the current archive package on the BLM Archiver. Archive packages are specific to a particular backup. Each BLM request is added to an archive package until it reaches a specified limit.

d) The Summary section displays the configured retention rule settings. To make corrections, click Back.