Retention Tags

With Exchange mailbox agents, you can use retention tags to configure message-level retention based on compliance and retention policies. Retention tags control how long various messages are stored on the Exchange server. Administrators can apply retention tags to entire mailboxes and to individual default folders. Users can apply retention tags to individual message and to any folders that the user created.

To use Exchange retention tags in conjunction with Exchange mailbox agents, you must import the retention tags into the CommServe database to define message retention on the secondary storage during backup. After the retention tags are imported into the CommServe database, retention is calculated based on an order of precedence. Message-level retention takes precedence over folder-level and Exchange policy retention. For details about configuring subclient-level retention, see Configuring Retention Options for Messages and Stubs in the Mailbox.
Folder-level retention takes precedence over Exchange policy retention.
If no retention tags are applied, then Exchange policy retention is calculated.

Before You Begin

Retention tags are supported only for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 1 (minimum) or later.

Note

Microsoft Exchange retention tags are not supported for Exchange online mailboxes.

Enabling Retention Tagging

You must enable Commvault to use the retention tags before you run a synthetic full backup. This allows messages to be removed from secondary storage during synthetic full back up based on the retention tags.

Procedure

From the CommCell Browser, right-click CommServe, and then click Properties.
In the CommCell Properties dialog box, click the Additional Settings tab, and then click Add.
In the Add Additional Settings dialog box, enter the details for the following additional setting:

Property	Value
Name	EnableRetentionTagging
Category	CommServDB.GxGlobalParam
Type	Integer
Value	1

For instructions about adding the additional setting from the CommCell Browser, see Add or Modify an Additional Setting.

Exchange Retention Tag Import Utility

Use the Exchange Retention Tag Import Utility to import retention tags from the Exchange server into the CommServe database, and then process retention tags. The import utility collects all the retention tags that are defined in the Exchange organization.

The import utility displays the collection list, which includes the following:

Column	Description
check box	Select the check box to import the corresponding retention tag.
Name	The name of the retention tag. The name includes the Exchange Organization Management name and the tag name. You can see only the tags that are available for the service account whose credentials you used when you logged on. If you want to see the tags that are available for another group, you must log on again with the appropriate credentials.
Import Status	Indicates whether the retention tag has been imported into the Commvault database.
Media Retention (days)	The number of days that the tagged message or folder is retained on the secondary storage. By default, the retention period specified in the Media Retention (days) column is the same as the period specified in the Exchange Server Retention (days) column.
Exchange Server Retention (days)	The number of days that the tagged message or folder is retained on the Exchange Server.
Action (Exchange Server Only)	The process that the tag performs by the Exchange server. This field is read-only and is for information purposes. Regardless of which action is set on the Exchange server, when retention tags are calculated, the Commvault software always expires the messages from storage provided that they meet the retention criteria. Caution Only the retention tags' retention times are imported; their actions are not imported. The action for any retention tag that you import using the Exchange Retention Tag Import Utility is treated as "delete". Do not import any retention tag that you do not want to use to delete messages.

We recommend that you set the Media Retention (days) to a value that is greater than the Exchange Server Retention (days) value. This allows the messages to remain on the storage media so that they can be restored from either Commvault or the Web Console.

For example:

Tag Type	Exchange Server Retention (days)	Media Retention (days)
Exchange Organization Name\Inbox	365	730
Exchange Organization Name\Sent items	365	730
Exchange Organization Name\Deleted items	7	14
Exchange Organization Name\All other folders in the mailbox	365	730

Caution

When messages expire at the Exchange cleanup policy level, messages and stubs are deleted. In this case, retention is not honored regardless of whether it is Exchange server retention, media retention, or Exchange policy retention.

Importing and Processing Retention Tags

Use the Exchange Retention Tag Import Utility to import and process retention tags.

Before You Begin

Both the Exchange Management Tools must be installed and the agent must be located on the client where you import and process the retention tags.
To perform this procedure, your service account must belong to the Exchange Organization Management group.

Procedure

Log on to the computer where the agent is located. Use the appropriate service account credentials.
Navigate to the software_installation_path\Base folder.
To open the Exchange Retention Tag Import Utility, double-click Cvrtagcreator.exe.

The collection list appears.
Optional: Double-click the retention value under Media Retention (days) and change the number.

Any changes that are made to the retention time take effect during the next synthetic full backup.
In the column to the left of the Name column, select the check box for each retention tag that you want to import.
Click Import to import the selected retention tags into the CommServe database.

Any change to retention tags that are applied to folders and messages are backed up during the next backup job.

The retention tags are calculated every 24 hours and the messages expire on the secondary storage based on their specified retention period. Messages are no longer visible on the media.

What to Do Next

Every time you create new retention tags or modify existing retention tags, then the retention tags must be imported into the CommServe database again. The new or modified retention tags are calculated every 24 hours. The newly imported retention tags are applied to all messages that were backed up previously.
If you have multiple Exchange Organizations, you must log on for each group individually and import the retention tags again.

Deleting Retention Tags

If you delete retention tags from the Exchange server, you must delete the same retention tags from the CommServe database.

Procedure

Log on to the computer where the agent is located. Use the appropriate service account credentials.
Navigate to the software_installation_path\Base folder.
To open the Exchange Retention Tag Import Utility, double-click Cvrtagcreator.exe.

The collection list appears.
In the column to the left of the Name column, select the check box for each retention tag that you want delete, and then click Delete from CommServe DB.

Retention Tags and Moved Mailboxes

If you move a mailbox to a different subclient, and then assign a different Exchange retention policy to the mailbox, the new media retention time is applied only to messages that are archived after the mailbox is moved to the new subclient. However, the media retention time of the old Exchange retention policy continues to be applied to messages that were archived before the mailbox was moved.

For example:

Before June 15, subclient_1 contained mailbox_A, which had a retention time of three (3) years.

On June 15, mailbox_A was moved to subclient_2, and a new retention time of six (6) years was applied to mailbox_A.

Messages that were archived by subclient_1 before June 15 still have a retention time of three (3) years. Messages that are archived by subclient_2 from June 15 and on have a retention time of six (6) years.