Data Aging and Retention for Laptop Backup

Setting Subclient Retention Settings

You can set up subclient retention settings, which determine when storage policy copy retention starts for deleted files. Storage policy copy retention can start immediately or be delayed for a specified period of time. Delaying the application of storage policy copy retention on deleted files allows you to browse and restore the deleted files from the latest backup cycle.

Synthetic full backups manage the application of subclient retention settings. Files that exceed the subclient retention criteria are not included in the next synthetic full backup.

Consider the following guidelines and limitations:

  • Files that are moved from one subclient to another are also considered as deleted files and the subclient retention settings apply to those files as well.

  • Files retained by subclient retention are carried forward in backup storage by synthetic full jobs. When you run the synthetic full backup at the end of specified retention period, the deleted files are no longer carried forward for retention.

  • If a full backup is run during the retention period, the deleted files may get removed earlier from the backup cycle.

Before You Begin

Review Data Aging-Overview and Data Aging - Getting Started before you set the retention for your subclient.

Procedure

  1. From the CommCell Browser, expand Client Computers > client > File System > backup_set.

  2. Right-click the subclient for which you want to modify retention options, and then click Properties.

    The Subclient Properties dialog box appears.

  3. On the Retention tab, specify the retention criteria, and then select the Extend storage policy retention check box. For more information about the retention options, see Retention Options for Deleted Files.

    Note

    If you are upgrading from the previous version to the current version, see Transitioning from a Previous Version to the Current Version.

  4. Click OK.

Automatic Deletion of Expired Data Without Running Synthetic Full Backups

This process automatically deletes expired items from Commvault without the user having to run synthetic full backups. This process, which runs as part of the IndexBackup schedule (at the backup set level), offers the added benefit of viewing and recovering only unexpired data during Browse and Recovery operations.

Criteria

The automatic deletion of expired item process runs automatically when any of the following criteria are met:

  • The process has never been run for the Index.

  • 7 days have elapsed since the process was previously run.

  • 1 million items have been backed up since the process was previously run.

Additional notes

Note the following about the automatic deletion of expired item process:

  • The process is applicable to Indexing Version 2 and FileSystem laptop agents only.

  • The process does not run for subclients that have archiver, snap, or block level enabled.

  • The process expires items from the latest cycle (and also from previous cycles) based on subclient retention settings. Storage policy retention settings are still applicable to non-expired items only.

  • Once items are deleted via this process, they are no longer visible in browse/find results, and cannot be restored in the future.

Additional settings

The automatic deletion of expired item process is disabled by default, and is configured via the following additional setting:

Setting Name

AUTOMATIC_DELETION_EXPIRED_DATA

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