Expiration type

The expiration type determines how the system deletes data from the application group. Choose from the following:

Load

The system deletes an input file at a time from the application group. If the Database Organization is Single Load per Database Table, the system deletes a segment (table of index data and associated documents) at a time. The latest date value from the input file and the Life of Data and Indexes determines when the data is eligible to be deleted. Load is the default expiration type.

Storage Manager

The storage manager (OAM or VSAM) determines when data is deleted from the system. Storage Manager expiration works with the ARSEXPIR program. See the IBM Content Manager OnDemand for z/OS Administration Guide, for details about how to configure the system to use the ARSEXPIR program.

Segment

The systems deletes a segment (table) of index data at a time from the application group. The system can delete a segment of index data only after the segment is closed and every record in the segment has reached its expiration date:

• If the Database Organization is Multiple Loads per Database Table, the system uses the maximum number of rows to determine when to close a table. A segment likely contains the data from more than one input file.
• If the Database Organization is Single Load per Database Table, the system creates a table each time that an input file is loaded into the application group.

The system derives the expiration date from the Segment field (or the date that the data was loaded, if there is no Segment field) and the Life of Data and Indexes. If the Segment field contains a date in the MMYY format, data is eligible to be deleted on the first day of the month (MM). To specify the Segment field, click the Field Information tab; select a date or date/time field; then select the Segment checkbox.

Document

The system deletes a document at a time from the application group. To determine when to delete a document, the system uses the value of the Expire Date field and the Life of Data and Indexes. If the Expire Date field contains only the month and year (MMYY format), the system deletes documents on the first day of the month (MM). To specify the Expire Date field, click on the Field Information tab; select a date or date/time field; then select the Expire Date checkbox.

For Segment and Document expiration types, Content Manager OnDemand can only expire data from cache. It does not explicitly delete the actual data from the external storage managers (such as TSM, OAM, or cloud storage). The data deletion is controlled by the storage manager, based on the TSM, OAM, or cloud storage expiration settings.

If the storage manager expires the actual data or it is expired from cache before Content Manager OnDemand deletes the index data that points to it, the indexes point to data that no longer exists. This situation results in data retrieval errors. It is important to properly configure the storage manager expiration settings to align with the timing of the deletion of the index data in Content Manager OnDemand.