Retention and expiration of backup versions
Multiple versions of file backups are important because users can continually update files and might need to restore a file from different points in time. Policy settings control the backup versions that the server retains in server storage, and affects what users can restore.
You can specify the versions that the server retains in server storage with settings in the
management class:
- Specify the number of days to keep backup versions.You specify the number of days to keep backup versions with settings in the Operations Center:
- Keep Extra
Backups, which is how many days to keep inactive backup versions. The days are counted from the day that the version becomes inactive.
If you use commands, use the DEFINE COPYGROUP command with the RETEXTRA parameter.
Tip: To help ensure that files can be recovered after a malware incident, such as a ransomware attack, specify a value of at least 14 days. The preferred value is 30 or more days. - Keep Deleted
Backups, which is how many days to keep the last backup version of a file that is deleted from the client file system.
If you use commands, use the DEFINE COPYGROUP command with the RETONLY parameter.
Tip: To help ensure that files can be recovered after a malware incident, such as a ransomware attack, specify a value of at least 30 days.
- Keep Extra
Backups, which is how many days to keep inactive backup versions. The days are counted from the day that the version becomes inactive.
- Specify the number of versions to keep.You specify the number of backup versions to keep with settings in the Operations Center:
- Backups, which is the number of versions to keep of a file that still exists on the client file system.
If you use commands, use the DEFINE COPYGROUP command with the VEREXISTS parameter.
Tip: To help ensure that files can be recovered after a malware incident, such as a ransomware attack, specify a value of at least 2. Preferred values are 3, 4, or more. - Deleted
Backups, which is the number of
versions to keep of a file that is deleted from the client file system.
If you use commands, use the DEFINE COPYGROUP command with the VERDELETED parameter.
- Backups, which is the number of versions to keep of a file that still exists on the client file system.
- Specify a combination of the number of versions and the days to keep them.The settings interact to determine the backup versions that the server retains. Ensure that you understand which settings take precedence and what interactions can occur:
- When the number of inactive backup versions exceeds the number in the Backups and Deleted Backups settings, the oldest version expires and the server deletes the version from the database the next time expiration processing runs.
- The number of inactive versions that the server keeps is also affected by the Keep Extra Backups setting. Inactive versions expire when the number of days that they are inactive exceeds the value that is specified for retaining extra versions, even when the number of versions is not exceeded.