Copying retention sets to cloud archive storage

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Cloud archive storage can be used for long-term protection of data that is infrequently accessed. The process of copying retention sets to cloud archive storage is similar to copying retention sets to standard cloud storage. However, to read data after the archive process, data must be recalled from the object storage into an accessible state by issuing the STAGE VOLUME command.

Before you begin

If you are using IBM Cloud® Archive Storage or Accelerated Archive Storage, you must first complete preliminary configuration steps in IBM Cloud. For instructions, see Preparing to copy retention sets to IBM Cloud archive storage.

About this task

To store retention sets in cloud archive storage, you must define a retention storage pool. The device class that is associated with the retention storage pool must have a cloud storage class that uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) with Simple Storage Service (S3) Glacier, AWS S3 Glacier Deep Archive, IBM Storage Deep Archive with S3 Glacier, IBM Cloud Object Storage Archive, or IBM Cloud Accelerated Archive. These device classes can be used only for retention set data.

Procedure

To configure operations to copy retention sets to cloud archive storage, complete the following steps:

  1. Define a device class by issuing the DEFINE DEVCLASS command and specifying the CLOUDSTORAGECLASS parameter to use GLACIER, DEEPGLACIER, ARCHIVE, or ACCARCHIVE. The command is similar to the following example: 
    define devclass ibmdev devtype=cloud connection=ibmconn cloudstorageclass=accarchive

    This command configures the device class to use the IBM Cloud Accelerated Archive.

  2. Define a new retention storage pool, which is a dedicated storage pool for storing retention set data on cloud. Complete the following steps:
    1. On the Operations Center menu bar, click Storage > Storage Pools.
    2. On the Storage Pools page, open the Add Storage Pool wizard by clicking + Storage Pools.
    3. On the Type page of the Add Storage Pool wizard, select the Retention option and click Next.
    4. Follow the instructions in the Add Storage Pool window to specify the storage pool name, the schedule for the storage rule to run, and the cloud device class.
      Tip: Alternatively, to define a new retention storage pool by using the command-line interface, complete the following steps:
      1. Issue the DEFINE STGPOOL command and specify the pool name with the device class name.
      2. Specify the POOLTYPE=RETENTION parameter setting.
  3. To specify a retention storage pool as the destination for retained data, complete the following steps:
    1. On the Operations Center menu bar, click Services > Retention Rules.
    2. To create a retention rule, on the Retention Rules page, click +Create Rule.
    3. On the Create Retention Rule page, complete the fields. To enable retention to cloud, specify the name of a retention storage pool in the Retention pool field and click Create.
      Tip: Alternatively, to specify a retention storage pool by using the command-line interface, complete the following steps:
      1. Issue the DEFINE RETRULE command and specify the node group name.
      2. Specify the destination for the retention sets by specifying the DESTINATION parameter.

What to do next

When data that has been sent to an archive cloud storage class must be accessed by a client, an additional step must be completed in IBM Storage Protect if you want to access the data. To recall the volumes from archive cloud storage, issue the STAGE VOLUME command. By issuing this command, the object storage recalls a volume or all the volumes in a retention set to the retrieval area. The command is similar to the following examples:
stage volume retset=51
This command places all the volumes in retention set 51 into a restored state in the object storage. Alternatively, you can place a volume into restored state in object storage by issuing the following command:
STAGE VOLUME volume_name
where volume_name is the name of the volume.

Depending upon the cloud storage and configuration, the restore process can take up to several hours (see your cloud provider documentation for details). The data remains in the staging area of the object storage for three days by default. The duration can be adjusted by issuing the STAGE VOLUME command and specifying a value for the DURATION parameter.

When the volumes are restored from archive storage and are available in the retrieval area of the object storage, an IBM Storage Protect client can read the data as if it were in standard cloud storage.

For more information about recalling data from Glacier or Archive storage classes, refer to the Amazon AWS or IBM Cloud documentation.

For more information about staged volumes, you can issue the following commands:

stage vol retset=51 action=checkstatus
This command checks the status of the restore process on the object storage and reports the state of the restore operation and the number of volumes for retention set 51. You can also preview the staging process by running a command that is similar to the following example:
stage vol retset=51 action=preview
This command can be used before the restore process to determine how much data must be staged from object storage for retention set 51. This information is helpful to estimate how much the cloud provider might charge to restore the data.