Number of backup images left based on the Retention Policy

Details

Enable the retention policy and choose to delete the oldest image set before creating a new one to save storage, as shown in the backup schedule examples.

[Schedule】
This example shows a weekly backup with a full backup on Sunday and incremental backups on other days, using default settings except for the retention policy.

[Retention Policy is enabled to retain two image sets]

• Backups created from 6/1 (Sunday) to 6/7 (Saturday)          …1 generation (for 7 days）
  Backups created from 6/8 (Sunday) to 6/14（Saturday）   … 2 generations (for 7 days） 

When the third full backup is made on 6/15 (Sunday), the first backup set from 6/1 to 6/7 will be deleted, and the following backup files will remain.

• Backups created from 6/8 (Sunday) to 6/14 (Saturday)       …1 generation (for 7 days）
  Backups created on 6/15（Sunday）                                    … 2 generations (for 1 day）
  ↓
  Before the full backup on 6/15, backups from the past 14 days are kept. After it's created, only backups from the last 8 days remain.

[Retention Policy is enabled and 3 image sets are retained]

• Backups created from 6/1 (Sunday) to 6/7 (Saturday)        …1 generation (for 7 days）
  Backups created from 6/8 (Sunday) to 6/14 (Saturday)     … 2 generations (for 7 days）
  Backups created from 6/15 (Sunday) to 6/21 (Saturday)   … 3 generations (for 7 days）

When the fourth full backup is made on 6/22 (Sunday), the first backup set from 6/1 to 6/7 will be deleted, and the remaining backup files will stay in the destination.

• Backups created from 6/8 (Sunday) to 6/14 (Saturday)     … 1 generation (for 7 days）
  Backups created from 6/15 (Sunday) to 6/21 (Saturday)   … 2 generations (for 7 days）
  Backups created on 6/22（Sunday）                                    … 3 generations (for 1 day)
  ↓
  Before the full backup on 6/22, backups from the past 21 days are kept. After it runs, only backups from the last 15 days remain.

Advantages and Disadvantages of [Delete the older image before new base backup] option

When the retention policy is enabled, you can choose the [Delete the older image before new base backup] option. Here are its pros and cons. 
[Advantage]
Deleting the older backup before creating a new one frees up storage space in advance. 
[Disadvantage]
If the new full backup fails, the previous backup set is already deleted, reducing the number of restore points until the next full backup succeeds.
[Backup task settings configured by disabling Retention Policy】

When you set a first full backup followed by recurring incremental backups, no new full backups are created, and old backups won’t be deleted by the Retention Policy. To delete old backups automatically, full backups must be created regularly.

If you use event-triggered backups instead of weekly backups, after the first full backup, incremental backups continue without deleting older backups. The Retention Policy won’t remove old generations in this case.

For details on how backup generations are counted, please see the Knowledge Base below.
* How to count backup generations with the retention policy enabled.
https://actiphyhelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/47619297248665

Target Products

- ActiveImage Protector 2018
- ActiveImage Protector 2022

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