Retention Policy for Active Full Archive Backups

If you enable the Read the entire restore point from source instead of synthesizing it from increments option, Veeam Backup & Replication stops transforming the backup chain with every backup copy interval, and no longer uses the forever incremental backup method to maintain the desired number of restore points in the backup chain. Instead, it applies retention rules of the forward incremental backup method to the backup chain.

Veeam Backup & Replication waits until the number of restore points in the new backup chain is greater than the retention policy setting, and then removes restore points from the previous backup chain. Archive full backups remain on disk because Veeam Backup & Replication applies a separate retention policy scheme to archive full backups.

For more information, see Retention for Forward Incremental Backup.

For example, you have configured a backup copy job in the following way:

• The backup copy job starts on Sunday; the backup copy interval is equal to 1 day.
• Simple retention policy is set to 4.
• Weekly full backups are enabled and scheduled on Thursday.
• The Read the entire restore point from source instead of synthesizing it from increments option is enabled.

Veeam Backup & Replication will run the backup copy job in the following way:

1. During the first 4 backup copy intervals, Sunday through Wednesday, Veeam Backup & Replication will create a full backup and 3 incremental backups.
2. On Thursday, Veeam Backup & Replication will add a weekly full backup to the backup chain.
3. Friday through Sunday, Veeam Backup & Replication will add incremental backups to the new backup chain. On Sunday, Veeam Backup & Replication will remove the whole previous backup chain.

4. Veeam Backup & Replication will keep on adding incremental backups to the backup chain until the next Thursday. On Thursday, Veeam Backup & Replication will create a new weekly full backup.
5. Friday through Sunday, Veeam Backup & Replication will add incremental backups to the new backup chain.
6. On Monday, Veeam Backup & Replication will add a new incremental backup to the new backup chain, and remove incremental backups from the previous backup chain. The weekly full backup will remain on disk.